James Connelly and Martin Reffell will enter the Mighty Trigon for their BKB 45 headliner this weekend with both headliners appearing on Bare Knuckle Bowker ahead of their highly anticipated clash on September 6th. This Saturday in Bristol, England, the top-ranked middleweight contender in BKB, Martin Reffell, will throw down with the promotion’s number one ranked super middleweight contender in James Connelly at Bristol Ice Arena.
When asked what the headlines will read once the dust settles on their Vice TV broadcasted bare knuckle boxing bout at BKB 45, Reffell said,
“It’s going to be messy. That’s what the headlines are going to be. It’s going to be messy because no matter what the outcome on that, I want to win, you know. I have to win. If I want LT [Nelson], I have to win. You know, LT beat Connelly. I want LT. So, I’ve got to beat Connelly.”
“But no matter the outcome, that fight is going to be messy and it’s going to be entertaining and you know, it’s going to be one hell of a night. So, but Connelly will not be taking that knockout in that quick fight. It’s going the distance. Like I am set in stone for a war. So that’s what we’re going to have.”
As mentioned, Connelly is the number one ranked super middleweight in BKB and with Martin Reffell having the aforementioned top middleweight contender status in the company, a victory here at BKB 45 would present him with a multitude of options.
With LT Nelson helming over both of these divisions as champion and the BKB vet wanting a crack at ‘Smash’ Nelson someday, BKB 45’s Reffell quipped,
“Well, this is another reason why I was buzzing for this fight because not only does it give me the opportunity to be; well, I am number one in the middleweight. But it also gives me the opportunity to take Connelly’s spot as well. But yeah, it’s a big fight. It’s a big fight. I’m looking forward to it. Like literally.”
“And you know what? Like normally camps feel like they drag out and they feel like they really do drag out… We’re literally within inching distance. Like I’m buzzing for it. Like gone out and bought myself a new car for the trip down to Bristol [laughs]. Yeah, like I’m well looking forward to it.”
BKB 45 thoughts from the connelly perspective
Connelly is no stranger to massive BKB matchups as he has collected several BKB titles through his journey and had a pair of incredible clashes with the aforementioned LT Nelson. When asked for his thoughts on this BKB 45 Reffell matchup for a combatant who has faced a true who’s who of bare knuckle greats in this modern era of the sport, Connelly stated,
“You know what, Dylan? I’d fight anyone. I’ll fight any of them. You know, I swear like as long as the name gets put to me and I’m getting paid a certain amount of money, I take the fight. So, it was a case of this fight coming off the [LT] Nelson fight or something like that… I just grabbed this fight, you know, like it could have been anyone. Dylan, I don’t get sent over a list of names where I go through the list and I choose who I want to fight.”
“I’ve never had that in my whole career, you know. I wouldn’t want that, to be honest with you. I think you’ll always pick for the easiest opponent. That’s just a human nature. But me personally, I never had it. Jim Freeman [BKB figurehead] will come to me with a name and I said yes… You know, I’m better than six months ago now. So, you know, I needed to fight again. So, whoever it was, it had to be. So, yeah, there was no hesitation to take the fight.”
