Five years ago, no one could have guessed that Bare Knuckle Fighting would be one of the fastest growing combat sports companies in the world. But with 50 events and a plethora of attention, the appeal of this controversial sport can no longer be denied. This company was the first since 1889 to hold an official state-sanctioned and commissioned bare-knuckle boxing event, which has grown in rosters, sponsors, and fans. The promotion recently held the BKFC 50 event in Denver, Colorado with a nine fight card.
Following a tremendous back and forth, Andrew Strode sent Cary Capiro to the ground with a second round TKO. Monica Franco got the split decision in a heated bout with Khornti Kamryon with a plethora of punches thrown by both women. ‘Golden Boy’ Andrew Yates jumped to 2-0 with a unanimous win over Christian Torres. The light heavyweight division powerhouse Tony Jenkins took down Brian Maronek with a TKO win in the first round. Andrew Angelcor also expanded his undefeated streak after an eye injury took out his opponent Brett Hudson 69 seconds into the bout.
Keegan Vandermeerm, one of the fast rising cruiserweights in BKFC, put the division on notice with a furious punch to knock out Dillon Winemiller. One commenter on Instagram put it best, saying that “Vandermeen has lightning in his hand.” BKFC’s Feature Fight of the Night saw Marcus ‘Bad Intentions’ Edwards dominate in front of his home town and win by unanimous decision against Michael Manno. In the Co-Main event, Josh Copeland was in the fight of his career against former WBA cruiserweight boxing champion Steve Herelius. But Copeland, known to fans as “Cuddly Bear,” came out victorious with a 3rd round TKO.
The main event saw one of the promotion’s top guys against a UFC vet. Lorenzo Hunt earned his nickname, The Juggernaut, from holding the company’s Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight titles. He had posted a ten fight winning streak that dated back to 2020. Hunt was up against an experienced MMA fighter and kickboxer named Chris Camozzi who was on a two fight win streak and wanted Hunt’s Cruiserweight title. Both warriors fought but the Juggernaut came out on top with a split decision win. The elated Hunt thanked his opponent, the company, and the crowd before declaring “I’m the best bare knuckle fighter in the world – I will die before I quit!”
The next BKFC event, BKFC 50, will be held in Salem, Virginia and will be headlined by Flyweight champion Britain Hart defending her belt against undefeated UK boxer Melanie Shah and Joe ‘Hitman’ Elmore will fight Dustin Pauge. You can watch BKFC on Fite TV, Bare Knuckle TV, and other streaming platforms.
