Leeds bareknuckle boxer Scott McHugh has sights set on the British title

The 28-year-old made his BKB debut in 2018 and has recorded two wins and two defeats, however, he is no stranger to combat sports.

The Leeds-born fighter has competed in boxing, thai boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts, contesting over 30 fights across all disciplines.

The rescheduled BKB 21 show will be headlined by Jimmy Sweeney and Ricardo Franco, with McHugh battling James Lilley for the British title on the undercard on Sunday.

“It is a tough fight but I am happy to take him,” he told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“I am training like a machine at the minute. I have been doing bag work, hill sprints and the gyms are open again.

He continued: “I have got a thai boxing background, I trained in that for years.

“Then I got offered a fight at bareknuckle against a guy called Tony Lafferty, I took it on a few days’ notice.

“We got the fight of the year on the bareknuckle scene, after that I had two more fights.

“The second I won by second-round knockout. The first fight was a loss but I only took it on a few days’ notice and it was still fight of the year.

“But both of my fights after that were second-round knockouts.

“I lost the last one on points against Craig Morgan.

“That was a really tough fight and we were drawing until I got knocked down in the last 10 seconds.”

As a 17-year-old, McHugh spent three years in the armed forces and was based at Warminster in Wiltshire before leaving to take up boxing.

“I was in the army, I did three years. I didn’t do too long or any tours,” he added.

“I got out and started boxing, a lot of fighters in BKB have been in the army.

“My sparring partner, Dean ‘Smudger’ Smith, was in the army as well and he got me into boxing.

“I was only a young kid when I went into the army, I had only turned 17 but it toughened me up.

“With BKB, there are lots of people who are ex-UFC and there are no journeymen. It is a big step up for me but now I have got a title fight and that is just mental.

“You don’t get hurt enough in boxing and I like a bit of a challenge.”

The major difference between boxing and barekunckle boxing is that fighters on the BKB scene only wear handwraps, to protect their wrists.

It means competitors are cut more often but McHugh insists it is more than just brawling.

He said: “You can’t just go in there and throw punches, you need to have a boxing background and you have got to be able to take a shot as well.

“You have to pick your shots. I have only got three knuckles on my right hand because of it. You can’t just throw big haymakers because you’ll break your hand.

“You need to be clever with your shots. In boxing you have more protection but in bareknuckle you only have your hand wraps.”

McHugh is surprised as anyone to get his title shot in only his fifth fight but says: “I can’t wait, I am more than ready.

“I think I am going to bring it back to Leeds, I am confident I can win.”

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