Buakaw knocks out Turkish fighter in Bangkok bare-knuckle debut

Buakaw Banchamek’s debut in bare-knuckle boxing on Saturday night was as brutal as it was short. The Muay Thai legend stepped into the ring against Turkish kickboxer Erkan Varol and knocked him out two minutes into the first round of their fight at CentralWorld in Bangkok.

After a quiet opening as Buakaw circled his opponent, observing his tactics, the Thai launched a left-hook into the body of Varol that staggered the Turk. Varol backed off but Buakaw followed up with a series of vicious right-hands to the body. Trapped on the ropes of the circular ring, the former European kickboxing champion took one last hooking punch under the ribs before collapsing to the canvass clutching his midriff.

The bare-knuckle bout was held under Broughton's rules, in which fighting continues until a man goes down. He is then given 30 seconds to stand up and face his opponent. Varol failed to make the count and the fight was ruled as a knock-out win for Buakaw.