The WBKBA Launches The First Sanctioned Bare Knuckle Boxing Association

Last year the WBKBA—World Bare Knuckle Boxing Association—made history as it held the first sanctioned bare knuckle boxing bout since BKB legend John L. Sullivan fought an epic 75-round contest against Jake Kilrain, winning by knockout and retiring the last heavyweight champion.

In August of 2011, in the Fort McDowell Casino in Scottsdale, Arizona, former IBA Cruiserweight champion Bobby “The Celtic Warrior” Gunn defeated Richard Stewart via third round knockout to claim the vacant title and become the new world heavyweight bare knuckle boxing champion.

Gunn and his team formed the WBKBA as the first and only sanctioning body in bare knuckle boxing.

“Our goal with the WBKBA is to provide bare knuckle fighters around the world with an organization where they can legitimately compete in a sanctioned sport,” said Chris Cella, President of WBKBA.  “Moving forward in 2012 we have big plans, and in the near future we believe we can be as big—if not bigger—than gloved boxing and MMA.”

The WBKBA has already announced an upcoming show—BKB 2—to take place in either late February or early March, in which Bobby  Gunn will put his world title on the line, and Dan Batchelder will go to battle for the United States World Heavyweight BKB Championship.

Since the reemergence of the original form of combat, several big names in both the boxing and MMA world have expressed interest in BKB.  The fight sport has been featured in ESPN The Magazine, CNN, Sports Illustrated, Maxim, espn.com, and several other media outlets.

“Bare knuckle boxing is exploding on an international level,” said Cella.  “Each week we continue to get countless requests from fighters around the world asking for information on how they can get involved in BKB in their region, and we expect the forthcoming response to expand exponentially.”

Bare knuckle boxing combines the technique and strategy of a gloved boxing match with the excitement and stand-up of a MMA fight.

“BKB is going to take off big time in 2012,” said Cella.  “We have a solid team—in addition to the world heavyweight bare knuckle boxing champion—and we have some big things in the mix that are going to make BKB a household name.”

For more information on the WBKBA visit www.wbkba.com.