A heart breaker for bare knuckle fans, here’s everything we know.
F$%K!!! Just days before BYB 35, headlined by the monumental rematch between LT Nelson and James Connelly, news broke early this morning that the fight is off.
A shock to Bare Knuckle Nation and fans everywhere, the rematch more than a year in the making, was scrapped. Taking what we can from social media posts made by both fighters, here’s what happened.
Connelly’s instagram post stated the New Mexico Athletic Commission stated the championship clash between the two needed to be five three-minute rounds not six. Connelly stated he accepted the round reduction no problem, and even stated eight rounds was an option, which he also accepted.
He then tossed the blame to LT, stating it was him that wouldn’t accept the new terms, and even added a little jab at Nelson, to quote directly “Should be ashamed of himself, Mr. Pound for Pound!”
Connelly would further that statement going on to say
“I’m not gonna talk about all the work I’ve done for this fight alone, mostly everyone’s seen it but to do this two days before the fight is taking the absolute p*ss for the reason he’s done it going back and forth for three days about whether he will take the fight or not! I’m halfway across the world, ready to fight! On weight! And Nelson’s went running literally, if I don’t laugh I’ll cry.”
Now there are two sides to every story and around the same time Connelly’s statement Nelson put out his own, stating that the commission “blindsided” BYB with the stipulation the fight must be five rounds and not six.
He would also share he didn’t just straight up refuse to continue with the fight, but it was the title itself that was holding things up. LT stated he offered Connelly a five-round main event with an immediate rematch clause for a title fight regardless of the outcome of the five rounder. Meaning Connelly could win, lose, or draw and would still get his rematch with Nelson for the belt. He would finish his statement by giving his main reason for not accepting the five round stipulation.
“We did everything we could to accommodate this unfortunate situation. However in our opinion to protect the integrity of the BYB Extreme Fighting Series championship a title fight needs to be six rounds.”
Below is BYB’s official statement provided to Bare Knuckle Nation by Don Povia.
The scheduled main event for January 11’s BYB 35 Albuquerque Brawl, the long-awaited rematch between Super Middleweight Champion LT Nelson and James Connelly, has been postponed to a later date.
The match, announced two months ago, was scheduled for six, three-minute rounds (as all BYB men’s championship fights are) in alignment with the ABC’s Unified Rules of Bare Knuckle fighting. This week, the New Mexico Athletic Commission informed BYB that they have not yet adopted the Unified Rules, and as such, could not approve a six-round fight.
Rather than immediately cancel the title fights, BYB gave participants in both of the bouts the option of fighting a five-round fight for the title. Walter Saravia and Javon Wright were willing to accept the terms, however an agreement was unable to be reached between Nelson and Connelly.
While this is obviously extremely disappointing for the fans, the fighters and the promotion, given the intensity and outcome of the initial Nelson/Connelly matchup, and each fighter’s status in the sport, we respect their decision and BYB plans to reschedule the match as soon as possible.
~
While the rest of the BYB 35 card is still on, this is a big disappointment to start the year. To put a positive spin on things Connelly has gone off on social media targeting LT all day, meaning the buildup will be even better once this gets rescheduled!
Top Photo Courtesy of BYB.
Commentaires