Whitehaven set for major bare-knuckle boxing WBKB event

The fast-growing sport will be showcased at the WBKB night at the Copeland Stadium.

It will see a ten-fight card which will feature ex-professional fighters as well as local talent.

Organiser Kevin Thompson, a former British bare-knuckle champion from Whitehaven, believes the event will be a big hit for the area.

“Bare-knuckle is one of the fastest-growing sports we’ve got,” he said.

“It’s something I’m passionate about and we want to bring it to Cumbria.

“It’s something we really hope will take off here.”

Saturday night’s event, Thompson added, will also hopefully bust some myths regarding the bare-knuckle scene.

Copeland Stadium will host the event (Image: WBKB)

He said it will highlight the professionalism of the sport, while the evening will also promote men’s mental health.

“What we’re trying to show is it’s not this brutal sport some people think – two lads going in having a scrap. It’s not,” he said.

“They’re highly trained people. It’s a gentleman’s sport. We had a podcast with Ollie Lawrence and Kearon Thomas the other day and there was respect between them. They go in, respect each other, have the fight, shake hands and the best man wins.

“We’re promoting well-being too. Andy’s Man Club are coming and we’re promoting the idea that lads can talk to each other.

“You hear of all kinds of tragedies connected to mental health and we are very big on promoting the need for lads to talk, as well as giving them something to focus on, something to train towards.”

Lawrence versus Thomas is top of the bill in a British middleweight title fight.

Thompson himself is a veteran of the bare-knuckle scene, having first fought Goran Reljic in Liverpool before bouncing back from defeat to beat Mason Shaw in London to win the British Cruiserweight title.

He said that, since his own fighting career ended, he was always keen on setting up an event such as this.

“We’ve got ten amazing fights,” he added.

“The fighters we’ve got have backgrounds of MMA, ex-professional boxers, a couple of lads who’ve fought in BKB and BKFC on televised shows.

“We’ve gone beyond with the lighting, the music, and we’ve got some special guests.”

Those guests include Carlisle’s British bare-knuckle BKFC light-heavyweight champion Danny Christie and BKFC boss Andy Bakewell.

Danny Christie, the BKFC light-heavyweight champion from Carlisle, will be one of the guests at the Whitehaven event (Image: BKFC)

Compere on the night will be Ross Allan from the In The Red Korner podcast, with Louis Hoggett from The Fuse podcast set to live-stream the event and interview fighters.

“We’ve got some good local lads on show too, the likes of Dan Park, Russell Burns, Phil Flavell…they’re well trained and diverse in what they do,” added Thompson, who hopes it will be the first of many such events.

“This is something we want to grow,” he said. “I want this to be a televised show eventually, so we can really show our local talent.

“People rule us out up here – they don’t realise the local talent we’ve got.

“It opens massive markets for Whitehaven, to show the talent we’ve got. It’s something we all want to take off.”

Some of the belts up for grabs at the Whitehaven bare-knuckle show (Image: WBKB)

Sponsors for the event include Paton Bros Scaffolding Ltd, Maxwell Flooring, Xtreme Fitness, Eilbeck Motors, J Hogg, Lee Mawdsley Photography, Instablinds, Energy Wise Plumbing and Heating, Little Vape Cave, Robinsons Joiners, Builders and Maintenance Contractors and Malibu Sunset Tanning Studio.

There will also be an auction on the night, with Manchester United’s Whitehaven-born goalkeeper Dean Henderson having donated a signed jersey and gloves.

Thompson said VIP tickets are sold out but some standard tickets are still available. They are £40 and can be bought via the WBKB’s Facebook or Instagram pages or directly via Kevin on 07568729822

Doors open at 5pm with the first fight at 6pm.