The historical lineage of bare knuckle boxing now officially runs through BYB.
As revealed to Bare Knuckle Nation, BYB Extreme has acquired the rights to the Police Gazette Diamond Belt, the oldest prizefighting title in the world. Its lineage dates back to John L. Sullivan, who was first awarded the title in 1882. After being stripped of the title in 1887, Jake Kilrain defeated Jem Smith for the title, setting up perhaps the most famous bare-knuckle bout in history, Sullivan-Kilrain in 1889. After the bout, Gazette publisher Richard K. Fox rewarded Sullivan with a title made of 200 pounds of silver, encrusted with diamonds, setting the standard for title belts thereafter.
It's a significant historical maneuver from BYB, which recently acquired the rights to BKB, the oldest active, sanctioned bare knuckle fighting organization in the world. As a result, BYB became the largest bare knuckle boxing company on the planet in terms of roster size, footage library and quite possibly the one with best collection of talent as well. Now, it can also lay claim to having the “real” bare knuckle title attached to it as well.
Photo Courtesy: BYB
“From John L. Sullivan capturing the Police Gazette title in 1882, to his legendary 75-round, battle against Jake Kilrain in 1889, to Dada 5000’s backyard in West Perrine in the early 2000’s in Miami, to BYB’s monumental global expansion through the acquisition of BKB, the history of not just bare knuckle, but of championship prize fighting, is undeniably infused in BYB,” said BYB CEO Greg Bloom. “Fighters looking to make their name in bare knuckle fighting now only have one place to go to fight for the oldest championship belt in all of combat sports, and it’s for the largest bare knuckle fighting organization on the planet, BYB. The past, present and future of this sport runs through one bare knuckle fighting promotion, and that is BYB Extreme.”
The Police Gazette as a publication is the forefather to all boxing coverage in North America. Before RING Magazine, there was the Gazette, which was considered the United States’ authority on boxing, and for a time, all athletic coverage. As was said on Fox’s International Boxing Hall of Fame biography, no one did more to popularize boxing in the 19th century than Fox and his paper.
In more recent times, the belt itself has been convened by Scott Burt the president of the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame in Belfast, NY, which is housed on the grounds of a training barn used by Sullivan himself.
Photo Courtesy: BYB
“Upon Fox’s passing and until my succession, the Police Gazette Diamond Belt and all of its history went dormant. The decision to pass the rights to BYB came after six years of quiet research and deliberation to find a home where the legacy of the belt and sport can continue to grow and prosper. BYB’s dedication to the history and continued professionalism of bare knuckle fighting made it by far the most deserving place for future preservation of our sport’s history,” said Burt. “This has been Richard K. Fox's dream, and my dream, for all these years, to have the best fighters in the world fight under one roof, and have the Police Gazette, the umbrella over everything. The Police Gazette Diamond Belt is, by far, the best - the number one award in bare knuckle boxing, there is no second whatsoever. In fact, every single combat sport that you've ever seen where the winner has raised a belt, that belt originates from our Police Gazette Diamond Belt.”
According to BYB, the belt will begin to be awarded in September of this year, giving the company time to merge and reconcile a number of titles across BYB and what was formerly known as BKB as well. From then on, the Police Gazette Diamond Belt will be recognized as the BYB World Championship.
Beyond the historical significance of the acquisition, it’s another move that symbolically separates BYB from its main competitor BKFC. BYB has clearly taken strides to present a more classical, polished version of bare knuckle boxing, and now has direct ties to both the UK lineage of fighting, but also to the very beginnings of the sport. While BKFC has been making big publicity splashes with bombast, celebrity crossovers and more, BYB has leaned in to quality and quantity of fighters, and now with its deeper ties to the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame, has signalled a fidelity to the historical, more classical approach to the sport.
Top Photo Courtesy of BYB
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