Australia’s first bare-knuckle boxing card backed by Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine was an NRL and boxing legend. Now ‘The Man’ is leading a bare-knuckle fighting revolution in Australia — and says it can be just as big as UFC.
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Australian boxing legend Jeff Horn made history when he shocked the world by beating Manny Pacquiao before 50,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium.
Now his younger brother, Ben Horn, is set to claim his own slice of history when he spearheads Australia’s first bare-knuckle show on Queensland soil in an event backed by Anthony Mundine.
This masthead can reveal Mundine Promotions will on Thursday formally announce Australia’s inaugural World Bare Knuckle Fighting (WBKF) card - to be held in Logan on September 21.
A former NRL star is also in negotiations to appear on the card.
Mundine says bare-knuckle fighting will one day be as big as the UFC and ‘The Hunter’ Horn will happily ignore criticism over the brutality of the sport to become its poster boy in Australia.
Horn was in the corner when his brother Jeff stunned Pacquiao to win a world title in 2017 and now the Brisbane-born pugilist has visions of becoming the kingpin of bare-knuckle fighting.
The 35-year-old has fought 15 times as a professional boxer, winning six times, and he almost pulled off a boilover defeat of Tim Tszyu’s younger brother, Nikita, in their six-round bout in Sydney in 2022.
But there is a view the younger Horn’s skill set is better suited to bare knuckle and The Hunter won’t die wondering when he makes his debut in a sport Mundine believes will explode in Australia.
“There’s no-one tougher than Ben Horn, this sport will suit him,” said Mundine, the director of WBKF.
“I’m honoured to be spearheading this phenomenon in Australia and looking forward to the fans embracing the sport.
“It’s exciting because it’s explosive and it’s raw.
“It’s no place for the faint hearted.
“You have to have some real balls to be a part of this.
“I thought boxing got the anxiety and nerves going but this is going to be on a whole new level.
“We’re doing this seriously and I’m looking to put on the best shows possible and leave fight fans wanting more.”
The bare-knuckle movement craze copped a setback last month when a rival organisation had a proposed event in Perth rejected by Western Australia’s Combat Sports Commission.
It was deemed the event did not meet the required criteria, but Mundine and WBKF bosses have sent paperwork to Queensland police and authorities to stage their show at the Logan Metro Sports and Events Centre.
WBKF hierarchy have outlaid an estimated $250,000 to meet safety standards for a sport that first began in England in 1681, featuring a fight between a butcher and a footman.
WBKF powerbrokers have engaged veteran doctor Lou Lewis to be present as a ringside physician and dismissed concerns about the sport being derided as too barbaric for today’s modern world.
“It’s more technical than people think,” said Mundine’s fellow WBKF director Oliver Joseski.
“You have to be very brave but the thing to remember is the guys don’t punch as hard as they do when they have gloves on.
“In bare knuckle, fighters will often palm people to set them up for a KO punch. The palm can rattle them and when they are dazed, they then throw a knockout punch.
“This can be as big as the UFC.
“If you go back 130 years, tent-fighting used to be bare knuckle, boxing evolved from it and they would get massive crowds to watch it.
“It’s not a pub fight between bums.
“You have to be a technical fighter and you need massive kahunas to get in there and do it.
“Ben Horn will be fantastic. He has a great chin and he can bang. The eight-ounce gloves stifled him, so without gloves on it will suit him.
“Bare-knuckle is taking off around the world and this is the beginning for it in Australia.”
Originally published as Australia’s first bare-knuckle boxing card backed by Anthony Mundine
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