The main event belongs to Lee Selby. The 39-year-old Welshman, a former IBF featherweight world champion, makes his first BKB headlining appearance and his first in London against Ollie “The Death” Sentance in a super lightweight bout. Selby is 1-0 in the promotion after debuting at BKB 55 in Cardiff in June, where he stopped Antonio Rizzo in the second round in a debut that was tougher than the result suggests. Sentance, from Kidderminster in Worcestershire, is 2-0 with two stoppages and arrives with a background in mixed martial arts and kickboxing rather than the amateur boxing ladder: he stopped Nico Earwaker in the fourth round of his February debut at BKB 51 in London, then finished Corey Healey in the second round on the same Cardiff card where Selby debuted. “Lee Selby is a former world champion and has achieved a lot in boxing, so I have nothing but respect for what he’s done,” Sentance said. “But this is bare-knuckle boxing, and when we step into the Trigon, none of that matters.” Selby, for his part, expects a fight rather than a showcase: “Ollie is a tough opponent and I know he’ll be coming to bring a fight, so I’m expecting a proper battle.”
The co-main event carries the card’s championship. Marko “Marvelous” Martinjak of Croatia defends the BKB bridgerweight world title with a record of 13-2, every one of his 13 wins by knockout, which is the number that frames the entire fight. In a sport contested in the three-sided Trigon with no gloves to soften an exchange, a champion with a perfect finishing ledger forces an opponent to prepare to survive before he prepares to win. The challenger is Matty “The Assassin” Askin, a former British cruiserweight champion in gloved boxing, and one detail matters more than the circulating previews suggest: Askin is not making his bare-knuckle debut. He is 1-0 under BKB rules with a knockout, which means the question is not whether his boxing translates without gloves, but whether one bare-knuckle win is enough preparation to face a champion who has never needed the judges. Bridgerweight, the division created to give heavier cruiserweights a home without forcing them in with full heavyweights, has been one of BKB’s most violent weight classes, and Martinjak is its strongest argument.
Beneath the two headline fights, BKB has built the card around British talent. Unbeaten welterweight Ash Devenport, 3-0, puts his record on the line against Kallum Skhane, and Aaron McCallum meets Simon Doherty at welterweight in a bout Combat Press describes as a rivalry that needs a decisive ending. The structure follows the promotion’s established London formula: a recognisable crossover name on top, a champion defending underneath, and a layer of domestic fighters working toward title contention.
The date carries one wrinkle worth noting for the combat calendar. November 14 is also the night Real American Freestyle stages Colby Covington against Khamzat Chimaev in Abu Dhabi, an afternoon card for American viewers, which leaves London’s bare-knuckle crowd the evening slot. For BKB, whose year has run from Miami to Tijuana to Newcastle with Tyson Fury ringside along the way, The O2 is a return to its most established British venue with its most decorated boxing name at the top. Selby has the pedigree. Sentance has the record. Martinjak has the knockouts. November 14 decides which of those matters most in the Trigon.
