BKB BRITISH gold came back to Cumbria this weekend, Whitehaven’s Kevin Thompson stopped Mason Shaw in the third round at the O2 Arena.
Thompson is nothing if not gutsy, he found himself in another tough contest, climbing off the canvas in the first stanza before coming back and finishing the fight in the third. 
“You’ve got a game plan in mind and then the guy lands a big left hook.”
Luckily, Thompson was accompanied by Dave Straughton, Alex Cook and brother Martin. “The lads in the corner gave some sound advice.”
No risk, no reward. The jeopardy of a tall order seems to be alluring to Thompson. In his last outing, he took a light heavyweight world title fight on three days’ notice. 
Shaw is a dangerous opponent, however, just as he demonstrated in his bout with Goran Reljic Thompson has an indomitable spirit.
It was clear in the build-up that his head was in the right place. The Haven fighter stated many times that he was prepared for a ‘five round war’. Shaw gained respect for his opponent during the bout; insisting on putting the BKB cruiserweight belt around Thompson’s waist.
Thompson’s teammate Peter Gilmour sees the first fight as a trial run for the career move to bareknuckle. “He’s really grown into the sport of BKB”
The cruiserweight title bout was a piece of combat sports history, crowning Cumbria’s first legitimate BKB British champion. Not only that, Thompson and Shaw made use of the world’s first legal, exposed-knuckle hand wrap, signed off by The World Bare Knuckle Boxing Council.
Thompson’s next opponent is unknown at the minute. However, Peter believes he will take on all comers ‘whatever they put in front of him’.
With a new TV deal in the works, the Whitehaven born fighter could find himself fighting on Sky Sports. ‘It’s a really good adventure to be on’.
Heightened stakes may be the reason behind the crackling drama of the bareknuckle bouts. The sport of bareknuckle boxing has come a long way from hay bales and country lanes.