BKB CEO David Tetreault confirmed to Boxing Social recently he wants to sign more boxing stars to the bareknuckle phenomenon.
The organization has been active in signing professional boxers to its stable. Former world champions in Lee Selby and Yuriorkis Gamboa have recently joined the team, which also boasts Paulie Malignaggi.
Tetreault exclusively told Boxing Social his “dream” is to bring heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk to the world of bareknuckle combat, which is surging in popularity, among some other huge names.
“Oleksandr is re-evaluating what he wants to do,” Tetreault said.
“There is an openness to bareknuckle and at the right moment he will make that decision.”
Tetreault added: “At the moment we are right there and we are speaking to Egis Klimas [Usyk’s manager], we are having those conversations. No one is going to rush into this, he’s got some business to finish up in boxing. At the right moment, we would love to have him come to BKB.”
Usyk, 39, has squeezed extraordinary accomplishments into a relatively short career, winning world championships across two divisions in just 24 fights, including wins over Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis, and Murat Gassiev at cruiserweight, before big wins over Anthony Joshua (twice), Daniel Dubois (twice), and Tyson Fury (twice). Prior to his pro run, he scooped the gold medal at both the 2011 World Amateur Championships and also 2012 Olympic Games.
But Usyk is not the only big name Tetreault has had conversations with. Former super middleweight world champion Carl Froch is another possibility for BKB.
“We have had conversations with Carl,” Tetreault added. “Carl was at one of our events last summer. There is an open door there too.”
Tyson Fury’s name also came up during Boxing Social’s interview, but no conversations have taken place.
“It would be massive,” Tetreault explained, “but I’m not going to get ahead of myself in something like that. We would have to sit down and talk to Spencer [Brown] and talk to Tyson himself. That’s a welcome conversation at the right moment.”
Fury welcomes Arslanbek Makhmudov to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11. It will be his first fight back since losing his WBC heavyweight world title to Usyk 16 months ago.
