B/BAD PROMOTIONS
B/BAD PROMOTIONS featuring Andy Topliffe and Clare Monaghan have put together a number of BKB events and below I've added a link to Andy's YouTube channel in which all the various fights can be watched. I have also added the video of perhaps one of the best Bareknuckle fights currently on YouTube which features James McCrory and Dave Radford, this was the first of their 2 battles they fought and was for the B/Bad UK Title. An awesome fight by two well respected fighters and gentlemen in and out of the ring. I was present at B/Bad 6 recently and I'll be posting an account of the evening asap.
ANDYS CHANNEL TO VIEW ALL THE FIGHTS
://www.youtube.com/user/MrDollersandkisses?feature=watch
ANDYS CHANNEL TO VIEW ALL THE FIGHTS
://www.youtube.com/user/MrDollersandkisses?feature=watch
BELOW ARE A SELECTION OF FIGHTERS WHO HAVE FOUGHT ON B/BAD SHOWS AND I'LL KEEP ADDING MORE INTERVIEWS AS I GET THEM
MATT THORN
In 1969, the same year as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones shot to the no 1 spot in the record charts Matt Thorn was born in the town of Doncaster, which is often referred to as “Donny”, named after the River Don. For those unfamiliar with its whereabouts, Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire,
England and was built on the site of a Roman fort, it was primary an industrial
town , with coalmining a big influence in the 20th century until the closure of most of the pits in the 1980’s.
Perhaps with the combination of having relatives in the fight game and Matt’s hard upbringing, it was inevitable that fighting would come to the forefront in one way or another, be it in the ring or on the streets. His Grandfather Thomas Stancliff Walker was a Bareknuckle Boxing regional champion on the fairgrounds during the 50s and 60s, where many fighters earned a living
and a boxing trade, travelling with the fairs around the country. Many times
these hardened fighters fought up-to a dozen times a day and for many it was a
great training aid to when they turned Professional. As well as Matt’s Grandfather being in the fight game, his father, Gerard Anthony Walker was also, perhaps not up-to the same standard, but nevertheless fighting was in Matt’s
blood, and it came in handy during many turbulent times in his life.
Sadly, Matt never met his Father or Grandfather, and they both died within a year of each other in 1976 and 1977, and yet when Matt was young, little did he know that they were only living about 500mtrs away from him at the time. The unstable family life resulted in Matt being fostered, and it was during these times that the then 12 year old youngster first raised used fists .The school that Matt went to was quite a large one and it was here that he first had to use his fists with a local lad called Lee. Instead of a fair fight at first Matt had two onto him but it didn’t take long for one to drop out and now it was an even and fair fight. For over 20 minutes they battled each other and in front of around 600 boys who had witnessed the bloody fight Matt caught his opposition on the button and knocked him out. It seems that the constant bullying contributed to Matt’s sudden turnaround and to start taking no crap of anyone, fighting daily meant that it toughened him up considerably and yet in reality the years that lay ahead for him would be the toughest of them
all.
“After I left school my life of
hell really began” Matt told me.
The journey into life after school for many teenagers is often an exciting time filled with anticipation of what may lay ahead, but Matt’s unsettled and chaotic way of life continued. He spent many years living from bedsit to bedsit and each day was a battle of survival even for the likes of what most people consider everyday things like food, clothing and bedding. Matt’s fighting continued and unlike many who enter a gym and train, the streets was once again where Matt felt complete and able to compete on level terms with anyone, something which outside of fighting seemed daunting. The term “Fighting on the cobbles” sounds a somewhat gentlemanly and noble expression, but in reality it’s an often dangerous, unpredictable and life threatening way to fight, but Matts an old school type fighter, a throwback to the old age of
bareknuckle boxing where regardless of size, one man’s heart, skills and bravery are put to the ultimate test.
His early fights saw him not only do battle on the streets in I guess a need to feel the buzz and adrenaline kicking through his veins in a forced way but also in more organised affairs, which venues included Multi-storey car-parks, fields and he recalls one of his fights in the back of a lorry. For Matt it’s all about the privilege and honour of being involved in a fight which is important to him above any financial gain, “I feel alive when I fight” Matt told me, and at the age of 17 he suffered his first loss, although this wouldn’t be his first it was a hard thing to cope with, not so much the loss itself, but Matt’s fighting characteristics make him feel he needs to apologise for letting the crowd down, which may sound strange to
anyone that has never fought but every fighter will understand Matts sentiments.
In 1995 his hectic and turbulent lifestyle became more ordered and structured and it’s around this time that through contacts he started to train in various gyms which taught Boxing, MMA, Vale Tudo and Pro style wrestling. It’s interesting that Matt still prefers fighting without the need of gloves and when I asked him about the two he told me,
“The feeling of preparing and being in a BKB Pit Fight is far more intense and personal than a gloved boxing event even though there is the same thing to prove, After a Bareknuckle fight the sense of accomplishment for me lasts longer than in a gloved event but I don't know why”.
Although preferring fighting Bareknuckles, the recent gloved boxing bouts that Matt has competed in are his favourite up-to date and he said it still makes him feel alive to be fighting. A lot of money has been raised for charity by Tyrone Monaghan’s Prizefighters in these gloved bouts and the fighters all compete without taking a fee.
Below is a photo of Matt (Left) at one of Tyrones fundraiser events
England and was built on the site of a Roman fort, it was primary an industrial
town , with coalmining a big influence in the 20th century until the closure of most of the pits in the 1980’s.
Perhaps with the combination of having relatives in the fight game and Matt’s hard upbringing, it was inevitable that fighting would come to the forefront in one way or another, be it in the ring or on the streets. His Grandfather Thomas Stancliff Walker was a Bareknuckle Boxing regional champion on the fairgrounds during the 50s and 60s, where many fighters earned a living
and a boxing trade, travelling with the fairs around the country. Many times
these hardened fighters fought up-to a dozen times a day and for many it was a
great training aid to when they turned Professional. As well as Matt’s Grandfather being in the fight game, his father, Gerard Anthony Walker was also, perhaps not up-to the same standard, but nevertheless fighting was in Matt’s
blood, and it came in handy during many turbulent times in his life.
Sadly, Matt never met his Father or Grandfather, and they both died within a year of each other in 1976 and 1977, and yet when Matt was young, little did he know that they were only living about 500mtrs away from him at the time. The unstable family life resulted in Matt being fostered, and it was during these times that the then 12 year old youngster first raised used fists .The school that Matt went to was quite a large one and it was here that he first had to use his fists with a local lad called Lee. Instead of a fair fight at first Matt had two onto him but it didn’t take long for one to drop out and now it was an even and fair fight. For over 20 minutes they battled each other and in front of around 600 boys who had witnessed the bloody fight Matt caught his opposition on the button and knocked him out. It seems that the constant bullying contributed to Matt’s sudden turnaround and to start taking no crap of anyone, fighting daily meant that it toughened him up considerably and yet in reality the years that lay ahead for him would be the toughest of them
all.
“After I left school my life of
hell really began” Matt told me.
The journey into life after school for many teenagers is often an exciting time filled with anticipation of what may lay ahead, but Matt’s unsettled and chaotic way of life continued. He spent many years living from bedsit to bedsit and each day was a battle of survival even for the likes of what most people consider everyday things like food, clothing and bedding. Matt’s fighting continued and unlike many who enter a gym and train, the streets was once again where Matt felt complete and able to compete on level terms with anyone, something which outside of fighting seemed daunting. The term “Fighting on the cobbles” sounds a somewhat gentlemanly and noble expression, but in reality it’s an often dangerous, unpredictable and life threatening way to fight, but Matts an old school type fighter, a throwback to the old age of
bareknuckle boxing where regardless of size, one man’s heart, skills and bravery are put to the ultimate test.
His early fights saw him not only do battle on the streets in I guess a need to feel the buzz and adrenaline kicking through his veins in a forced way but also in more organised affairs, which venues included Multi-storey car-parks, fields and he recalls one of his fights in the back of a lorry. For Matt it’s all about the privilege and honour of being involved in a fight which is important to him above any financial gain, “I feel alive when I fight” Matt told me, and at the age of 17 he suffered his first loss, although this wouldn’t be his first it was a hard thing to cope with, not so much the loss itself, but Matt’s fighting characteristics make him feel he needs to apologise for letting the crowd down, which may sound strange to
anyone that has never fought but every fighter will understand Matts sentiments.
In 1995 his hectic and turbulent lifestyle became more ordered and structured and it’s around this time that through contacts he started to train in various gyms which taught Boxing, MMA, Vale Tudo and Pro style wrestling. It’s interesting that Matt still prefers fighting without the need of gloves and when I asked him about the two he told me,
“The feeling of preparing and being in a BKB Pit Fight is far more intense and personal than a gloved boxing event even though there is the same thing to prove, After a Bareknuckle fight the sense of accomplishment for me lasts longer than in a gloved event but I don't know why”.
Although preferring fighting Bareknuckles, the recent gloved boxing bouts that Matt has competed in are his favourite up-to date and he said it still makes him feel alive to be fighting. A lot of money has been raised for charity by Tyrone Monaghan’s Prizefighters in these gloved bouts and the fighters all compete without taking a fee.
Below is a photo of Matt (Left) at one of Tyrones fundraiser events
Matt has also recently been fighting for Andy Topcliffe’s B/Bad, competing in Bareknuckle fights which can be seen on YouTube, unfortunately he lost his last two fights against the much heavier Welshmen Seth Jones and Josh Mundy.
Although suffering these defeats Matt gained the respect of not only the fighters he faced but everyone who witnessed his courage and bravery. In the future Matt hopes to be facing men equal to his own 70kg and to prepare for his next bout which he hopes will be on the 31st of August he has upped his training regime. He has recently improved his cardio by lots of skipping and running with ankle weights and with a combination of weight machines and free weights he is increasing his power. This is the typical commitment Matt shows whenever he is training for a fight and he also eats upto 6 times a day, supplementing his intake with Protein drinks after to increase and maintain his weight.
Matts attitude is so typical of many fighters who compete in Bareknuckle boxing, and their die hard attitude before, during and after the fight is often much more intense than a gloved boxer. He went on to tell me his thoughts on one aspect.
“A good BKB fighter I think is a man or woman who fears no one
and has the hunger to keep going no matter what and to get up and fight on after
being knocked down. If it takes at
least 2 knockdowns to keep a fighter down then that downed fighter should have
earned at least some respect from the
crowd"
For many people it may seem that Matt who is aged 43 is too long in the tooth to be fighting competitively, but in many ways a bareknuckle fighter can often fight till an older age than his gloved boxing counterpart, it’s not always about age
and youth, it’s about having the heart and the right mind-set to compete in the oldest martial art. Matts enthusiasm and his obvious love for the sport is apparent to anyone who talks to him and he told me that as long as he still feels the hunger, and feel that there is room to improve his skillset, strength, speed and ability to fight then he will keep training and keep fighting. Only recently Matt has tried to improve his game by training at Dave Radford’s gym, Dave is an ex Pro
boxer who fought the great Roberto Duran to a draw in his career and he is also a well-known figure on the Bareknuckle circuit, Dave’s 2 recent bouts with James McCrory are perhaps one of the best fights to be featured on YouTube for many years. Matt feels his defensive skills have improved and his shoulders are more relaxed with the hooks and uppercuts tighter and stronger. He predicts in his future fights people will see a more strategic fight with a more rounded offensive and defensive skillset rather than the pressure offensive only style he is known for. “We will just have to see as I look forward to proving my skills to the crowd in future” he said.
He also went on to add,
“The fighter I dream of fighting and
will fight in the future is “Damo the Damager” from Derby.
That will be a dream Superfight not ever to be missed.
We will fight and probably for the lightweight version of the UK BKB belt
(I hope). It will be the hardest
fight of my life and it will be a bloodbath as Damo's training is to be
envied! I respect him totally as a
brother Fighter”.
It’s apparent that Matt is pushing himself to the limit to get back to the standard of fighting he was capable of prior to a Hospital blunder in 2003, it left him unable to compete or train for many years, but ever the perfectionist he is striving towards this goal. He told me,
“I feel I must get back what was taken from me in 2003.
I must get back to that level of fighting ability and fitness
somehow. I hate seeing myself at
the current fitness level and skill level Im at now compared to 2003. I must and will do better than
this”.
Just recently Matt has travelled to Newcastle to do some training with Dean Bolam at his Gym and he believes his defence, power and footwork has improved very well, and he can’t wait till his next fight. Matts an inspiration to fighters by his Gentlemanly behaviour and attitude and I’d personally like to wish him all the best for the future in his bareknuckle bouts in what can only be described as the “Hardest sport in the World”.
Matts attitude is so typical of many fighters who compete in Bareknuckle boxing, and their die hard attitude before, during and after the fight is often much more intense than a gloved boxer. He went on to tell me his thoughts on one aspect.
“A good BKB fighter I think is a man or woman who fears no one
and has the hunger to keep going no matter what and to get up and fight on after
being knocked down. If it takes at
least 2 knockdowns to keep a fighter down then that downed fighter should have
earned at least some respect from the
crowd"
For many people it may seem that Matt who is aged 43 is too long in the tooth to be fighting competitively, but in many ways a bareknuckle fighter can often fight till an older age than his gloved boxing counterpart, it’s not always about age
and youth, it’s about having the heart and the right mind-set to compete in the oldest martial art. Matts enthusiasm and his obvious love for the sport is apparent to anyone who talks to him and he told me that as long as he still feels the hunger, and feel that there is room to improve his skillset, strength, speed and ability to fight then he will keep training and keep fighting. Only recently Matt has tried to improve his game by training at Dave Radford’s gym, Dave is an ex Pro
boxer who fought the great Roberto Duran to a draw in his career and he is also a well-known figure on the Bareknuckle circuit, Dave’s 2 recent bouts with James McCrory are perhaps one of the best fights to be featured on YouTube for many years. Matt feels his defensive skills have improved and his shoulders are more relaxed with the hooks and uppercuts tighter and stronger. He predicts in his future fights people will see a more strategic fight with a more rounded offensive and defensive skillset rather than the pressure offensive only style he is known for. “We will just have to see as I look forward to proving my skills to the crowd in future” he said.
He also went on to add,
“The fighter I dream of fighting and
will fight in the future is “Damo the Damager” from Derby.
That will be a dream Superfight not ever to be missed.
We will fight and probably for the lightweight version of the UK BKB belt
(I hope). It will be the hardest
fight of my life and it will be a bloodbath as Damo's training is to be
envied! I respect him totally as a
brother Fighter”.
It’s apparent that Matt is pushing himself to the limit to get back to the standard of fighting he was capable of prior to a Hospital blunder in 2003, it left him unable to compete or train for many years, but ever the perfectionist he is striving towards this goal. He told me,
“I feel I must get back what was taken from me in 2003.
I must get back to that level of fighting ability and fitness
somehow. I hate seeing myself at
the current fitness level and skill level Im at now compared to 2003. I must and will do better than
this”.
Just recently Matt has travelled to Newcastle to do some training with Dean Bolam at his Gym and he believes his defence, power and footwork has improved very well, and he can’t wait till his next fight. Matts an inspiration to fighters by his Gentlemanly behaviour and attitude and I’d personally like to wish him all the best for the future in his bareknuckle bouts in what can only be described as the “Hardest sport in the World”.