BKB adds James Brown, retains Julian Fernandez for Miami, Mexico events

BKB 58 will take place on August 29 at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, with heavyweight champion Gustavo Trujillo facing Mark O’Neil. BKB 59 is scheduled for September 19 at Auditorio Municipal in Tijuana, where Julian Fernandez will defend his Super Cruiserweight title against Daniel “Big Pod” Podmore.

James “Get Down” Brown is the promotion’s headline new signing. The Wilmington, North Carolina fighter joins after victories over former BKB competitors Dan Chapman and Bovar Khanakov. Brown and BKFC ended their agreement on August 11, allowing him to move quickly to BKB.

BKB has also brought in unbeaten heavyweight Fernando Cuza, who has twice beaten Trujillo in one-round Team Boxing League bouts. Featherweight Albert El Zaibak, another undefeated fighter from the Cleveland area, has joined the roster alongside British fighters Jon Telfer and John Hamilton.

Fernandez, a 32-year-old Tijuana native, is 3-0 in BKB with three stoppages. He won the Super Cruiserweight World Championship by stopping Alex Wilson at BKB 52 in March. His challenger, Podmore, is a former three-division BKB champion, and their bout will headline the organisation’s first event in Mexico.

The Tijuana card will also include a vacant Super Flyweight World Championship contest between Mexico’s Cecy Ulloa and Andy “The CrAsian” Nguyen. BKB is staging the show with Zanfer Boxing, while the Miami event will be broadcast on VICE TV and Telemundo Deportes Ahora.

Miami’s programme is led by Trujillo’s heavyweight defence. Trujillo enters with an 8-0 BKB record and eight first-round knockouts. The card also features Yuriorkis Gamboa’s bare-knuckle debut against Yesner Talavera, Alberto Blas defending the Super Featherweight title against Brandon Birr, and appearances by Aspen Ladd and Roberto Duran Jr.