BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing will make its Newcastle debut on Oct. 10, when BKB 60 takes over Utilita Arena Newcastle in England.
The promotion has announced the complete card for the event, which will now be headlined by BKB Super Welterweight World Champion Rolando “Dy Incredible” Dy defending his title against five-time BKB champion Scott “The Mute” McHugh.
Dy and McHugh replace the previously announced heavyweight main event between Mick Terrill and Kamil Sokolowski.
Terrill was originally slated to headline BKB’s Newcastle debut in his hometown, but those plans changed after the heavyweight stepped in on less than three days’ notice to face BKB Heavyweight World Champion Gustavo Trujillo at BKB 58 in Miami. Terrill suffered a cut in the fight that will not heal in time for the Oct. 10 event.
Terrill is still expected to attend BKB 60 as a special guest.
“We originally announced Newcastle with Mick Terrill headlining in his hometown, and there is no version of this card we wanted more,” BKB CEO David Tetreault stated in a press release. “Last week, on less than three days’ notice, Mick stepped in against heavyweight champion Gustavo Trujillo while he was already traveling to Miami to promote BKB 60.”
With Terrill sidelined, Dy and McHugh take center stage in a matchup between two fighters who have already collected plenty of hardware inside the bare-knuckle ranks.
Dy enters the title defense with a 6-1 bare-knuckle record and five knockouts. The son of former WBC world champion Rolando Navarrete, Dy became the first Filipino fighter to capture a BKB championship and has won six of his first seven professional bare-knuckle bouts.
His run includes victories over Liam Rees and former boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi.
McHugh brings considerably more bare-knuckle experience into the matchup. The Leeds native owns a 17-5 record with seven knockouts and is a five-time BKB champion and Bare Knuckle Hall of Fame inductee.
“The Mute” has won five consecutive fights, including three by knockout, and will attempt to add another championship to his résumé when he challenges Dy.
“Rolando Dy vs. Scott McHugh is exactly the kind of fight we want at the top of the bill for our first-ever event in Newcastle,” Tetreault said. “Dy has been on an incredible run in BKB, while McHugh is a proven champion who has been in some of the toughest fights in the history of the sport.”
The co-main event will feature a rematch between super middleweights David Winiarski and Keiron Harding.
Scotland’s Winiarski enters with a 7-1 record, with all seven victories coming by knockout. The undefeated Harding is 3-0 with three knockouts. The pair previously met at BKB 49 in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors.
Former IBF junior lightweight world champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. will also return to bare-knuckle competition after making a successful BKB debut at BKB 56 in Los Angeles. Diaz’s opponent has yet to be announced.
Undefeated super welterweight Adel Altamimi will also compete. Altamimi is 3-0 with three knockouts inside the Trigon and is awaiting an opponent.
The BKB 60 preliminary card features Jon Telfer against Hector Galbraith, Liam Teruel against Tom Pratt, and heavyweights John Hamilton and Florian De La Motte.
BKB 60 takes place Saturday, Oct. 10, at Utilita Arena Newcastle. The preliminary card begins at 5:30 p.m. BST (12:30 p.m. ET), followed by the main card at 7 p.m. BST (2 p.m. ET).
The main card will air on VICE TV in the United States and talkSPORT in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with additional U.S. coverage on Telemundo. The preliminary card will stream on TikTok.