The Trigon doesn't care about your résumé.
BKB 60 hit the Utilita Arena in Newcastle on Saturday, and the shocker: former IBF world champion and Olympian Joseph "JoJo" Diaz Jr. — a -700 favorite — lost a split decision (48-43, 45-46, 46-45) to Brian Hyslop in his second bare-knuckle bout. Hyslop dropped him in the opening round, both men lost points during a scrappy five-rounder, and after a long delay the scorecards went to the underdog. Fight of the Night, easy. Diaz also missed weight at 142.8 against Hyslop's 140. Bare knuckle is a different animal — ask Paulie Malignaggi, who Dy stopped in that same ring back in May.
The night belonged to Rolando Dy: the Filipino super welterweight champion retained his title with a third-round stoppage of five-time BKB champ Scott McHugh — three knockdowns in the second, and McHugh's corner threw in the towel early in the third. Dy then had a fiery face-to-face with Adel Altamimi, who wants the next shot. BKB's debut in Newcastle delivered.
The DAOS take: the squared circle humbles everybody — gloves or no gloves. Hyslop is now calling out Lee Selby, Dy keeps building a bare-knuckle legacy that deserves more respect stateside, and BKB 62 lands in Los Angeles this December. Watch this space.
---
Posts saved for deadlyartofsurvival.com. Cover images are the morning news-alert set (9:16 vertical style).
Sources: Bloody Elbow · Athlon Sports · Sherdog
More from DAOS Magazine:
Latest fight + hip-hop coverage · deadlyartofsurvival.com · DAOS Party tickets — Dec 5, Harlem