At BKB 16 on March 30th, Brad Pickett will come out of retirement and make his BKB™ debut against fellow England native Mark Handley in a main event British title fight.
Adam LeBarr is the BKB™ Staff Writer
As the countdown continues, BKB 16 is fast approaching, which will be BKB™‘s biggest fight card to date. Featuring the main event British championship bout between Brad Pickett, who is a UFC legend, and the more experienced bare-knuckle brawler, Mark Handley, the upcoming PPV card will also hold three additional title fight.
Following a loss to Marlon Vera in March of 2017, Pickett would announce his retirement from combat sports. While he remained active in regards to training and working along side the up-and-comers of mixed martial arts, it wouldn’t be until now that ‘One Punch’ would announce the end of his retirement, only this time he’ll be competing in bare-knuckle boxing for the English promotion.
Welcoming Pickett to the BKB ring at the O2 Arena in London, England, is Handley, who holds a professional bare-knuckle boxing record of 2-0-1. Having competed in mixed martial arts, holding a losing record, it wasn’t until Handley tried his hands at the newly legalized sport where he would find success, yet to face defeat.
Four Champions will be Crowned, Prize Fighter Finals to be Set
While Jim Freeman Dove and Joe Brown-Smith (BKB™ co-owners) announced the main-event, in addition to that, there will also be three more title fights, as well as the semi-finals of the Prize Fighter tournament, the winner receiving £10,000, which converts to roughly $13,000 USD.
In the co-main event, Marc Navarro will take on Sean George for the British title.
Navarro is coming off of a BKB 15 main-event loss to Tyler Goodjohn, a fight that has gathered more than 500,000 views on YouTube.
With no victory in his first outing, Navarro is a former kickboxing champion, and though he wound up on the losing end of his last contest, he will look to break into the win column with a title wrapped around his waist. However, he will be taking on the more experienced Sean George, who holds a record of 8-3-2 in BKB, and is 6-1 in kick boxing.
A working and family man, George somehow finds time to remain one of the most active athletes in bare-knuckle boxing. A former British and World champion for BKB™, George has his eyes set on taking back what was his.
It was originally Tyler Goodjohn who was to move forward with this title fight, but after sustaining a hand injury in his fight with Navarro it would force the former boxing champion to sit out, while Marc received the opportunity.
Navarro eyes a rematch with Goodjohn should he leave BKB 16 the British champion.
Daniel Lerwell (2-0) vs. CJ Mills (2-0) and Mark Godbeer (BKB debut) vs. Mickey Parker (4-1) will also be for British championship titles.
If you thought that wasn’t enough, BKB 16 will also host the Prize Fighter semi-finals, where Ricardo Franco meets Connor Tierney, and ‘Smudger’ Smith takes on James Connelly. The winner of the finals at the June 8 show will be crowned the tournament champion, receiving the Jack Broughton trophy and the prize money.
BKB 16 Finalized Fight Card Order
Preliminaries:
Martin Orsuliak vs. Rob Boardman
Will Chope vs. Barrie Jones
Eric Olsen vs. Greg Mayne
Paul Stredder vs. Scott McHugh
Jack Draper vs. Mason Shaw
Mark Godbeer vs. Mickey Parker – British Title
Pay-Per-View Card, Prize Fighter Semi-Finals:
Ricardo Franco vs. Connor Tierney
‘Smudger’ Smith vs. James Connelly
Daniel Lerwell vs. CJ Mills – British Title
Marc Navarro vs. Sean George – British Title
Brad Pickett vs. Mark Handley – British Title
Looking back on BKB 15, Tyler Goodjohn vs. Marc Navarro
