The Godfather of Bareknuckle Boxing
John L. Sullivan was once generally considered to be the last heavyweight bare-knuckle boxing champion. He held this title in the late 19th century and compiled an impressive tally of 47-1-2 with 38 knockouts. He’s a significant figure in boxing history as he also became the first recognized heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules, which introduced gloved boxing.
The Rumble in Richburg Makes History
Sullivan participated in a fight on July 8, 1889 known as one of the last major bareknuckle fights in the history of the first generation of the sport in America. The “Rumble in Richburg” took place in Mississippi and saw Sullivan victorious in round 75 against Jake Kilrain (who had a record of 20-0-9 at the time).
Sullivan had only previously fought into the 10th round twice and fought 39 rounds to a draw in France against Charley Mitchell (24-2-11 at the time) in his last fight. Kilrain’s last competitive action before the Sullivan bout was a long fight, too. British bareknuckle phenom Jem Smith battled him over 106 rounds in December of 1887. Eventually the contest had to be stopped and called a draw due to darkness.
Bareknuckle Boxing Fades Away After Sullivan’s Retirement
Sullivan took his first loss in the 21st round of his final official fight against “Gentleman” Jim Corbett three years after that Richburg marathon fight with Kilrain. Corbett retired Sullivan and carried “The Boston Strongboy” and his fighting legacy forward. Corbett proceeded to build his own legacy as the lineal champ and the only man to ever beat John L. Sullivan.
Sullivan quietly left the world inside the ropes and became a celebrity legend known for heavy drinking and revelry. Gloved boxing then basically took over the combat sports spotlight for decades and generations.
Feldman Re-invents and Revolutionizes the Bareknuckle Concept
Over seven long years of lobbying and legal wrangling, David Feldman kept getting turned away every time he approached potential regulators of a new form of bareknuckle boxing he envisioned. He was 0-28 in his cross-country tour to find one athletic commission to sanction his gamble on history.
Most officials thought even the adapted rules and shorter fight formats he proposed for the new version of an old, often barbaric sport would result in far too much violence and blood. He would eventually land in Wyoming where state officials welcomed his idea and paved the way for his recycled bareknuckle fighting concept to move forward.
Feldman brought bareknuckle boxing back from the grave at his first Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship event in the summer of 2018.
He also brought it out of the illegal shadows at the same time. Kilrain and Sullivan were actually arrested for participating in their epic 75-round “Rumble in Richburg” slugfest. The sport existed in secret warehouses and thrived underground for long over a century before Feldman committed himself to legalizing it.
The promotion can now boast this claim on their home page: “Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is the first promotion in the U.S. since 1889 to hold legal and regulated bare knuckle events.”
BKFC’s Early Struggles
It was not all lollipops and roses for Feldman in the early days, and he routinely talks about all the times the promotion almost went under. Feldman even fell out of favor with fans and regulators once for threatening to give half a main event fighter’s purse to his opponent in a reverse bonus scenario back in 2019.
Fast forward another seven years from that first BKFC event, and Feldman is now partners with the UFC’s own “Notorious” Conor McGregor (22-6) and on top of the Bareknuckle boxing world.
Oh, and there are always copycats chomping on his coattails. One of the only outfits to get a decent foothold to compete with BKFC so far is Back Yard Brawl (BYB). The organization actually had to acquire their own competitor to get there. Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB) ended up getting folded right into Back Yard Brawl, much like Strikeforce and the UFC merged years ago.
Though McGregor might be happy to take the credit for the viral phenomenon BKFC has become in this day and age, Feldman really deserves the most accolades for all this accelerated growth. The fighters he’s assembled also deserve some supreme recognition for embracing the challenge of an entirely new sport, as most of them are crossing over from boxing or MMA circles these days. UFC veterans are now flocking to the sport in droves.
One BKFC Fighter Comes Full Circle
Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens (29-22 in MMA and 4-0 in bareknuckle) is the first bareknuckle brawler to be asked to come back to the UFC recently. He appeared on a stacked card at UFC on ESPN 67 in Des Moines, Iowa earlier this month in a rough and tumble loss to UFC prospect Mason Jones (16-2, 1 NC). The cage rust was definitely a factor for Stephens once he was in the Octagon again, but he grinded his way through the bout and reached the final bell with the much younger Wales, England native. He represented bareknuckle boxing with complete class and sportsmanship in the process.
Stephens goes back to the roped circle of BKFC now with his undefeated record there still intact and even a potential Conor McGregor “red panty night” in the not-so-distant future to hope for. Stephens earned McGregor’s attention after his last bareknuckle performance earlier this year.
KNUCKLEMANIA V Skyrockets Bareknuckle’s Stock
McGregor, the part owner of the BKFC itself with fights still left on his UFC contract, watched in person as Stephens decisively demolished UFC veteran Eddie Alvarez (30-8 in MMA, 1-2 in bareknuckle) in his own “back yard” at KnuckleMania V in Philadelphia on Jan. 25
Those who were in attendance heavily favored their native son Alvarez. They were not happy with the homewrecking result in the main event, but McGregor turned them up a notch when he sauntered into the ring and right over to Stephens to face off. He then offered his trademark “who the fu$% is this guy” line and told Stephens, Feldman, and the rest of those watching that Stephens was just the kind of guy he’d want to fight himself in bareknuckle. “Let’s make a date. Let’s set a date,” he bellowed across the arena.
The headlining fight of KnuckleMania V was just the tip of the iceberg of a well-promoted and even more well-received card full of exciting bareknuckle battles. The co-main event saw longtime MMA veteran “Big” Ben Rothwell (39-14 MMA, 4-0 Bareknuckle) capturing the organization’s heavyweight belt with a 36-second knockout of Mick Terrill (9-2 Bareknuckle). The bout ended swiftly with a Rothwell right hand from hell.
Only two fights didn’t end by stoppage on that wild Philadelphia night with six straight fights on the undercard not making it through the third round. One of the only fights that did get to the final bell was a five-round unanimous decision win for “Rowdy” Bec Rawlings (8-9 MMA and 4-3 bareknuckle). She beat challenger Taylor “Killa Bee” Starling (4-4 bareknuckle) in a one-sided fight where Rawlings was the busier and more accurate fighter. Rawlings, a native of Tasmania, has been with the promotion since day one.
Growing Stronger Every Day
Just after KnuckleMania V, a British newspaper called BKFC “the fastest growing promotion in the world” in a report about a sellout crowd watching a bareknuckle card in Manchester, England this past February. Then it was back to Philadelphia in March where two BKFC fighters scored stunning knockouts within the opening ten seconds of their back-to-back bouts. Every show produces new viral video clips thanks to the non-stop action the sport offers spectators.
Rising ticket sales, increasingly positive fan reaction, phenomenal fights and a lucrative broadcast deal with DAZN have all contributed to the current success of BKFC and the sport of bareknuckle boxing in general. This feels so much like that “meteoric rise” they used to talk about when the UFC was still growing into the powerhouse conglomerate company it is today.
Sullivan’s legacy still lives on mightily in the spirits of every bareknuckle boxer who toes the line to “knuckle up” for a BKFC event these days. The world has simply fallen in love with this new old classic. It’s all thanks to Feldman and the collective efforts of his organization’s dedicated fighters who so effectively resurrected such a long dead enterprise.
John L. Sullivan would be proud of what’s become of the sport that made him so famous all those years ago. He would certainly be saluting David Feldman’s fine example of grit, determination, and smart business sense if he were here to witness a BKFC event today. One would surmise that he would probably get along great with fellow Irishman Conor McGregor, too! They were both cut from the same braggadocious cloth and took over their respective sports with supremely dominant performances in their prime fighting days.
The sport of bareknuckle boxing could not be in better hands these days as the current ownership of BKFC seeks to honor, highlight and demonstrate all the reasons why the original bareknuckle scene was so legendary and newsworthy.
