As the bare-knuckle scene continues to exhilrate, enthrall, and embellish the world of combat sports with its thunderously-brutal and bloody affairs – once again – a proficient and ferocious glut of bare-knucklers will be eagerly awaiting the opportunity to unleash their menancing, ungloved-fists in an amalgamtion of skill, acceleration, and savagery at London’s Indigo, April 4th.

Amidst that barrage of belting fights which will be gracing the Indigo and our PPV screens is Darren Hendry vs Darren Godfrey. Both men are heavy-handed boxers and their on-course collision is anticipated to be vicious and nasty, with a rapid beat in its nature.

Darren Hendry could well be one of BKB’s shining stars: He can box. He can bang. He can scrap. And – despite his “calling” for the original noble art – Hendry’s feet are well and truly grounded as he intends to take the fights in his stride, never looking past any of his opponents, gaining experiences, testing his mettle as a boxer and fighter within the bare-knuckle jungle, aspiring towards a British title before contemplating world contention.

It’s fair to say Darren does not want his career to be a “flash in the pan”; hence his discipline and respect for the sport and his opponents.

Only time will allow Darren Hendry’s bare-knuckle story to be told. However, his journey I’m sure will be a thrilling and engaging one of that.

Don’t miss Darren Hendry vs Darren Godfrey at BKB 21, April 4 – it’ll be a belter.

Following his heavy KO victory over James Connelly, 2020 is shaping up pretty bright and prosperous for the Birmingham banger as he will undoubtedly be licking his lips with aspirations of head-hunting his way to a world BKB title.

Although Tierney is about two years out of training and five million Snickers bars away from possessing the aesthetics of Andy Ruiz Jr – however, with just a little more than a week from the tournament, the Prizefighter champion was hitting 83kgs on the scales; which in “old money” was about a stone over the cut.

But with an intense – yet safe regime consisting of diet and vigorous excercise – Tierney successfully made the 76kg class on the day of the fight.

Now, with a formidable victory over an extremely credible opponent in Connellly – the man who brutally dragged Ricardo Franco out to the lethal depths of the BKB waters – Connor Tierney will be relishing a clash with any of the top fighters within the bare-knuckle jungle, for his confidence and ambitions will certainly be surging.

Let’s take a look at some potential opponents.

1. Ricardo Franco is obviously top of Connor’s list. A “Repeat or Revenge” rematch would be an enthralling prospect should Franco dispatch of his next opponent.

Since their bout in 2019’s Prizefighter, Tierney has definitely slipped a few gears.

2. Dean “Smudger” Smith. Worst case scenario Dean’s clash with Hubert Geven does not materialise due to injury etc – a bare-knuckled waltz with “Smudger” would be a cracker but extremely tough fight.

3. Alternatively – a scheduled seven round rematch with James Connelly. Some fans believe Connelly spent a lot of gas in the semi-final against Sean George, and given the opportunity to solely train for and fight his brummie compatriot – would in fact be a different outcome.

Whatever is in the pipeline for Connor Tierney – either way – I’m sure we’ll all be treated to a belting night of BKB.

Jimmy Sweeney took to the BKB ring last night to discuss his forthcoming fight with Tyler Goodjohn for BKB 21, April 4.

During an interview with Glen Mcory, the “Celtic Warrior” touched on his rematch ambitions with Ricardo Franco, stating a bout with the bare-knuckle champion was his immediate decision following a loss to the strapping Gainsborough fighter back in November last year, due to the ringside doctor calling time on the bout regarding a cut.

Stepping back into his BKB domain last night, Sweeney talked about his plans for 2020.

“I lost my last fight against Franco due to the doctor’s stoppage – even though I was three points up on the scorecards. Don’t me get me wrong he’s a very good kid and I wish him all the best for the future – he won that fight but believe me – next time I fight him – I will take that kid out.”

Jimmy continued:

“But – that was the fight I wanted – not the Tyler fight. To me – and until I’m finished, Tyler is the upcoming king of bare-knuckle. 

I wanted the rematch straight away, but Jim said Franco won’t be ready for April, so I said give me Tyler.”

“When I’m finished with Tyler, I’m gonna’ take whatever Franco has, and I’m taking everything back because this year is the end of my career and I’m cleaning f***ing house! I’m putting everyone in their f***ing place.”

Whether Jimmy calls time on his career this year, will remain to be seen. However, one thing is certain: It’s going to be an explosive and enthralling 2020 for the bare-knuckle scene.

Last night at the Indigo, Connor Tierney stopped fellow BKB Prizefighter finalist James Connelly with a solid, emphatic right that would have avalanched a grizzly to the deck.

To his credit, in the semi-final against seasoned bare-knuckler Sean George, Connelly exhibited both his boxing prowess and ability to engage in a dog fight, earning the unanimous decision after a savage and scrappy opening round.

However, after a violently-accelarative two rounds, where both boxers pelted each other with a glut of venomous shots, like that of a pinata taking a brutal thrashing – it was Connor Tierney who landed cleanly in the second as “The Truth” dropped to the canvas; his legs residing in a “W” position as the fighter in him was attempting to stand until the ref called time on the bout, declaring Tierney the Prizefighter champion.

Now, in comparison to Ricardo Franco’s points win over James Connelly in 2019’s Prizefighter, a rematch between Tierney and the BKB champion could well be on the cards; providing the Gainsborough man defends his title against the winner of Sweeney vs Goodjohn in the summer.

But one thing’s for sure: with his victory last night, Connor Tierney has catapulted himself into world BKB title contention.

Tonight at BKB 20, promoter Jim Freeman exclusively announced that the winner of Jimmy Sweeney vs Tyler Goodjohn will clash with BKB champion, Ricardo Franco.

Whilst speaking with Glenn Mcory, Franco looked to Freeman for a response regarding his next fight.

“We’re not making any secret about it”, Jim explained.

“But the winner of Sweeney and Goodjohn face the new champion, Ricardo Franco. Because in BKB – the best fight the best.”

A mouthwatering prospect for the summer 2020 is definitely on the cards.