Former boxing world champion to make BKFC debut.
Before the Marquess of Queensberry Rules came into existence, professional boxing was fought under the London Prize Ring Rules, which meant that competitors very often fought without wearing gloves.
This, of course, was very many years ago, and bare knuckles are no longer permitted to be used within the professional boxing ring.
However, there are still organisations that hold a soft spot for bare-knuckle boxing, chief among these being the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).
The BKFC has proven very popular in its own right, and this has certainly been aided by the fact that a number of former professional boxers have fought on the company’s shows.
Most notably of these is former two-time super-middleweight world champion James DeGale and former super-welterweight (Regular) titlist Austin Trout.
The participation of such people has certainly legitimised BKFC as a whole, attracting more viewers and followers of gloved pugilism who wish to see an alternate version of the sport they love.
That trend is now set to continue, as more competitors from the world of boxing will be appearing as part of a BKFC event in a couple of months from now.
On the BKFC Belgrade card (set to be headlined by unbeaten Briton Anthony Faulkner and unbeaten Montenegrin Dilan Prašović), former lightweight world boxing champion Dejan Zlaticanin will be making his bare-knuckle debut against Said-Khusein Akhyadov, a 31-year-old German who is undefeated in his six bare-knuckle contests.
A WBC titlist at lightweight, Zlaticanin remains the only world boxing champion from Montenegro. Having fought the likes of four-weight world champion Mikey Garcia, Lewis Ritson, and Zaur Abdullaev, he also defeated three-weight world champion Ricky Burns and contenders Ivan Redkach and Petr Petrov.
Also debuting in the ungloved art on the same card will be Agron Smakici, a boxing heavyweight who has faced the likes of current world champion Agit Kabayel and former two-time Olympic gold medallist Bakhodir Jalolov.
Smakici will be facing Istvan Bernath, another heavyweight who has competed in professional boxing (having most notably fought Moses Itauma in 2023).
Zlaticanin and Smakici will be joining a star line-up that includes the likes of Darren Till and Yoel Romero (who will be facing each other in the BKFC 94 Manchester event next month).
BKFC Belgrade will be taking place on the 17th of October at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.
Want to get the latest boxing news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
