BKB made good on its promise of a more-intense and aggressive brand of boxing with its third event at Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday night and broadcast live on Pay-Per-View. A night filled with toe-to-toe battles in The Pit culminated with Julian Pollard capturing the inaugural BKB Heavyweight Championship in a hard fought seven-round unanimous decision over Rodney Hernandez.
Hernandez performance was commendable considering he took the fight on two-days notice as a replacement for Tyrone Spong, who had sustained an injury during training this week. However, it was clear early on in the bout that he was technically overmatched by Pollard who wore Hernandez down with relentless body shots, a steady jab and a powerful right hand. While Pollard delivered a dominating performance, Hernandez strong chin managed to keep him upright for the full seven rounds, keeping Pollard from delivering a knockout that would have earned him an additional $30,000 bonus.
BKB3 also featured the highly anticipated BKB debut of Shane Mosley Jr. who demonstrated that pedigree is a valuable thing, knocking out Boston's Jason Kelly a mere 51 seconds into the first round. After initially knocking down Kelly with a short right hand from the clinch, it was a vicious combination finished with an overhand right that sent Kelly to the canvas for good.
BKB3 marked the second event broadcast featuring BKB's exclusive "Hit Chip" technology, used throughout the night, tracking the power and velocity in real time of fighter's punches during the event. The punching metrics were displayed on an on-screen graphic for viewers watching the fight on TV.
Recap of Other Bouts
Jesus Soto-Karass – N. Hollywood, CA vs. Adrian Granados, Chicago (Jr. Middleweight): In a back and forth affair, youth and speed proved superior as Granados won a split decision over the veteran Soto-Karass.
Janks Trotter – Calgary, Canada vs. Ed Paredes – Hollywood, FL (Jr. Middleweight): In a back-and-forth affair that saw Paredes knock down Trotter in the third, Trotter weathered the storm and battled back in the fourth and fifth to win by decision over Paredes.
Urmat Ryskeldiev – Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan vs. Marcus Willis, Fort Meyers, FL (Jr. Middleweight): The two fighters went the distance with Ryskeldiev winning by unanimous decision.
Travis Castellon – Fort Lauderdale, FL vs. Arturu Quintero – San Jose, CA (Lightweight): After three rounds of toe-to-toe action, Quintero delivers a decisive fourth-round TKO victory over Castellon.
Anthony Castellon – Fort Lauderdale, FL vs. Antonio Johnson – St. Paul, MN (Jr. Middleweight): The fight went the distance, with Johnson winning by unanimous decision.
Chris Sprang – Las Vegas vs. Samuel Horowitz – Chicago (Lt. Heavyweight): The first fight of the night went the distance, with Spang awarded the victory by unanimous decision.
BKB, a new and intense close-range form of boxing that debuted last August, brought back "The Pit," a smaller, circular fighting space, rather than a traditional square boxing ring with no ropes designed to produce more knockouts and heightened boxing action.
Developed by a team of industry veterans and licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, BKB features shorter and fewer rounds. BKB uses a unique format designed to deliver a higher intensity level, maximum action and amazing knockouts, all of which have been declining with conventional boxing. BKB rounds last two minutes compared to boxing's three-minute and MMA's five-minute rounds. Fighters, using eight- and 10-ounce boxing gloves (depending on weight class), go five rounds for non-championship bouts and seven rounds for championship bouts.
For more information on BKB or how to catch all the hard-hitting knockouts, please visit BKB.TV. To join the conversation and get updates use #BKB and follow BKB on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.