By: Mario Guzmán
The new boxing concept that is leaving no option for the sport but to fight to stay alive, described Saturday night in the words of Evander Holyfield, a household name for boxing fans who follow legendary boxing. Big Knockout Boxing 2 was held in the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas on Saturday April 4th 2015 for the second time in Las Vegas since its debut in the boxing world. Exhilarating match ups, nine in total, were showcased, also on pay per view. Inside of a small circular shaped arena they call “The Pit”, fighters have little room to run. They understand what they need to do because, well, the name is pretty self-explanatory… Big KNOCKOUT Boxing.
BKB exploded with action from the get go with a heavyweight bout, featuring Julian Pollard VS Elijah McCall, Pollard getting the W by TKO, compliments of a straight right provided by Pollard and greeting McCall’s chin in the 1st minute of the 4th round. Next boom came from Jonathan Chicas, native of San Francisco, knocking out his opponent Javier Garcia in the third round. The environment was suspenseful, fighters were really fighting. “Nowhere to run” is not just an old Van Damme movie, it’s very much the reality of the fighter in the BKB “Pit”. The small arena makes it difficult for the fighter to run, and since there are no ropes, fighters have to face the inevitable, a head on collision of brute force, fueled by a 30K knockout bonus for the title fight.
Gabe Rosado put his middleweight BKB Championship at risk facing Curtis Stevens from New York, in the Main Event bout. The fight was declared a draw, and Stevens declared it, “bulls@#$%”. Stevens knocked down Rosado during the fight and seemed to dominate the fight, but this is not Maury, it’s boxing, there are no conclusive DNA tests provided here.
Speaking of how anything can happen, Layla McCarter from Las Vegas stopped Diana Prazak after displaying a beautiful boxing performance… she knows her geometry well, because those angles she created were supreme. After being asked who she wanted to fight next, McCarter called out Ronda Rousey, saying, “I want Ronda, she said she wants to box, then lets meet in the middle, let’s fight in the pit, she does UFC, I’ve been boxing for twenty years, this is my game.” Shortly after saying that, I’m sure the pound sign (oh sorry, younger generation… “Hashtags”) on twitter went crazy.
This new concept of boxing is paving way for a new breed of fighters to follow. New “Hit Chip” technology was created exclusively for BKB boxing, a new technology that involves a chip inside of the wrist of the boxers’ glove, which provides information to the viewer of the type of punch thrown, and the force and speed produced by the fighter. BKB is available on Pay Per view from DIRECTV and DISH, as well as cable and telco providers through IN DEMAND. Make sure you watch for the next line up, you’ll remember to never forget a show like this.