BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing has a new heavyweight title fight for BKB 58: Miami, and the late replacement may have made Saturday night’s main event even more intriguing.
Reigning BKB heavyweight world champion Gustavo “The Cuban Assassin” Trujillo will defend his title against multi-promotion world champion Mick “The Butcher of Shields” Terrill on Saturday, Aug. 29, at the James L. Knight Center in Miami.
Terrill accepted the BKB heavyweight championship fight on just days’ notice after original challenger Mark O’Neill was forced to withdraw due to visa issues.
Mick Terrill Steps In on Short Notice at BKB 58
Terrill was already headed to Miami, but he wasn’t supposed to fight.
Fresh off a first-round knockout of Florian De La Motte at BKB 57: London in July, Terrill was scheduled to sit ringside as a commentator for BKB 58. When he learned O’Neill was out of the heavyweight title fight, Terrill wasted little time asking the promotion for the opportunity.
BKB obliged.
“This is exactly what BKB is about. Real fighters, real fights, no waiting around,” BKB CEO David Tetreault said in a press release. “Mick Terrill wanted a world title shot, so we’re giving him one, and it doesn’t get more 50/50 than a man that brave against a champion that dangerous.”
Terrill enters the fight with an 11-2 bare-knuckle record, with all 11 victories coming by knockout. However, those numbers will be tested against a champion who has been even more destructive.
Gustavo Trujillo Puts Perfect BKB Record on the Line
Trujillo enters BKB 58: Miami with a perfect 8-0 bare-knuckle record, and all eight victories have come by first-round knockout.
“The Cuban Assassin” has established himself as BKB’s heavyweight king through a combination of speed, power and an ability to end fights before his opponents have a chance to settle in.
That makes Terrill’s decision to accept the fight on short notice particularly risky, but the challenger sees it as the opportunity he has been waiting for.
“The second I heard Mark was out, I knew this was my moment, so I demanded they put me in,” Terrill said. “I’ve always said I’ll fight any man, any time, anywhere. Here’s the proof.”
Terrill has wanted the BKB heavyweight championship for some time. Now, he has the opportunity to add another world title to his résumé and make his case as the top heavyweight in bare-knuckle boxing.
Trujillo, meanwhile, issued a much shorter warning for his new opponent.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Trujillo said. “Mick wanted this fight so badly, and now he’s got it. Eight opponents made the same mistake of getting in that ring with me and none of them saw round two.”
Yuriorkis Gamboa Makes Bare-Knuckle Debut at BKB 58
The late main-event change also reshuffles the top of the BKB 58 fight card.
Olympic gold medalist and former two-division boxing world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa will compete in the co-main event when he makes his bare-knuckle boxing debut against Yesner Talavera.
Gamboa won Olympic gold for Cuba at the 2004 Athens Games before embarking on a professional boxing career that included world championships at featherweight and junior lightweight. Now, the longtime Miami resident will transition to bare-knuckle boxing in front of a hometown crowd.
The BKB 58: Miami card also features the BKB debut of former UFC and PFL fighter Aspen Ladd, who takes on Bianca Daimoni. Robert Duran Jr., the son of legendary boxing champion Roberto Duran, will also compete when he faces Ryan Spivey.
But the spotlight will be firmly on the heavyweights when the final bell approaches Saturday night.
Terrill was supposed to be talking about the fights from ringside. Instead, he will walk into the BKB 58 main event with an opportunity to leave Miami as heavyweight world champion.
To do it, he will have to accomplish something no opponent has managed through Trujillo’s first eight bare-knuckle fights: survive the champion’s opening-round assault and find a way to beat “The Cuban Assassin.”
With 19 combined knockout victories and neither man accustomed to hearing a final bell after a win, Gustavo Trujillo vs. Mick Terrill has all the ingredients for a violent conclusion to BKB’s latest trip to Miami.