By Guest Columnist, James Bovington

Bare knuckle boxer Liam ‘Rocky’ Rees returned triumphant to Swansea from Leeds on 13th October after his victory over veteran Yorkshire bare knuckle fighter Scott McHugh.

In the main event at BYB32 The Leeds Brawl, held at the John Charles Centre, Rees became the world champion and holder of the elite title Police Gazette Diamond Belt at super welterweight which had first been awarded in 1882.

“Winning this world title belt is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in the sport,” says Rees, 30.

“Being the underdog, I came to McHugh’s home city to fight the best.

“I can’t be underestimated anymore. I’m hoping this leads to lucrative fights in North America and more title belts coming to Wales.”

Bare knuckle fights are often a blood-shedding affair and two minutes into what was scheduled as six three-minute rounds, Rees had been cut under his left eye and blood dripped from his opponent’s nose.

By the end of round two the Swansea boxer’s face was swollen and bloody with the crowd shouting ecstatically for home fighter McHugh.

“Bare knuckle can turn on one punch,” explains Rees.

“Shortly into the third I sent him to the canvas as I countered with what turned out to be an excellently placed right hand punch.

“Scott didn’t make the count. My supporters went mad. But there’s no animosity. Scott McHugh deserves his place in the Bare-Knuckle Hall of Fame, and I hope to join him there.

“It was an honour to share the bare-knuckle trigon, our boxing ring, with Scott and we chatted amicably after it was over. It was an intense, positive and exhilarating experience for both of us and hopefully exciting and enthralling for the audience.”

BYB was set up as BKB in 2014 by Jim Freeman Dove. BYB Promotions has been a joint UK-US venture since 2022.

Dove, 47, manages the promotion in the UK and will stage BYB 36 in Cardiff on 1st February.

“I enjoyed the testosterone-fuelled atmosphere of hard men fighting bare knuckle in hay bales but saw that to grow the sport it needed to become more family-friendly and care better for the fighters and to do so it would need to cast off its dubious image,” explains Dove.

“We’ve made it a professional outfit. We’ve had no serious injuries in a hundred shows and foremost is our duty of care to the fighters.

“You’ll find experienced referees and the most qualified medical staff at our events.”

“Bare knuckle is gladiatorial and appears more dangerous than gloved boxing with injuries such as lacerations being much more dramatic.

“However, fights are relatively short thus reducing head trauma. Few bouts go the full distance of normally a maximum of five two-minute rounds.

“Many fighters have appeared in up to thirty shows and from the outset are earning more and getting better promotion with more challenging fights than gloved boxers at similar career stages.

“Knowing they’re professional athletes on professional shows enhances commitment to BYB and assists fighters like Liam lead balanced lives. Liam will now be meeting the best from around the world.”

“I’d won my previous three bare knuckle bouts with BKB and been their British champion twice,” says Rees.

“I switched to bare knuckle having won thirteen gloved boxing matches. I got interested through bare knuckle fighter Daniel Lerwell who arranged for me to get on a show.

“I’m so grateful to him. I love the bare-knuckle world and feel at home in our triangular ring, the trigon.

“The adrenalin-based excitement and exhilaration felt by everyone at a bare-knuckle show is much more intense than in gloved boxing.

“It’s scary as you’ve no idea how you’ll emerge from a bout. Neither Scott nor I left the trigon unscathed. Literally anything can happen.”

Rees is trained by Jason and Kienan Williams.

“It was an honour for us to get this opportunity,” Jason stated after the fight.

“We always knew Liam’s potential. Our training doesn’t follow traditional boxing methods. We’ve developed, adapted and continually improved our approach over time.

“In Leeds Liam showed the bare-knuckle world the extent to which he’s a force to be reckoned with. This victory is still relatively early in his career.

“This was only his seventeenth fight and fourth bare knuckle bout. There is just so much more to come.”

“Liam showed the full package in his Leeds bout,” Kienan Williams adds.

“We saw how mature a fighter he’s become as he displayed perfectly the technique drilled in the training camp.”

Swansea’s Rees grew up in Trallwn and now lives with his wife, two young children and teenage niece in Townhill and runs his own building and home improvements company.

“I’ve had dark periods in my life and struggled with addiction,” Rees reveals.

“Bare knuckle fighting set me free. For me, it’s the best therapy. I’m indebted to my wife Emma. She’s never given up on me and has always encouraged me with boxing.

“I’ve got two remaining bouts on my contract with BYB including one in America. I’m keen to get there and take on one of their tasty fighters. It’s all possible thanks to the generosity of my sponsors.”

Promoters and proponents of bare-knuckle boxing claim that it is the world’s fastest-growing combat sport and that a more professional approach centred on career for the fighters has created what is now a jealously guarded and much-vaunted respectability, allowing some fighters at least to realise their dreams.

What is certainly true is that the physical courage, ambition and honesty of the fighters has made many convert to a sport in which bravery shown in battle makes brutal brutality beautiful.

Photo Credit: Nick Ledger

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