In some quarters, bareknuckle boxing is still being labelled as too gory, too violent and too primitive.
In others, it is being heralded as a welcome addition to the fight sports landscape, with significant boxers and ex-boxers being lured into ungloved combat.
This year alone, former British Olympians James DeGale and Frankie Gavin were tempted into fighting for the first time in years by competing in bareknuckle.
Former two-time world champion Paulie Malignaggi had arguably the most high-profile bout of the year, sharing a bloody war with Tyler Goodjohn.
Other recognizable names from boxing, including Austin Trout and Lucas Browne, have also fought bareknuckle, as have countless names, like Goodjohn, that did not make it as far in the pros as they did.
The rise of bareknuckle is enticing fighters for a variety of reasons. It can keep them active, it can pay well, there are seemingly fewer political machinations, and many think the level of competition is lower, though they’ve discovered otherwise.
It also provides a buzz similar to that of boxing, but one that fighters who have done both contend is even greater.
David Tetreault joined the BYB Extreme Fighting Series as CEO in May and has been working on the company’s burgeoning growth. The organization was incorporated in 2014 but came to market in 2015 as BYB, which stood for Backyard Brawl.
BKB, seen as the largest and oldest bareknuckle organisation in the world, was already taken by a UK group but BYB bought them out in 2024.
Now BKB has 225 pros on their roster from more than 30 countries around the world. They maintain that their focus is on quality, evenly-matched fights.
Presently, they are the only US bareknuckle promotion with a linear TV deal, on Vice, and their fight nights are broadcast on the talkSPORT YouTube boxing channel in the UK. They are now also on Telemundo and screened on 90 outlets around the world.
Tetreault was previously a marketing executive for Fox, working on shows from 24 to The Simpsons, and then he was part of the successful Golden Boy Promotions era with Canelo Alvarez.
“I would say that it’s become more than legitimate,” said Tetreault of bareknuckle fighting.
“I think that when you see a number of the fighters that are crossing over from both boxing and MMA, in particular, UFC that are deciding to fight in our sport, it takes it to another level where it’s become a very highly sought after type of sport. And it’s grown just rapidly. I think the beauty of the sport is the fact that all of our fighters and our athletes, they stick, they stand and fight toe-to-toe. There’s no going down on the mat. And that’s really kind of the differentiator with not only the sport itself and the excitement that the sport brings, because we don’t have the grappling on the ground. We have nonstop action. That is one part of it. And with that nonstop action, we’ve really built a significant following with the Gen Z demographic, as well as with the millennial demographic. They really clamor for our type of sport, and it has taken us to another level.”
And boxers have been flocking to bareknuckle competition. Malignaggi recently had another bareknuckle fight, James DeGale emerged from years of inactivity to box bareknuckle, heavyweight contender Browne boxes in Florida for the BKB title this weekend and Austin Trout is a leading light at BKFC (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships).
Of Malignaggi, Tetreault said: “When you have a two-time world champion from the sport of boxing coming over and saying, ‘I want to be a champion here’ and when he finishes that fight, wins that fight, and he really expresses the fact that this fight wasn’t about the money that he was going to make, but it was about the accomplishment… And the accomplishment is what I want to achieve here is that I want to be a two-sport champion, both in boxing and in bareknuckle… that’s kind of taken this movement to the next level with these fighters wanting to come in and compete at that level. You also have the massive audience that we’re building.”
Tetreault points to the culture of bareknuckle being more inclusive than other combat sports and said there is a rare camaraderie between rivals.
“The one thing that you’ll see if you come to one of our live events,” he adds, “is the reverence that the fighters have for one another as they go into the ring, wishing one another the best of luck while they’re fighting. They’re paying good respect to one another. And when they finish, they go up to one another and they congratulate one another win, lose or draw. Those fighters have respect. So all of that is kind of bubbling to the surface. And it translates to our audience. That’s what is really driving the growth in a lot of ways.”
Talented young fighters now seemingly have more choice than ever, whether they want to box, go into MMA or fight in bareknuckle.
And while the recent Maliganngi-Tyler Goodjohn fight produced some spectacularly gruesome and bloody photography, Tetreault is keen to point out that bareknuckle is not solely about wars, gore and head on collisions.
“We absolutely don’t want every fight to be a car crash,” he explains.
“I’ll tell you that right now. We want to show the athleticism of our fighters. That’s a very, very, very big point… I think that part of what the boxing aficionados may be looking for is some really high IQ boxing skills. But they have to be married and merged with the fact that you’re willing to put it on the line and you’re willing to go toe-to-toe and fight. But I think when you take a look at our whole dynamic, we fight, our fighters fight in very close quarters, right? So our fighters are fighting in the trigon, which is, it’s a triangle. So there’s really nowhere to hide. There’s nowhere to run. You’re going to be brawling.”
However, the commercial growth of bareknuckle is not the only focus Tetreault has in mind in his bid to accelerate its mainstream popularity. He is working with the Sherriff’s Department in Los Angeles and donating a ring so they can train their officers in close-quarter combat.
And often there is an accusation in boxing that the best do not face the best, and that in MMA cross-promotions at the highest level do not exist.
“Well, I could tell you right now that, there is always potential for a major matchup to take place,” insists Tetreault, asked about their fighters facing the best from other organisations.
“We’ve just signed a multi-year deal with BoxRec and within that partnership, we’re really working very closely with them on their rankings on a global scale across the various organizations inside bareknuckle, not just in BKB. We are willing at BKB to put our best fighters up against fighters from other organizations. It really will come down to their decision to engage in that. But I can say right now, BKB as an organization will put that challenge out there and if it’s accepted, that’s fine and we’ll find a way to make it happen.
“We don’t want to stop that momentum. We want the sport to grow and we want the best athletes in the sport to have the opportunity to have that overall pound-for-pound ranking, no matter what, undisputed.”
And while bareknuckle might be offering young fighters an alternate path, it also is allowing older fighters to keep competing. For some, that is not a good thing. There are obvious concerns about long-term health implications of too many blows to the head, CTE and other neurological issues that athletes face later in life.
To that end, Tetreault insists the matchmaking of Mel Valenzuela is “pretty much the best in the business” and that all of the fighters’ medical requirements are carried out alongside the state athletic commissions in the US and in the UK. Of course, it is easy for a boxer to say they are already skilled proponents of using their hands, and that bareknuckle would – in theory – come against lesser fighters.
That undoubtedly is part of the allure, but Tetreault says the two fighting codes are not one and the same.
“I think that the outlier effect of all of it really comes down to the visceral nature of bareknuckle boxing,” he says of what attracts boxers. “I mean, it is real. You’re not hiding behind gloves. You’re not running around the ring for 12 rounds. You’re in closer quarters. And I think that challenge and that mentality appeals to a lot of really very highly energetic and highly-skilled athletes that want to test their wares in a sport like this.”
There is also a desire for fighters now to be part of something from the start. While bareknuckle pre-dates gloved boxing, the re-emergence is seeing a new history being written. Fighters want to be on the Mount Rushmore of modern day bareknuckle and they want to be appreciated as pioneers.
“I think there’s also that sort of pride in being a part of something that could have historical implications for them that they wouldn’t get in these other sports,” Tetreault agrees, “I think that’s another thing that I’ve heard a couple guys saying, saying, ‘I want to be one of the guys when they look back at the sport once it’s overtaken MMA and is rivalling boxing in certain countries that I was one of the guys that helped pave the way for it.’ I have heard that, too.”
And the opportunities to do that are only growing.
BKB are planning 16 shows, eight in the US and eight in the UK, in 2026, and they’re launching a contender/prospect series early in the new year. That could see their total number of fight cards rise above 25, with 10-12 bouts on each show, and as well as appealing to combat sports aficionados, BKB have identified the engaged Gen Z and millennial fanbase who are taking an interest in what they’re doing. BKB has also held talks with Matchroom and Queensberry Promotions about working together and how, “within their confines of their fight week” – BKB could host a bareknuckle event on a Friday before a Saturday boxing event, while giving promotional stables the chance to share fighters. They are looking to co-exist rather than dominate with a new niche that happens to be about 130 years old.
Florida promoter Nelson Lopez understands the lure of bareknuckle for boxers. He promoted Deontay Wilder’s bout in Wichita in the summer, and is involved in both the amateurs and pros.
“Fighters are leaning that way because in the boxing world, they know how difficult it is to get an opportunity from amateurs or pro without being thrown into that category of the B side,” said Lopez. “If you don’t have the promoter, you’re just getting a [late] phone call to fight. You’re more than likely 60 to 70 per cent are on the losing side, you're getting that phone call last minute, the weight limit might be a little bit more than what you're used to. And a lot of fighters are turning to the bareknuckle fight scene because those fights are a little bit more evenly-matched from one type of fighting to another. I started Austin Trout into his reign and in bareknuckle and Austin is an amazing fighter, fought some of the best, had a controversy with the sanctioning bodies, was pulled off rankings when he was supposed to fight Canelo again. The politics... And here we are. You give him an opportunity like that, and now he’s world champion in a bareknuckle organization and able to make money doing that. Austin is making good money, way better than average on what he was making in boxing as a top-five ranked fighter. He was a top-ranked fighter and he was still paying for his fights.
“So, yes, it [bareknuckle]’s an option for these fighters.”
Trout is now 39, a left-hander from Houston who boxed the likes of Miguel Cotto and Canelo, he beat one of BKFC’s top fighters, Luis Palomino, in an early BKFC clash and has become one of that group’s leading lights.
“They say he was The Man,” Trout told me when we talked last year. “I beat The Man, so my maths says I’m The Man.”
Trout was asked to compare the two sports and said: “Bareknuckle is a new game, although it has boxing in it. But bareknuckle is more of a strike first, survive second. “Boxing is more survive first, strike second, so it’s kind of shifting your intentions. Are you trying to win on points or are you trying to beat this person up?”
Trout was a 43-fight boxing veteran but he doesn’t think bareknuckle is for every boxer.
“To be able to hide behind the gloves is a big deal,” Trout, 40, said. “You can’t just put your hands up and take shots like you could with gloves on. With bareknuckle, you also can’t really put your everything into a punch or you’re just going to obliterate your hand. There is a little bit of pulling back.”
And, in line with Teterault’s beliefs, Trout wants to be seen as one of the first legends in the new batch.
“Like Ken Shamrock or Royce Gracie [early MMA stars], the beginning days of the UFC, I want to be known as that,” Trout said. “I did my thing in boxing and I’m very proud of my accolades, but my energy is focused more on BKFC because I believe I have the tools and the longevity to become a legend in this and a pioneer. Put my name on the Mount Rushmore.”
Malignaggi, 44, admitted that some of the lure of bareknuckle boxing was ego.
“The all-eyes-on-you, that is the pinnacle rush,” he says.
“There is right time at the right place [of boxers going to bareknuckle]. It’s also, that’s your skill. You know how to fight, you have hand skills. This is a sport where hand skills can benefit you. It’s not a guarantee but hand skills will benefit you. Having them is definitely something that will help you. So as a boxer you have hand skills and you say, ‘You know what? Yeah, I’ll do it.’ You’ve also got to be a little bit more crazy. But I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon, I grew up in Brooklyn, in a hardened up Brooklyn, New York. It’s not in the New York now. It’s not the Brooklyn, New York, now full of hipsters. I grew up in the heart in Brooklyn, New York. That’s what got me my start in fighting to begin with. I came from that generation and became a boxer. So I’ve been in street fights and had my share of them. So this kind of thing is not something foreign to me. It does have the feel of a street-fighting mentality. But, again, your hand skills help you even in the street. You don’t sit there boxing and setting traps and counter punching in the street, right? And I think bareknuckle is the same thing. You’re more attack-minded rather than being patient. It’s a shorter fight, but the hand skills you possess still help.”
Heavyweight Browne said some fighters might head into bareknuckle fights to keep busy as they await boxing dates. With many stars boxing only once or twice a year, it allows them time to fight elsewhere.
Browne actually started in MMA and went into boxing. He also had a kickboxing fight.
“For me, it was more of a, why not? Give it a go, it looks fun, and it’s still fighting in probably the purest essence of it,” said the big Australian. “I thought, give it a go, see what happens, and here we are. A million percent [there’s a] difference [with boxing], because it’s real. That’s the best way to describe it, it’s actually a real fight. I had my bareknuckle, I went to the UK, right? So I spent quite a few weeks in the UK. I had an exhibition bout, which was fun. I then got linked up with the BKB, so I’ve had the bareknuckle fight, and for the first time in many years, I had that anxious anxiety. I don’t know what you’d call it, like I was just almost scared, I suppose, like I was just like, ‘Shit, this is real.
“I had the fight, the fight was great, I had actually a great time, it was good fun. Then I went to Germany, I had a boxing fight, and my mind went straight back into boxing. So like, you can get hit, it’s fine [with gloves on], and et cetera, et cetera.
“I lost that fight because I just allowed him to punch, and I just went back into that boxing mind. Now, when it comes to bareknuckle, there’s no way in hell I want to get hit. I’m going to do everything I can to not get hit. I think that’s what makes the big difference in regards to, it’s fully real… like a jab can just split you open. It’s very real.”
Browne doesn’t see bareknuckle taking over or replacing anything, but he does predict its continued growth.
“You can have another avenue, but without interrupting each other, I think it’s a good thing, to be honest,” he said.
“I think it, yeah, it sort of gives you another avenue that they can stay busy, obviously, and it’s not affecting their record. I think that’s always a good thing as well. So if you want to keep your record and stay busy fighting, you can still have that. It’s sort of a variation almost of the unlicensed sort of scene. So like, you can still do it, but it doesn’t affect your actual boxing record, which I think is great. I always think it’s good to have another avenue. I want to stay busy.”
Browne is 46 now. He knows the timer is running out on his career and he knows he will miss the buzz of combat, whether he’s wearing gloves or not.
“But there’s always something to do,” he says.
“At some point just accept, okay, you know what? I don’t feel old, but I’m getting older obviously. It’s life, you know what I mean?”
In September, Browne stopped Corey Harrison in two rounds in Bristol, England. On Saturday, he faces dangerous Cuban puncher Gustavo Trujillo (9-0, 8 KOs as a pro and 7-0, 7 KOs in bareknuckle) at the Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pines, Florida for the BKB heavyweight title.
He knows the risks of fighting on too long, too. He’s been fighting one way or another for 16 years and reckons his speech has deteriorated by five per cent.
“I’m not in it for too much longer. I’m not stupid enough to continuously get beat around the head. I can still have a conversation, but yeah, I’m not stupid in thinking that this is a forever thing because it’s just what happens,” he says.
Of course, fighters often fight until the wheels come off – or at least until they become rickety – but bareknuckle is giving fighters another outlet.
Some might deride it as brutal and bloody, but it is serving a niche and growing rapidly. And those involved now are getting in on the ground floor. What their ceiling is remains to be seen.
