The former English-title challenger believes punching without gloves will suit him – but not everyone who has made the switch has flourished in BKB.
JOHN WAYNE HIBBERT
Pro record: 18-5
BKB record: 0-0-1
World ranked and close to a shot at the WBA 140lbs title during his gloved career, Essex ticket-seller Hibbert could only draw with James Lilley on his BKB debut and at 35, it doesn’t look like he will boxing on the shows again.
JACK ARNFIELD
Pro record: 25-3
BKB record: 1-0
Arnfield had wins over John Ryder and Brian Rose with gloves on and on his BKB debut, he cut up another ex gloved pro, Paul Hilz, inside a round last September. Arnfield wasn’t lined up to fight BKB again before the shows had to take a break.
PAUL HILZ
Pro record: 3-3
BKB record: 3-1
Cheery Essex tough guy Hilz prefers to scrap without gloves. He struggled with the pros after turning over in his 30s with only a handful of white-collar punch ups behind him and now 39, he is the knockout king of BKB.
His three wins have all come inside a round and he dropped Bachir Fakhouri with the first punch he threw when they clashed in January.
JAMES LILLEY
Pro record: 8-6
BKB record: 3-0-1
Lilley challenged for Welsh honours as a gloved pro and as a BKB fighter, he’s unbeaten. The only blemish is a draw with John Wayne Hibbert that most thought he won.
LEE NOBLE
Pro record: 20-24-3
BKB record: 1-0
Currently winning his fight with cancer, Noble was game enough to share a round with Billy-Joe Saunders when Billy-Joe was on his way up and he had a stoppage of Isaac Gibbs on his sole BKB outing.
ROBIN DEAKIN
Pro record: 2-53
BKB record: 0-3-1
‘Britain’s Worst Boxer’ also found BKB tough. He did scrape a draw with Mark Handley, but decided to quit fighting before their third fight.
TYLER GOODJOHN
Pro record: 13-5
BKB record: 3-0
English welterweight champion as a gloved pro, Goodjohn went to war with Tony Lafferty on his BKB debut and it looks like a win over bareknuckle legend Sean George will be his last scrap.
