Bare-knuckle boxer fights referee after losing championship belt
Fighter Keith Richardson went down swinging Friday during his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship title defense against Alberto Blas at Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Fla.
Blas (5-0) beat Richardson (4-1) to snatch the Bantamweight championship belt via first-round TKO in their BKFC 62 co-main event bout.
Richardson was so dazed during the match-ending exchange that he continued throwing punches even after referee Samuel Burgos called the fight.
Wild scene at the end of this BKFC fight. Guy was rocked so badly he tried to fight the ref pic.twitter.com/zYNe8qWgW4
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 22, 2024
There’s no greater evidence than the scene above as to why MMA promotions hire strong referees to maintain order during fights.
Burgos had the wingspan and strength to keep Richardson at arm’s length as BKFC security rushed into the ring before things could escalate further. The scene could have gotten much uglier otherwise.
UFC fighter Conor McGregor was thoroughly entertained while tuning into the event. “The Notorious” congratulated Blas and said that Richardson was clearly seeing stars once the fight ended.
The Cuban Flash!!! 🇨🇺 New Bare Knuckle World Champion Alberto Blas! Richardson doesn’t know where he is trying to fight everyone around him! The Marine came to fight but the Cuban with real blunt force accuracy! Wow! THIS SHOW HAS BEEN AMAZING! I hope you have been watching this…
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 22, 2024
McGregor won’t be able to do much else but watch fights for the foreseeable future. The 35-year-old had to pull out from headlining UFC 303 after suffering a gruesome-looking toe injury while training for his fight against Michael Chandler.
