One of the best bare knuckle fights this year goes down at BYB 30.
In May of 2024, it was announced that the historic bare knuckle organization BKB had been purchased by the North American promotion BYB Extreme. This was a groundbreaking endeavor, combining two of the three largest organizations in the world, and will lead to all kinds of exciting matchups. In fact, the first one is already here: a fight between the BKB two-division champion Barrie Jones (10-0, 9 KO’s) and BYB’s own two-division champ Lorawnt-T Nelson (5-1-1, 5 KO’s) for the Super Middleweight Police Gazette World Diamond Belt. The monumental clash will go down August 17th in Cardiff, Wales, Jones’ home country.
(Photo Courtesy: BYB Extreme)
Widely regarded as the greatest bare knuckler of the modern era, Jones carries a 10-0 record with nine knockouts. With his record alone he has a case, but combine that with his near-perfect knockout ratio and the fact he stopped Jimmy Sweeney not once but twice — one of the only other men that could challenge that claim, he’s certainly one of the best to ever do it. He came into the sport with a wealth of boxing experience, over 30 professional bouts, and that shows in his fights: a snappy jab, great footwork, and head movement. But it goes beyond his fundamentals; Jones just seems to understand bare knuckle fighting. He throws hard combinations, getting his opponents' respect early. But despite throwing heavy shots, he doesn't throw wild; everything he does is in control.
LT, on the other hand, is a dog. Tough as nails, with combat experience in nearly every form imaginable, “LT Smash” loves to fight. In bare knuckle, in particular, he is a pressure fighter with phenomenal accuracy. With the volume he has, he might not throw everything behind all of his punches, but he batters you constantly and picks his spots when to throw with power, catching his opponent when they are expecting a flurry. The chin of LT, while it's been tested, has never been cracked, meaning he will take damage to get into range. But against a guy like Jones, that could mean trouble.
(Photo Courtesy: BYB Extreme)
As previously mentioned, this fight will take place under the new BYB banner, meaning BYB rules and, of course, the mighty trigon, an important distinction from BKB, which didn't allow punches in the clinch. But this isn’t the first time Jones will fight under the BYB ruleset or inside the mighty trigon. And given his past performances, he should be champing at the bit to get back in; two trips to the Trigon and two first-round KOs.
LT also has experience against BKB fighters, with two of his bare knuckle bouts coming on foreign soil, but his toughest test came against James Connelly who holds a very similar skillset to Jones.
A fast jab and good footwork gave LT problems getting in range; however, he kept coming forward and used the active clinch perfectly, landing enough damage to bring the fight to a draw.
Since that fight, LT has learned and gone on to capture the title in two different divisions. And with his knowledge of the trigon and his experience against Connelly, he may be the one to finally tarnish the record of the legendary Jones.
It's the best of BKB vs. the best of BYB, double champ vs. double champ, and it all goes down August 17th in Cardiff.
Top Photo Courtesy of BYB Extreme.
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