Gustavo Trujillo finds himself against a multi-promotion heavyweight bare-knuckle champion this Saturday, but the unbeaten BKB heavyweight kingpin remains locked in and composed.
Trujillo will defend his BKB Police Gazette diamond belt against former BKB and BKFC titleholder Mick Terrill at BKB 58 on August 29 in Miami. Fellow BKB 58 fighter and owner of the fastest knockout in combat sports history, Uly Diaz, acted as the interpreter for the interview on Bare Knuckle Bowker that he sat down for amid fight week.
With a last-minute opponent switch from prior opponent Mark O’Neill, who had visa issues and saw Terrill get announced for the bout officially on Wednesday, Trujillo said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“He’s doing great. He’s ready and can’t wait for Saturday. He did a great camp. He’s more than ready.”
BKB 58
When touching on if this Terrill fight always seemed inevitable considering the pedigree that both of these fighters have, Trujillo stated
“Since Mick Terrill signed with BKB, he called BKB and told them that he wanted to fight Mick Terrill because he only wants to do big fights. Mick Terrill is a game guy. Leading up to fight, three fights fell through. He said I don’t know what they offered Mick Terrill or what but he took the fight and on short notice. I’ve been getting ready for a new opponent that’s standing in front of me. Saturday happens to be Mick Terrill. So I’m excited for that fight.”
There is a Cuban presence on the card with Yuriorkis Gamboa, Yampier Ramirez, and Alberto Blas, to name a few. But there’s also a huge Cuban diaspora in Miami that will be raucous at the James L. Knight Center. When touching uponthat partisan support piece here, Trujillo explained
“It means a lot to him, fighting here in Miami. We’re all land people here, where he started his career. Where everybody knows him, where everybody’s behind him. Miami is full of Cubans. It’s amazing to be fighting on this Cuban card. He feels a lot of people have his back in here this city. It’s a great fight to be fighting here in his city and especially on this card.”
Gustavo Trujillo
Trujillo also has a big gloved boxing pedigree, and the BKB CEO has indicated interest in potential cross-promotional efforts with Matchroom and Zuffa Boxing. When asked if that potential tendril intrigues him down the line if something were to pop up, Trujillo said
“He’s ranked in WBC. He’s ranked in WBO. He has a career also in glove boxing. So, if this opportunity comes, it’d be great. He’s ready for any opportunity that comes way… Anybody in the top ten of WBO. Right now he just has this fight in front of him. After he wins this fight, he definitely wants to do a glove boxing match. A big fight against a big name, somebody ranked, and defend his title and keep moving forward.”
With an 8-0 record with all first round finishes with an approach that’s never overzealous or recklessly pursuant of a knockout, when asked how he maintains that composure out there, Trujillo stated
“All that calmness comes from the hours in the gym. I study my opponent. I see what they do right. What they do wrong. We come to execute a plan and just, it’s all the experience from fighting. All the experience from being in a gym, and just all the hard work I put in brings that calmness. I never look for the knockout, and the knockout comes when it’s time.”
BKB Miami
When asked how he generally sees these tells in opposition that he can so demonstrably capitalize on, Trujillo said
“that just comes with the errors that my opponent makes. I just look for the errors, and I’m very effective when I hit somebody. So I wait, it’s a calculated move, and when he makes his wrong move, I capitalize on that and then knock him out.”
BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing
Considering Terrill’s pedigree but also how much intel he tends ot collect in round one, when ‘The Cuban Assassin’ was asked about if this could be his first bare-knuckle bout that encroaches into the second stanza, Trujillo stated that he
“Never looks for the first-round knockouts. My opponents make mistakes, and I capitalize on them, and it happens to be all first-round knockouts. Anything can happen inside of a boxing ring. Mick Terrill is a good fighter. If it goes into the second round, it goes into the second round. I’m not looking for a first-round knockout. But I am looking to force a fight. I’m going to use my feints. I’m going to put some pressure on him to fight. Once they makes a mistake, whenever the knock comes, it will come.”
Offering up parting thoughts before what is ultimately one of the most historically significant bare-knuckle boxing bouts of all time, Trujillo added
“United States, my title, Gustavo Trujillo, Champion [of] the world. ‘The Cuban Assassin’ in the house, baby. Let’s go.”
