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BRUCE BINKOW DISCUSSES BIG KNOCKOUT BOXING: "A NEW TAKE ON AN OLD SPORT...IT'S VERY EXCITING"

By Ben Thompson | July 24, 2014
BRUCE BINKOW DISCUSSES BIG KNOCKOUT BOXING:

"I think that the format of Big Knockout Boxing is really exciting. People refer to fighters fighting in a phone both, you know, you've heard that expression a million times. Well actually this is the actualization of that in a 17-foot diameter circle that you can't step out of. With no ropes and no corners, you're forced to basically stand in the middle of the ring and slug it out...We're really excited to see this. I think it's going to be a new take on an old sport. I think it's very exciting and I'm really excited to be working on it," stated Bruce Binkow, executive director of Big Knockout Boxing, who talked about the newest sport, their upcoming August 16 card, headlined by Bryan Vera vs. Gabriel Rosado, and much more. Check it out!

BT: Bruce, talk to me about Big Knockout Boxing. For fans that have never heard of it, how would you explain it to them?

BB: Well, I think that the format of Big Knockout Boxing is really exciting. People refer to fighters fighting in a phone both, you know, you've heard that expression a million times. Well actually this is the actualization of that in a 17-foot diameter circle that you can't step out of. With no ropes and no corners, you're forced to basically stand in the middle of the ring and slug it out. I think it's a great opportunity to see that style of fighting that is so popular in boxing and to really focus and highlight on that.

BT: How did you first get involved with it? Obviously you were with Golden Boy Promotions for a long time. Was this something that you were already in the process of moving towards?

BB: Well I heard about it for awhile and we had been talking about putting fighters into the first show, so I had been familiar with it and I'm friends with a lot of the people that were helping design it and put it together. When I became available, we had the conversation and it was something that worked out great for both of us.

BT: Recently there was announcement stating that you were going to be doing some consulting for Mayweather Promotions. Is that still the case or are you no longer involved with them now that you're working with BKB?

BB: I'm working with Mayweather Promotions as well on the September fight, most definitely. I think Leonard [Ellerbe] already announced it publicly that I was hired as a consultant. I'm not a full-time employee with Mayweather Promotions, but right now, I'm focused on the September fight with them.

BT: How similar, or different, do you consider BKB to be to boxing? You already mentioned that there are no ropes and no corners, but basically, it still follows all the standard rules of boxing, right?

BB: Yeah. As a matter of fact, the gloves are 8 and 10 ounces, so they're following the regulations of boxing gloves with weight and class. As you pointed out, there's no ropes and there's no corners. The rules are essentially the same as boxing, although it's 2-minute rounds instead of 3-minute rounds. If you step out of the ring, it's like taking a knee. You can inadvertently stumble out of the ring, but it's at the ref's discretion as to what happens. But the judging is the same. It's basically following the rules of boxing.

BT: Will the results of a BKB fight be a part of a fighter's official boxing record?

BB: At this point, no. There's gonna be a BKB record that will be separate from your boxing record.

BT: You mentioned the gloves. Are they actually using boxing gloves or are they customized differently?

BB: They're customized boxing gloves. In other words, they're made to the specifications of the athletic commission, but they're custom to BKB.

BT: Boxing is known as the Sweet Science with the objective being to hit and not get hit. Would you say that BKB is kind of the opposite of that? With no ropes and penalties if a fighter steps out of the pit, it seems like there are things in place to kind of hinder a more defensive fighter from using his technical skills in hopes of forcing him to fight toe to toe.

BB: Well for sure the emphasis is on offense. I mean, if you think about the way the pit was designed, there's really nowhere to hide and there's no way to kind of back up and play off the ropes and other defensive strategies that work well for boxing. However, that's not to say that defense will be absent, and I'm sure that the guys that are getting in the ring would certainly disagree that the objective is the opposite of not getting hit. I think that's still the objective is to hit and not get hit, but I think that in this particular case, you're going to be relying a lot more on offense than on defense.

BT: What would you say to some of the critics out there who might think that this isn't good for fighter protection because they're wearing customized gloves and they're being placed in a situation where they have no choice but to fight a certain way?

BB: I think safety is definitely a priority. It has to be when you're developing a combat sport. Again, the gloves will be regulation 8 and 10 ounce gloves. I think there's a misperception about the gloves being different and we're trying to educate people that they're not. Yes, the sport is focused on the offense, so it may result and probably will result in more toe to toe action, but you know as well as I do that sometimes the most brutal fights are the ones that go on the longest. Everybody at BKB is focused on fighter safety, and so is the commission, and it's something that we're keeping close watch on.

BT: The main event of the August 16 card is Gabriel Rosado vs. Bryan Vera. How important was it for you guys to get familiar names like that involved with this new concept of fighting?

BB: Obviously it helps to have guys that people are aware of. It just brings way more visibility to the event, but I think equally as important, and maybe more important, is that with guys like Vera and Rosado, you have two guys that stylistically are perfect for a format like this. They're sluggers and they're warriors and they're going to stand there and go toe to toe and really deliver on what the concept is, so I think that's to BKB's credit. Picking the right guys is very important.

BT: Do you think you'll start to see more mainstream boxers or mixed martial artists crossing over to BKB since it offers another avenue for them to get fights?

BB: Yeah, I think that, again, when people see it, whether they see it in person or they watch it on television, I think they'll see the excitement of the energy and the uniqueness of the format. It's kind of like if you think about tennis players, they play on grass and then they play on clay and then they play on hard court; it's a different format, but based around the same game.

BT: The August 16 card is on pay-per-view. Is that the plan, to keep these events on pay-per-view, or do you think you guys will look to get them on premium cable channels like ESPN, Fox Sports 1, HBO or Showtime?

BB: I think it's an evolution, like any new sport, and I think that the market will dictate where it ultimately ends up; whether it ends up exclusively on pay-per-view or whether there's a manifestation that's on basic cable or however that ends up going. I think that for the short term, the idea of a very resonably priced pay-per-view product is a great business model and hopefully the audience will allow the continuation of more events and it'll dictate how many events and how big the events are going forward. But anything's possible in terms of expanding out from there.

BT: How frequently are you hoping to put on these events?

BB: To a certain extent, it's always going to be dependent on how fast the audience finds the product and how fast we grow the number of events, but at this point right now, we're looking at multiple events per year. I can't give you an exact number yet, but the idea is to have them be regular and then to increase the frequency from there.

BT: Bruce, I definitely appreciate your time and I'm looking forward to seeing the fights on August 16. Is there anything else you want to let the fans know before I let you go?

BB: We're really excited to see this. I think it's going to be a new take on an old sport. I think it's very exciting and I'm really excited to be working on it.



[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]

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