After months of waiting, Terrill vs Rothwell has been made!
On December 6th, during the broadcast of BKFC 69 in Atlanta, Georgia, it was announced that BKFC Heavyweight Champion Mick Terrill (9-1, 8 KO) would defend his title against Ben Rothwell (3-0, 3 KO). The colossal clash is set to be the co-main event of KnuckleMania V in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 25th, 2025.
Interestingly, the last time we saw either fighter was also at a KnuckleMania event—the fourth installment of the tradition, which took place in April of this year. But the similarities don’t stop there. Both of their bouts at KnuckleMania IV ended rather unceremoniously. Terrill’s opponent, Lorenzo Hunt, landed awkwardly on his arm after a knockdown, dislocating his elbow and leaving a nasty visual for the fans. Rothwell faced Todd Duffee, who was making his bare-knuckle debut. Duffee was stopped in the first round, motioning to the referee that he had a shoulder injury, which led to a fired-up Rothwell in the post-fight interview.
Terrill has more bare-knuckle experience of the two, with over 10 fights, (depending on the source). However, with Rothwell’s extensive MMA career, he boasts a stronger strength of schedule.
Despite being two of the best heavyweights in the sport, these aren’t one-punch knockout artists. Terrill is very technical, especially given his size. With great accuracy and good footwork, it’s easy to see how he’s given so many heavyweights trouble over his 10+ fight career.
Rothwell is obviously very physically imposing, standing at 6'4" and last weighing in at 275-lbs. With a background in MMA, he’s no stranger to the clinch, but his best asset is his fast hands. With enough power coming from his frame, his quick punch combinations have resulted in stoppages in all three of his bare-knuckle wins.
This heavyweight donnybrook will be joining an already stacked card at KnuckleMania, which includes Eddie Alvarez vs. Jeremy Stephens as the main event, as well as a women’s division showdown between two pillars of the sport Taylor Starling and Bec Rawlings.
It’s already been confirmed that Terrill and Rothwell will take their place as the co-main event. Given the reception of Ben Rothwell into bare-knuckle boxing and the respect already held towards Mick Terrill, this will be the perfect bout to keep the crowd going into the main event.
Top Photo Courtesy of BKFC.
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