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Boxing to bare-knuckle: How fighters have fared ahead of James DeGale's BKFC debut
A successful pugilist across two different disciplines, Olympic gold medallist and former world champion James DeGale makes his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut this weekend.
DeGale’s bout with Matt Floyd headlines BKFC 81, which will be hosted at the AO Arena in Manchester on September, Saturday 27 and shown live on DAZN.
The former IBF super middleweight champion is not the first high-profile fighter to ditch the gloves and fight mano-a-mano, with these five boxers taking up bare knuckle fighting. Let's take a look at how they fared.
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Frankie Gavin
Once touted as Britain’s brightest prospect at amateur level, Frankie Gavin arguably never hit the heights expected of him.
He won gold at the 2007 Amateur World Championships, but a year later he missed out on making weight for the 2008 Olympics Games, exiting the tournament before he could even throw a punch.
As a professional he once challenged for a world title, taking on fellow Brit Kell Brook at the peak of his powers in 2015.
A sixth-round stoppage denied Gavin from prising the IBF welterweight title away from Brook, with the challenger never returning to the same level. His final professional boxing match would come in 2018, when he travelled to Bilbao in northern Spain to face Kerman Lejarraga for the European welterweight title.
The Basque fighter proved too much for Gavin, ending the fight in the fourth-round via knockout. It would not be until 2020 that Gavin confirmed he had retired from the sport, 18 months on from his final fight.
Five years later Gavin returned to pugilism in the form of BKFC, taking on Jack Dugdale in Birmingham back in June.
Gavin lasted just 52 seconds, with Dugdale putting his rival into a headlock and unleashing damaging blows.
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Austin Trout
Austin Trout has fared far better in both professional and bare knuckle boxing than Gavin. In 2011 he would win the regular version of the WBA’s super welterweight world title, a minor belt. He would attempt to win a full version of the world championship when he faced Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in 2013, only to come up short to the Mexican.
He later challenged for two further world titles, losing to IBF champion Jermall Charlo before being defeated by his twin, Jermell Charlo, who was in possession of the WBC version.
Trout made the transition to BKFC in 2024, defeating former UFC star Diego Sanchez in the fourth round of his debut. In his second fight he won the vacant welterweight title, and has gone on to make two successful defences of his crown, most recently defeating Carlos Trinidad in April 2025.
Jamie Cox
Another Briton who challenged for a world title, the pinnacle of Jamie Cox’s professional career was a loss to George Groves in the quarter-finals of the World Boxing Super Series in 2017.
A fourth-round KO ensured that Groves advanced and preserved his WBA super middleweight belt, with Cox never recovering from the first loss of his professional career. Domestic rival John Ryder inflicted a second knockout the following year, with Cox confirming his retirement three years later in 2021.
A gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Cox had long been bitten by the fighting bug, so it was no surprise that he made noises about taking up bare knuckle boxing in the years after retirement.
He finally made the transition into the brutal pastime in June 2025, losing to South African Charles Wasserman by second-round knockout.
DeMarcus Corley
DeMarcus Corley fought in various forms of boxing for the best part of 30 years. A winner of the Golden Gloves as an amateur, Corley would reach similar highs in the paid ranks.
His 2001 stoppage of Felix Flores earned him the WBO super lightweight belt, a title he defended for two years before losing to Zab Judah in 2003. His subsequent fight was against Floyd Mayweather, who cruised past Corley.
Nicknamed ‘Chop Chop’, Corley would attempt to become a world champion again in the mid-2000s.
He was defeated by WBO super lightweight champion Miguel Cotto in 2005, before travelling to the UK to face Junior Witter for the vacant WBC version of the title a year later. Defeat to the Briton sparked a losing streak, with Corley evolving into a gatekeeper.
Whilst still taking part in bouts, Corley dabbled in BKFC. He faced Reggie Barnett Jr in March 2021, quitting in the fourth round as he feared sustaining serious damage.
Corley finally announced his retirement in 2023, only to return to the ring in October 2024 to face Michael Williams Jr. He lost via unanimous decision, and whilst he has made no further comment over his fighting future, it appears he is finally done with boxing for good aged 51.
Paulie Malignaggi
Another world champion on our list, Paulie Malignaggi was the IBF super lightweight champion between 2007 and 2008. Best known in the UK for his fights with Ricky Hatton and Amir Khan, Malignaggi finished his professional career with a record of 36 wins and eight losses, seven of his victories coming by way of knockout. He would retire at 36 in 2017, but two years later he was fighting once again.
Phil Lambert
He joined BKFC to set up a bout with Artem Lobov, formerly of the UFC and stablemate of Conor McGregor.
Long before their bout, the pair were involved in a scrap ahead of Lobov’s BKFC debut against Jason Knight. In June 2019 they met inside the squared circle, with Malignaggi defeated by unanimous decision.
Immediately after, Malignaggi announced that he was quitting fighting entirely, ending his short foray into bare knuckle boxing.
Watch James DeGale vs Matt Floyd live on DAZN
BKFC 81 sees Olympic boxing champion James DeGale make his Bare Knuckle debut. Watch the fight and whole fight card live with a DAZN subscription.
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