A key part of boxing has always been ties to the sport’s history. Bare knuckle boxing organization BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting Series just made a notable move there, acquiring the rights to the Police Gazette World Diamond Belt. That belt’s history dates back to 1881, and it was famously won by John L. Sullivan in a 75-round fight with Jake Kilrain in 1889.
That Police Gazette belt, conceived by publisher Richard K. Fox (who was one of the first to have a regular sports section in his newspaper, and is in the International Boxing Hall of Fame ), wasn’t the first belt awarded as a combat sports trophy. But it was the first expected to be awarded lineally from champion to champion . And that Sullivan-Kilrain fight for it was one of the most famous in history ,. However, it was the last widely-recognized bare knuckle title fight for a long while, which led to even the Gazette removing its bare knuckle restriction for the title in 1894. And the belt went dormant after Fox’s 1922 death.
With bare knuckle’s resurgence and legalization over the last decades, though, the title has returned . In recent years, it had been awarded to winners of international and cross-promotional bare knuckle contests. And that’s included some fighters from BYB and the European-based BKB promotion they acquired in May .
But that acquisition’s further bolstered BYB’s place within bare knuckle globally. And Bare Knuckle Hall of Fame president Scott Burt (who has overseen preservation and distribution of the belt since 2016 from that Hall of Fame and restored Sullivan training facility in Belfast, NY) said in a release the decision to officially associate the belt with BYB came after that BKB acquisition, and after a lot of research and deliberation.
“This has been Richard K. Fox’s dream, and my dream, for all these years, to have the best fighters in the world fight under one roof, and have the Police Gazette, the umbrella over everything. The Police Gazette Diamond Belt is, by far, the best – the number one award in bare knuckle boxing, there is no second whatsoever. In fact, every single combat sport that you’ve ever seen where the winner has raised a belt, that belt originates from our Police Gazette Diamond Belt.”
“Upon Fox’s passing and until my succession, the Police Gazette Diamond Belt and all of its history went dormant. The decision to pass the rights to BYB came after six years of quiet research and deliberation to find a home where the legacy of the belt and sport can continue to grow and prosper. BYB’s dedication to the history and continued professionalism of bare knuckle fighting made it by far the most deserving place for future preservation of our sport’s history.”
The Police Gazette belt will now be the recognized BYB World Championship. BYB CEO Greg Bloom said in that release he’s ecstatic to bring that history into his organization.
“From John L. Sullivan capturing the Police Gazette title in 1882, to his legendary 75- round battle against Jake Kilrain in 1889, to Dada 5000’s backyard in West Perrine in the early 2000’s in Miami, to BYB’s monumental global expansion through the acquisition of BKB, the history of not just bare knuckle, but of championship prize fighting, is undeniably infused in BYB. Fighters looking to make their name in bare knuckle fighting now only have one place to go to fight for the oldest championship belt in all of combat sports, and it’s for the largest bare knuckle fighting organization on the planet, BYB. The past, present and future of this sport runs through one bare knuckle fighting promotion, and that is BYB Extreme.”
Beyond just signing top fighters, BYB has brought in plenty of notable figures from the world of combat sports. Those include veteran broadcast announcer Mike Goldberg , prominent ring announcer Kody “Big Mo” Mommaerts , and more. And the acquisition of this belt seems like one more way for the promotion to further establish itself within the combat sports ranks ahead of their next event, the BYB 29: Brawl In The Pines III card in Pembroke Pines, Florida Saturday.
The post BYB acquires rights to famed Police Gazette World Diamond Belt appeared first on Awful Announcing .
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