Former IBF featherweight world champion Lee Selby made a thunderous bare knuckle debut, stopping Italy’s Antonio Rizzo with a sickening left hook to the liver in the second round at BKB 55: Carnage in Cardiff.
Returning to combat sports for the first time in four years, the 39-year-old Welsh star delivered a dominant performance at the Vindico Arena, rolling back the years in front of his home fans just down the road from Barry. “Lightning” Selby showed no ring rust, using precise movement, a ram-rod jab, and sharp counterpunching to dismantle the aggressive bare-knuckle veteran.
He dropped Rizzo at the end of the first round with a right hand to the head. In the second round, Rizzo was floored three more times before the fight was stopped following the decisive body shot.
Post-fight, Selby said:
“It felt amazing, and don’t forget, I’m almost 40 years of age. Rizzo is almost half my age; he could be my son. So, I’m doing it for the 40-year-olds, the 40 club. Like NWA said, I’ve got an appetite for destruction.”
“Yes, I do [want a world title shot]. I want to avenge my good friend and sparring partner, Kallum Shkhane and the loss when he fought for the world title. I thought he was very unlucky to get stopped just before the bell when I thought he was winning on points.”
Selby, who held the IBF featherweight world title from 2015 to 2018 and defended it five times, previously captured British, Commonwealth, and European titles. The 12th Welsh world champion in boxing history compiled a 28-4 (9 KOs) professional record in gloved boxing.
The victory launches Selby’s bare-knuckle campaign as BKB continues its rapid growth, attracting elite talent from traditional boxing into the no-gloves Trigon format.