Underground Bare Knuckle Boxing in the UK

[Music] of all the forms of fighting known to man one name strikes fear further into the hearts of those who hear it bare knuckle for hundreds of years the men of Britain have rammed their unprotected fists into each other's bodies to decide who was the hardest of them all noble men to Travelers to family men and gangsters being a bare knuckle fighter is something that marks you out from the rest of society it's a thoroughly British blood sport that gradually sank further into the criminal underground as the rest of society became more civilized it's a sport of Legend honor and astonishing violence be knuckle fighting is a world that most people think they understand but few have actually seen now a number of Fighters and promoters are trying to take it into the mainstream setting up the most anticipated bare knuckle fight in over 150 years America versus Britain and I wanted to know if the sport can ever truly take itself out of its underground past [Music] the common perception of B arle fighting is that only Irish travelers and East Den Hard Men still do it but in actual fact there's still a thriving underground and the fighters come from all walks of life and it originates here in the UK I'm here in hinley just outside Leicester to meet Andy topliff now Andy runs a promotion company called B bad promotions and what he aims to do with that company is to kind of bring bare knuckle into the mainstream it's an often cominging uh fight company and I do it because I love the sport and I want I want the sport to grow intrigued to know more about the history of be knuckle and why now it seems to be on the up we met it at a patriotic Pub just outside Leicester Andy how's it going nice me right yeah what is the history of bare knuckle fighting in England and Britain B knuckle fighting as a sport was absolutely categorically English it was an English thing uh the Europeans feared English men for their fighting ability It's actually an a British Heritage benle fighting is it's where boxing comes from certainly in the 18th century very very a big sport even the royal family they would want to know who won you know if it was a big fight they were like superstars of today and how about your own background how did you get into Ben knle from a very young age to be honest with you you know I was brought up in the traveling Community my hands they're destroyed basically now they're deformed because of it obviously in the ble World there has always been uh quite a lot of input with criminals do you know what I mean I wanted to push all of that out I wanted that gone you know I decided to do be bad and keep it as a proper sport I I really want to get this regulated and get it mainstream we started the first UK belt since you know way over 100 years and then I thought well one one extra step and we'll go for the Atlantic belt which is a real historic event I'd always wanted to get you know an American to come over Jason Young this is the man who I've dreamt of getting over into this country we're making history with this guy being here the last time an American was in this country fighting for and about you know against the UK Champion 1863 it's a big deal Jason had flown into the UK prior to the fight and had surrounded himself with some of the most knowledgeable fighters in the UK including ex-bear knal Champion Paddy Monahan famous for his friendship with Muhammad Ali three years it's took us to get you here is it three years but I'm here no excuses no excuses it and you're going to prove the boys wrong is it oh yeah but he couldn't stick around for long as he was off to Wing Chung Grandmaster Samuel qua martial arts retreat in Blackpool a man who apparently once trained with Bruce Lee clearly Jason was taking this fight very seriously but whilst my own experiences of fighting are fairly pathetic I was intrigued to meet a man who' been fighting since the age of 10 James Gypsy boy mccy from Newcastle a living legend in the bare knuckle scene and the man pitted up against Jason Young in the Atlantic title fight we met him at his local haunt a 50s themed Diner in the center of town uh so what's good here everything is good but the burgers are hugely the reason why I come out is cuz bird brings this here just come out do s you know what I mean so that's a truthly your nickname is Gypsy boy where does that come from obviously I've traveled all I've lived in island and worked all over is being Irish a big part of your kind of fighting Heritage yeah I I I love isand I love going back there I love see M I love it I love spend time with family honestly I love sitting on the city like C watching TV me big softy love me family you know loads of people dat like you know they treat me got full of roids and all that crap but I prefer to get full of Guinness and H full of food you know it's a much more fun way doing my my days are being a model of well gun so don't worry without six pack anymore me you know what I'm saying you got a Kake that's it I've got a full Kake and all James a self-professed softy and family man invited us to his house to meet his charming and longsuffering girlfriend Leanne oh I love being s party and I I'm the lad but then I breads but I you know what I mean and I got a good girl and she's put up with a lot hopefully one day Mar you know what does she do drives me bunk as [Music] me yeah hey how again I'm CL just want a cut I'm fine me and Jim are very very different like you couldn't get two people more different in regards to what we're like how we've lived Our Lives choices we've made how do you feel about him being considered like a Legend um I find it funny because it's James he gets fan maal now which is quite funny the person you see on like the fights on YouTube that's not him like I know it is but that's not the person I know I don't like it to be honest with you when you come back from the day red f fight his face was really bad there was blood on me like I cleaned them the next morning that's more bother to wash the twice there's blood over the like it was just awful it's not just about him having a fight it's the effect that it can have on us in regards as a couple build up a certain fight he's like a time bomb last Sumer we had a bit of a bad time and I thought you know this is not working I'm I'm away but I've never seen anybody fight as much as what he did to get me [Music] back Having learned about the origins of be knuckle and spent time with some of the biggest names in the game it was time to see it in the flesh bbad was holding an event in cowi Bay North Wales the first fight between a pair of seemingly well-matched middleweights was over in seconds the second and last fight of the night was something that will stay with me forever welcome Seth Jones a 46-year-old local solicitor and lunatic known as the bangal hammer took on a man 20 years younger than himself only to go the distance in a fight that was as controversial as it was [Music] thrilling [Music] [Applause] the solicitor was bending the rules somewhat me when now come [Applause] [Applause] on after what seemed like hours they called it a draw it seemed odd to see so much blood in what was supposedly a stalemate but I couldn't call a winner either Seth seemed like he taken more abuse but Aaron looked exhausted it was my first fight put myself forward for it when I saw on the internet for a 13 stone fighter how does it feel fighting someone who's 20 years older than you don't really matter I've uh I've had street fights of older people since I've been young you know I mean um used to get in trouble fighting and all that lot do you think it'll make you a more peaceful person yeah I'm peaceful anyway but you're also getting a lot of street fights how does that kind of I used to get in street fights when I was younger cuz I used hang around with the wrong crowd my uh genuine was going a bit too much now I know how it feels I can control it a little bit more I think in my next fight I con outed my left eye I got poked in it but I think yeah it's good result from both of us I'm tough of it and how do you feel right now uh buzzing do you think you'll feel worse tomorrow morning you know what I mean I've had worse than this yeah yeah how does it feel fighting guys who are what considerably younger than you half my age half your age that's just the nature of ble boxing you know I fought guys older than myself I don't mind fighting younger guys I don't mind I just like fighting do you fight in the streets no no them days I I used to have a lot of fights when I was a younger built up a bit of a reputation in the area um but it was a huge mistake in my life being a bit of a thug to being a bit of a drug Smuggler to go to prison and then I realized you know this is not the life and so I decided to go in back to school and studied law in the time I'd spent in the world of bare knuckle so far I began to realize that the sport had a kind of gravitational pull for lost souls many of the guys we'd spoken to seemed to be people who made bad decisions in life and perhaps in bare knuckle they found a way to utilize their talents which happened to lay in a realm the normal society finds barbaric however I wondered if organized violence was a cure or a symptom for angry young men James Lambert [Music] [Applause] Hello friends it's James um the author of be happy in 24 hours I used to be a very unhappy person very violent person bacle fighter Bouncer and unlicensed boxer and these are some of the tips and strategies that helped me change my life and literally become the happy person that I am today um helping society and being the happy Coach retiring from the sport undefeated James Lambert it taken a complete U-turn from his life of violence and reinvented himself as a lifestyle and fitness coach calling himself Mr Happy how long have you live here K what has it been now I think it's coming up to 2 years uh we basically moved here for the peace and quiet and um as you know it's a you can see as cold as sack it's very uh peaceful we've got super Neighbors did you want one sugar my friend so were you always a fighter there was always this fascination with fighting I was an unhappy angry violent person I went out into the world and L and behold I found other angry violent scared young men you know somebody would catch my eye I would catch theirs and a fight would ensue it was that ridiculous can you remember your first ble fight of of course mixed emotions even to this state because I was I was terrified I used fear as a form of energy transmuted that into positive energy that drove me into into my victories but again I found it very empty when I got home I was still left with my my problems not just outside but but in my mind so so so the fight did nothing to make me to make me happy and did you know other fighters who felt similarly well you see this is the thing it's never spoken about certainly not within that world where emotion is immediately and very directly equated with weakness a leopard can change his spots and that's very important cuz I hear it a lot and it's a mind virus and we accept things because they're said they're not always true we have to examine this and so I want you you may be a parent and your son or daughter could be go through difficulties never give up on them never give up on them your brother your son your friend could be an alcoholic a drug addict never give up on them people have the power to change inherently in them i' I've done it myself even when you win there there was it was great pain you know my my ribs could have been fractured or broken you know always cuts to the face but worse than that was the mental trauma it was realizing again what I had done the person that I was becoming and that really did affect me mentally I think now looking back I became depressed I suppose there were thoughts thoughts of self harm maybe thought thoughts of actually you know if this is it I I don't I don't actually want to be I don't want any part of this and um that that was actually profoundly upsetting upsetting for me and and I felt terrible so that that was actually a pretty you know a pretty low evening and um I'd like to say it was the last but you know that that did happen a lot James had removed everything that would remind him of his part Life as a violent young man apart from a punch bag which still hangs in the garage where he coaches his clients do you still hit the bag actually I I personally chosen not to uh I suppose it's about 2 years ago when I decided to fully refrain from fighting and for me that's violence in word thought and deed so for me at at this current part in my life I'm open to change it might change next week you know other people can keep it controlled I I fear that I the anger wouldn't just stay here and again it would leak into other aspects of my life life so I've just made a personal decision to to not hit anything if you like for a while and um so far I've been good to my work meeting James is really surprising because he you've got a guy who was in the bare knuckle game for years and came out of it undefeated yet in some way he feels kind of ashamed and he will admit that he is haunted by his past and looking at what he does now it seems that his entire life is this kind of struggle to put that to bed and he does seem to be winning that struggle admirably so and they miss a happy thing I guess is a way of him keeping that down but behind that Mr Happy Persona you do see flashes of the old James this kind of machine that used to render men unconscious as he said but he will be the first to admit that and he says that you know he hasn't conquered his demons yet now in this kind of suburban life perhaps he's fighting his biggest battle of all the first UK versus US ban knle fight in over 150 years is just days away so we've come back to Newcastle to see James mccy who's in the middle of his training preparations get in wait down let all your opponents you got to a chance at the start you know what I mean so when you're coming out are there any kind of like uh routines New Castle means a lot to us and Al does and um we wear Min Castle top and short bastard where would you like to see the uh the sport going maybe 10 15 years time you know it'll be hitting big Arenas you know but I'll be well maybe I may not if the money comes good look after myself I might still be fighting in 15 years time it's all about the pressure like it's all the pressure boys handle it it thrive on [Applause] pressure can you explain to me what it's like in the pit it's only like three Bs are here by this way Three Bs here this way and you're taking two steps you know and at the center you're there you know I'd be like fting with a job moving me hand about you know what I mean you like establish your job is a good thing you know what I mean then you get the one to and you know what I mean and then you obviously you're going to move your head a bit you know what I'd be trying to do if someone's jobbing me you know and then like maybe com doing a bit or come the center bang bring a body shot in and i' honest i' much with me with 10 in the jaw and one good one there you know cuz it really hurts the feel when you get one of those there um I can't even describe it m it's the worst feeling in the world when you can't breathing You' got a gumshield in your mouth you try to spit the gumshield out but you can't because you can't get your breath to get the power out of your lungs to spit it out you're going red you're starting to see little stars then you're going low low and low out to the ground it's horrible it's all it's horrible eventually hands will drop and then boom yeah night you know what I mean and if I want to knock you out and I'm looking for the chain about here right you haven't brought you 14 in pond how so you're all out look you mentioned being punch drunk earlier do you think you could have like a wakeup call at all you know I've I've had some great nights with a boxing and with a uh if I wasn't so BR Dam I could tell you the M do you wor it might affect your memories of your family in those kind of important moments and what H what probably really hard you know I mean I can remember the day that my dad died remember it all every single second of it but can't remember much otherwise like could get hit by a bush you know and would have any memories at all so it's just a risk you got to take isn't it why the title was on me back you know MC is a Catholic crush the Shamrock in for your dad in no Fe I'm going to be scar out in life man he just go go for it whatever happens happens there's a lot more bit fighter is out there and I but the difference I've got the balls to I don't just talk about it you know I for I'll for fight does a matter where I again I don't think Leon I realize uh just how big of a part of this is in my life you know it's great when you can take someone's best digs and you can give them your best and see pok's all better from spending time with James what I really began to understand was this idea of hot I think a lot of us throw it out as like a kind of just a cliche but actually looking at James and the way he conducts his life with this kind of very emotional attitude towards the death of his father and and his relationship with his family and what he does is he manages to channel that and bring it into the ring he breaks every cliche I mean he not one of these guys who comes around toing his unbeaten record he knows he's been beaten a few times and he literally takes it on the chin and accepts that and maybe he's the perfect fighter because he's fallible I love fighting I'm the Americans coming over here across the Atlantic I mean it's a big deal I don't think I'm going to lose that's not even in my mind said you know it's not even an option to me you know I've been a fighter my whole life I feel like I'm the more skilled fighter I'm the bigger fighter I don't really give a damn what anybody says because people are always going to have opinions people are always going to doubt you none of that matters what matters is what happens in that pit when it's me and him me and James I'm very ready to [Music] go it was the bare knuckle Extravaganza down in South London the US versus UK transatlantic Showdown the biggest bare knuckle fight in recent history two Champion one from America one from the UK be fighting this Bel 1863 this [Music] belt but before the title fight we were treated to a few other tear UPS in the buildup to the main event it was a festival of physical abuse blood guts Glory I want to see people going for [Music] it be knuckle it is the ultimate sport yeah ultimate ter up just enjoy see getting in there you know real punches and no around you know what I [Music] mean there's no hold F more or less you know they really go for it violence and bl chance to getting badly hurt it's a good buzz you know what I mean it's one of the best buzzes I've ever had you know what I mean it's up there at set friend England is the home of bare knuckle I think the British it's in the blood [Applause] we're all ain't we you know what I mean the rest of the World Salt Lake City Utah I'm here for Jason the machine gun young USA Jason the machine gun young fighting for the Atlantic heavweight title against UK champ James J Bo mccan I'm ready to kick his ass Jason was everything you'd expect an American fighter to be Brash verbose and massively patriotic he'd even referred to himself as the bald eagle in a few occasions unfortunately today's ble boxers are mostly just boxers I bring a different style for me it's natural I tune everything else out the crowd the noise the cameras everything and just focus on my opponent just in the zone I'm the first American to come over here since 1863 and fight for the title so there's much more pressure on him because I'm the unknown I'm coming from the United States we have a huge Advantage it was 10:00 the scheduled time for the fight but James was still nowhere to be seen rumors that he was refusing to come down were spreading throughout the crowd some said he was in a cab on his way from Newcastle others said he bottled it this didn't sound like the James I knew but time was ticking on and the success of the night depended on his appearance Jason who'd been in training for weeks had become increasingly agitated well I don't know what happened he got stuck up in Newcastle I mean we've known about this fight for a very long time I came all the way from America if I was back in America I'd have 100 friends that would come get me immediately and bring my ass down here so I basically just told him you know get down here seemed seems like there's a lot of excuses with today's Fighters back in the day somebody call somebody out and you know if you're going to be disrespectful you got to back it up people were beginning to lose hope and headed towards the exit it was looking likely that history wouldn't be made tonight and suddenly like the Angel of the North he rose James mccy a few Stones heavier a few inches to his beard and wearing a Newcastle Football shirt had arrived looking slightly BL eyed he had fallen asleep for the entire cab Journey but was he too tired too full of Guinness to take on the machine [Applause] gun after weeks of buildup training mind games and the threat of one of them not even turning up the Atlantic title fight was about to start we were here on the edge of History America versus the UK Toe to Toe bare knuckle [Applause] as the machine gun's fist hammered down on the struggling Gypsy boy it seemed that the title might be heading across the Atlantic but mcy had over [Music] [Applause] ideas come on he's [Applause] and he done it James mccy had made sure that Britain had won the bare knuckle braggy rights and young in his Entourage were on their way back to Utah with their tails between their [Applause] legs his victory marked a step into the big time not just for Andy top Cliff's company but for Bare knuckle as a sport and perhaps it had moved closer to everyone's dream of it becoming the biggest nastiest and most exciting blood sport in the [Music] UK h

Channel: VICE

Views: 15,861,424

Keywords: Bare Knuckle, fight club, fighting, Clive Martin, Rule Britannia, UK, angry young men, boxing, violence, documentary, documentaries, interview, interviews, culture, wild, lifestyle, world, exclusive, independent, underground, videos, funny, funny videos, journalism, vice guide, vice presents, vice news, vbs.tv, vice.com, vice, vice magazine, vice mag, vice videos

Id: a9UZBg1pMS4

Length: 27min 22sec (1642 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 08 2014