Inside brutal world of underground bare-knuckle boxing where fighters trade blows in metal cages roared on by crowds
- Shocking footage from the legal events shows fighters smashing each other up
- One event in South Yorkshire saw more than 100 spectators, including children
- Organisers of the events say they are helping by taking fighters off the streets
Britain’s brutal world of underground bare-knuckle boxing, where fighters trade blows in metal cages while being roared on by crowds, has been exposed in gruesome detail.
Hundreds of spectators fuel the aggression of the fighters as they cry out for big bare-knuckle blows in makeshift cages.
Fighters have one goal which is to completely destroy their opponent by either knocking them out or forcing them to concede defeat through a ‘submission’.
Shocking footage from the events brings to light the popularity of the legal fights, where swollen-faced fighters battle among roaring crowds.
In one clip, a young boy can be seen holding onto one of the cages, completely gripped as he watches two men trading blows while being regulated by an ‘official’.
Britain’s brutal world of underground bare-knuckle boxing, where fighters trade blows in metal cages while being roared on by crowds, has been exposed in gruesome detail
Fighters have one goal which is to completely destroy their opponent by either knocking them out or forcing them to concede defeat through a ‘submission’. Pictured: Brett and ‘Ads’ face off to settle scores
Another clip shows two men savagely knocking each other to the ground with brutal blows to their heads.
The footage was taken from an event in Bridlington, South Yorkshire, which was hosted by Bare Knuckle Street Fighting Brawls.
It gathered more than 100 eager bare-knuckle boxing fans who spent around £40 each to watch 12 men settle scores across six fights.
Yorkshire Live, who were invited to the Bridlington brawl, attended after hearing the events were ‘barbaric’ and unsafe.
The organisers reject this claim and say that the events allow ‘scores to be settled’ in a controlled manner.
They believe it prevents thugs getting involved in fights on the streets, possibly with weapons.
Quick to justify the brutality, Derek Heggie told reporters: ‘We’re stopping what would be worse violence in some cases.
‘We’re ‘fighters first’ because of that, the fighters get looked after because I know what it takes to step in there and do it.’
The event in South Yorkshire gathered more than 100 eager bare-knuckle boxing fans who spent around £40 each to watch 12 men settle scores across six fights
Organisers believe the bare-knuckle brawls help prevent thugs getting involved in fights on the streets, possibly with weapons
Organisers say that the events allow ‘scores to be settled’ in a controlled manner. Pictured: Callum McFarlane takes a knee in the ring
Private medical teams, who agree that the fights are ‘above board’ also attend the events – treating injured fighters for cuts and bruises.
Meanwhile, police officers at the scene monitored what was going on but soon fled, ultimately giving it the green light.
Co-organiser Andrew Smith says: ‘See, it can’t be barbaric can it if we’ve got the sign-off from the police? If there was an issue they would have stopped it but we’ve got the go-ahead.’
But amid the heat and violence, one fighter was seen storming out of the cage after allegedly biting a man’s ear twice. Meanwhile, Brian Hollywood and Stenton Cornthwaite could be seen settling their feud by battering each other in the face and neck.
And another heavyweight bout ended in an early stoppage due to a twisted knee.
Bare knuckle fighting is one of Britain’s oldest sports, but in recent years combat sports such as MMA have soared in popularity.
Hundreds of spectators were in attendance to watch 12 men fight in makeshift cages in South Yorkshire
At one point, police turned up at the event but did not see anything criminal with what was going on
Private medical teams, who agree that the fights are ‘above board’ also attend the events – treating injured fighters for cuts and bruises. Pictured: Jack and Phil, the medical team
Fighters have one goal which is to completely destroy their opponent by either knocking them out or forcing them to concede defeat through a ‘submission’
But speaking about the recent Bridlington event, Chief Inspector Paul Bennett told The Sun: The event had already commenced when we were advised of it and had no prior knowledge of it taking place.
‘Following local concerns about the activity we deployed local police officers, and the event organisers were spoken to.
‘Our officers informed the event organiser of their legal obligations to comply with the Licensing Act.
‘Humberside Police will be working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to consider any breaches under the licensing act and to prevent any future unlicensed events.
‘The event was monitored by police and no criminal offences were reported.’
Bare Knuckle Street Fighting Brawls have planned another event in Bridlington at the end of the month.
MailOnline has independently contacted Humberside Police for comment.
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