BKB CEO David Tetreault says Tyson Fury is born for bare-knuckle boxing, and his promotion is ready to pay if the Gypsy King gets serious.
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Tetreault sat down with EssentiallySports ahead of BKB 60, the promotion’s first-ever show in the city. He also confirmed live talks with Nate Diaz and laid out where he sees bare-knuckle boxing going next.
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Tyson Fury Has to Finish His Boxing Business First
Fury attended BKB’s Miami event in September as a special guest. Tetreault says the conversations went further after that night.
“Tyson Fury being a traveler, and where he comes from, he’s definitely born for this. He attended our event as a special guest in September for our Miami event. We had further conversations with him about it. He says he’s got to finish up what he’s doing in boxing, but at the end of the day it comes down to what he said categorically: show me the money. And we will show him the money if he’s very serious.”
Fury is not the only heavyweight name on the radar. Tetreault confirmed BKB has had similar talks with Oleksandr Usyk’s camp.
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“There’s opportunities for him as well as a brand ambassador that we’re working on. And I’ve had the same conversations with Oleksandr Usyk’s camp. He’s got some business to finish in boxing, but it’s always an open door.”
Nate Diaz in Talks With BKB
Tetreault recently met with Nate Diaz. He says BKB is discussing both a fight and an ambassador role with the former UFC star.
“There’s opportunities for him to potentially compete, as well as to become a brand ambassador for us. We’re in those discussions, in those conversations.”
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Asked to play matchmaker, he already had an opponent in mind.
“If I was matchmaking, I’ll tell you what a great fight would be. Nate Diaz versus Gabe Rosado. That would be one hell of a fight. A hell of an MMA fighter against a seasoned, disciplined boxer like Gabe Rosado. And by the way, Gabe reached out to me today, so we’ll be talking to him next week.”
Another familiar face is coming back too. Andy Ruiz will return as a special guest for BKB 61 in London on November 14, with Lee Selby topping that card. Ruiz was also in Tijuana when BKB launched in Mexico.
Why Bare Knuckle Boxing Is Winning Gen Z
Tetreault spent years at Golden Boy Promotions with Oscar De La Hoya, working on fights involving Canelo Alvarez and Ryan Garcia. He says boxing’s core audience has aged up, and credits Dana White and the UFC with winning over millennials. BKB is chasing an even younger crowd.
“If you take a look at our sport, BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, we’re not only attracting millennials, we’re attracting Gen Z and then Gen Alpha. So for me the switch into bare knuckle really comes down to the fact that it’s a hot new product. People around the world are just getting acquainted with it, and once they see it, it just takes off. And our numbers prove it, whether we’re on VICE TV or TikTok.”
He pushes back on the idea that it all comes down to short attention spans.
“Gen Alpha, Gen Z and millennials grew up as digital natives. Their consumption of media is completely different than mine as a Gen Xer. Everything that they consume really is on that phone, in that vertical format. Our sport goes so quickly, and it satisfies the way that they consume media.”
Boxing Names Keep Arriving
BKB has spent this year signing former boxing stars, including Lee Selby and Victor Ortiz. Paulie Malignaggi meets Ortiz on December 5 in Los Angeles, a fight Tetreault admits should have happened years ago at Golden Boy.
Malignaggi was beaten by Rolando Dy in BKB, and Tetreault puts that down to style.
“It was a style issue. Rolando really came in there and put a lot of pressure on him with clinching, and I think Paulie really wanted to box. That’s the beauty of what we can do. It just wasn’t his night that night. Rolando’s a hell of a fighter.”
Dy headlines BKB 60 in Newcastle, defending his super welterweight title against Scott McHugh.
The Vargas brothers, Amado and Fernando Jr., are the signings Tetreault sounds most excited about. Both debuted in London on July 25 and are still chasing world titles with gloves on.
“These are two fighters that are still pursuing their world championships in glove boxing. They’re still under thirty. They’re putting it all on the line here in bare knuckle.”
Amado fights on BKB’s Bally’s card in Biloxi on October 23. Fernando is having surgery on his finger and is targeting a December return.
BKB vs BKFC: A Friendly Rivalry
BKB and BKFC are the two biggest players in the sport. Tetreault calls it a fun, friendly rivalry, but he is clear the two companies operate very differently.
“What we’re doing and the way that we’re running our company is completely different from the way that they orchestrate their business. If you take a look at the way their business is run, they’re all over the place. But that’s their style. We’re specific. We know where we’re going.”
BKB runs 16 numbered events a year built around regional hubs. In the US that means Miami and Los Angeles, in the UK it is London and Manchester, and Mexico has just been added with Tijuana first, and Mexico City and Guadalajara planned for next year. A separate prospect series runs with Bally’s, using tech in the wrist wraps that tracks punch counts and speed in real time.
Former BKFC heavyweight champion Mick Terrill has already made the switch. Tetreault expects more to follow.
“We offer opportunities here at BKB that may not be available to them. That’s why we’re bringing in a lot of champions. We’re an athletes-first company, and we mean that.”
Is Bare Knuckle Too Dangerous?
It is the question every bare-knuckle promoter gets asked. Tetreault says the picture people have in their heads is wrong.
“That’s a misconception, and it’s a worthy misconception because of the optics that you see. We have medical studies that prove our concussion rates are significantly lower than traditional boxing or MMA. The only difference is lacerations, and they’re small cuts that are handled right there on the spot. They heal up really well. The brain injuries are much less common. The hand fractures are much less common.”
Nate Diaz vs Gabe Rosado: BKB’s Mainstream Dream
Tetreault is not putting a hard deadline on it, but he knows what success looks like.
“We’ll know that we’ve mainstreamed this when fans around the world are gathering for a Nate Diaz versus Gabe Rosado fight in their living rooms, doing watch parties around the world. That’s when it’s mainstream, and that’s the trajectory we’re on. It could be three years, it could be four years, it could be two years. We’re going for mega fights that people tune into on a Saturday night.”
If Fury ever decides he is done with gloves, BKB has made it clear the checkbook is ready.
