BKB 60 in Newcastle: Preview, Date, Time, Card

Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. found something in bare knuckle boxing that the gloved version had stopped giving him. The former IBF super featherweight champion needed one round in his BKB debut, folding Nate Williams with a body shot in Los Angeles in July. On October 10 he goes again, and this time he does it on a night that has never happened before.

BKB 60 is the promotion’s first event in Newcastle. It runs at Utilita Arena Newcastle with a world title on the line, a rematch of a Fight of the Night winner in the co-main, and a main event that exists only because the original headliner got cut open in Miami four days ago.

BKB 60 Key Facts

JoJo Diaz Returns for His Second BKB Fight

Diaz held the IBF super featherweight title from 2020 to 2021 and also owns the WBC interim lightweight belt. He arrived in BKB at 33 years old and only weeks removed from a gloved boxing loss, which is exactly the profile that usually reads as a career winding down.

It did not go that way. At BKB 56 at The NOVO at LA Live, Diaz dropped Nate Williams with a body shot for a first-round knockout on a card where Victor Ortiz and Alfredo Angulo also won bare knuckle debuts. He is 1-0 in the promotion with one knockout.

At BKB 60 he moves to super lightweight. His opponent has not been announced.

How to Watch BKB 60

Why Mick Terrill Is Not Headlining

The original BKB 60 main event was Mick Terrill against Kamil Sokolowski at heavyweight, with Terrill headlining in front of a North East crowd. Then BKB 58 happened.

Trujillo’s scheduled opponent, Mark O’Neil, withdrew over visa issues. Terrill was already traveling to Miami on promotional duty for the Newcastle card. He took the heavyweight title fight against Gustavo Trujillo on fewer than three days’ notice and was stopped by a body shot at 2:29 of the second round on August 29, dropping to 11-3. He was also cut from punches.

We originally announced Newcastle with Mick Terrill headlining in his hometown, and there is no version of this card we wanted more. Last week, on less than three days' notice, Mick stepped in against heavyweight champion Gustavo Trujillo while he was already traveling to Miami to promote BKB 60. That is who he is. He came out of that fight with a cut that will not be healed in time for October, so we look forward to welcoming him back as a special guest, helping us host the fans in Newcastle and taking it in the Trigon side.

Rolando Dy vs. Scott McHugh for the Super Welterweight Title

Dy is a second-generation champion. His father, Rolando Navarrete, held a WBC world title, and Dy became the first fighter from the Philippines to win BKB gold when he beat Liam Rees at BKB 49 in Cardiff. The former UFC featherweight then made his first defense by stopping former two-division boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi in the second round at BKB 54 in Manchester. He is 6-1 with five knockouts, meaning six wins in his first seven bare knuckle bouts and five of those six by stoppage.

McHugh is the harder read. The Leeds fighter is 17-5 with seven knockouts across 22 professional bare knuckle fights, a Bare Knuckle Hall of Fame inductee and a multiple-time BKB champion. He arrives on a five-fight winning streak with three knockouts inside it.

“Rolando Dy vs. Scott McHugh is exactly the kind of fight we want at the top of the bill,” Tetreault said.

The Police Gazette Diamond Belt is also at stake.

The Co-Main Is a Rematch That Ended on a Doctor’s Stoppage

Scotland’s David Winiarski and Wales’ Keiron Harding first met at BKB 49, “Dance of the Dragons,” and the fight was named Fight of the Night. Harding won it by third-round TKO after a doctor stepped in.

Winiarski is 7-1 with seven knockouts. Harding is 3-0 with three. Between them that is 10 wins and 10 stoppages, which is the sort of stat that makes a co-main sell itself.

BKB 60 Full Card

Card as announced. Two main card opponents remain to be named.