WBKBII bare-knuckle boxing show in Workington 'raises bar'

The WBKBII event at Lillyhall saw a host of bare-knuckle contests in front of a sell-out audience.

It was the second such event staged in recent months and its success has set the stage for more in the future.

“We feel like we raised the bar with this show,” said Peter Gilmour, part of the organising team.

It was the second big bare-knuckle event held in west Cumbria (Image: Ray Paterson - Mondo Ghecko Photography)

“It was a step up from the first one – a really high-quality night of fights, and some fantastic fighters on display.

“The whole production values of the show were on the next level – the visuals, the sound too. It was a high-quality night in front of a sold-out crowd. We couldn’t be more proud of what we achieved.”

The top-of-the-bill fight saw Maryport-based Bartek ‘Polish Plough’ Kanabey defeat Nathan Thompson by technical knock-out in the first round to claim the WBKB British featherweight title.

That saw Kanabey become a double champion, having dropped a weight division following his lightweight victory at the first WBKB event last year.

Bartek Kanabey, who became a double WBKBII champion (Image: Ray Paterson - Mondo Ghecko Photography)

“He’s a fantastic fighter and, more than that, he’s an even better human being,” said Gilmour.

“He’s one of the loveliest fellas you could wish to meet and you couldn’t begrudge him any of the success that comes his way.”

Kanabey has now secured a fight on the BKFC card in Milton Keynes on April 6, when he will take on the experienced Bakhtyor Kudratov in a lightweight bout.

"We're very proud he’s come through our ranks in WBKB and is going to fight on the biggest stage of all," added Gilmour.

Seven other fights featured on the night with Jack Dugdale defeating Andy Walsh to claim the WBKB British welterweight title.

“It wasn’t without its challenges – we lost two fighters on Friday night, which was difficult, because we had to find two short-notice replacements. And the sport of bare-knuckle boxing isn’t always easy to do that,” added Gilmour.

“One of the guys we called was Andy Walsh – he’d brought his girlfriend to the Lake District for a break, we knew he was in the area, so we tested the water with him, and he replied saying, ‘I am on holiday, but I have brought my gumshield with me’.

“He stepped in and did a fantastic job – he was unsuccessful in his fight but to step in as he did was fantastic.”

Danny Christie, Carlisle's BKFC British champion, was one of the referees at the west Cumbrian event (Image: Ray Paterson - Mondo Ghecko Photography)

Workington’s Dan Park was also among the night’s winners as he defeated Shaun Kissane by TKO in round one.

Whitehaven’s Grant Hocking was successful in his fight against Bobby Wilson, also achieving TKO in the first round.

Another west Cumbrian victory saw Connor Hetherington see off Ashley Sanderson by first round TKO.

Gilmour also praised the sell-out crowd for their part in making it a special evening at CRL, Lillyhall.

“We went through the night without a single incident. That’s what we’re aiming for,” he said.

“You can’t always predict what’s going to happen. Sometimes even at the most high profile events at places like Wembley you can see people misbehaving, but our crowd were immaculate in how they behaved, how they respected the show and all the fights, and we had a trouble free night.

“That made it. We’d like to thank them for coming out and supporting us as they did.”

Carlisle’s BKFC British light-heavyweight champion Danny Christie was one of the referees.

And Joe Egan, former sparring partner of Mike Tyson, was the special guest at the event.

“Joe Egan had time to talk and have photos with everybody, and did a full talk on the Sunday too,” Gilmour said.

Joe Egan was special guest in west Cumbria (Image: Ray Paterson - Mondo Ghecko Photography)

“He was one of the most humble and genuine and impressive human beings I’ve ever had the privilege to have come across.

“He’s lived an extraordinary life yet he’s so humble and grounded and had so much time for everyone at the event – we were honoured to have him there.”

Organisers are now planning to grow the event further, with a third event likely to be staged in west Cumbria in August, along with plans for future shows in other parts of the county.

“Everything’s growing now because of the hard work as a team we’ve put in – myself, Kevin Thompson, his wife Kelly, aided and abetted by Ross Allan,” Gilmour said.

“The first show we struggled to attract fighters,  we were a bit out on a limb, whereas now we’ve got lots of prestigious companies wanting to sponsor the event, and lots of fighters asking when the next event will be.

“I think word on how we treat fighters gets around.

“The third one will most likely be in west Cumbria as well, but we’re looking forward to spreading the net to places like Barrow, Carlisle, Penrith, and being a show that represents the whole of the county.

Organisers are planning another event in west Cumbria later this year and also want to stage more events across the county (Image: Ray Paterson - Mondo Ghecko Photography)

“The focus will remain on quality over quantity – we’d rather do fewer shows and make sure it’s a fantastic product everyone wants to know, rather than diluting the quality.

“When we first started, there was no guarantee it would succeed – but through hard work, dedication and ability, basically, we’re where we’re at and as a team we’re so proud of what we’ve achieved. It’s fair to say we’re all overwhelmed by it.”

WBKBII RESULTS

Richard Hodgson defeated Jimmy Wilson by KO (R1)

Gary Taylor defeated Matt Sutton by unanimous decision

Russell Burns defeated Jamie Christopher by TKO (R1)

Jack Dugdale defeated Andy Walsh by TKO (R1)

Connor Hetherington defeated Ashley Sanderson by TKO (R1)

Mani Hameed defeated Gav Stafford by TKO (R1)

Grant Hocking defeated Bobby Wilson by TKO (R1)

Dan Park defeated Shaun Kissane by TKO (R1)

Bartek Kanabey defeated Nathan Thompson by TKO (R1)