Will Bare-Knuckle Event Happen Tonight?
A bare-knuckle boxing event is scheduled to take place tonight in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Will it? Who knows. We haven’t touched this with a 10-foot pole till now for the simple reason that promoter Dave Feldman and his organization Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) has been responsible for more fizzes than sloe gin when it comes to putting on bare-knuckle events. So the proof will be in the pudding, or in this case, the pummeling.
Also concerning is BKFC has been promoting tonight as the first legal bare-knuckle event since 1889. As any reader of the Police Gazette knows, the 1889 event was not legal in any way, shape, or form–John L. Sullivan was arrested afterward–and the only sanctioning body involved was the Police Gazette itself. So a little truth in advertising would be appreciated.
Current Police Gazette World Heavyweight bare-knuckle champ Bobby Gunn is scheduled to participate tonight in a non-title bout. Others scheduled on the card include former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez and UFC female flyweight competitor Bec Rawlings.
Chairman of the Wyoming Combat Sports Commission Bryan Pedersen pointed out the main reason for agreeing to sanction bare knuckle was that “it was already happening. There have been 2 to 12 events a year for the past eight years,” in the state of Wyoming. Many of these legal, if unregulated, events have been put on by local Wyoming promoter Corey Williams, who will be presenting his own newly regulated promotion on June 23rd. Also read our article about Wyoming’s road to legalization.
So here we are. We will report on whatever happens tonight, sink or swim. But we will keep our fingers crossed for the overall health of the sport of professional bare-knuckle boxing.
Police Gazette World Heavyweight champ Bobby Gunn