Carlisle bare-knuckle champion defends title with powerful victory

Danny Christie successfully defended his British bare-knuckle boxing title with a powerful victory over David Round.

The Carlisle fighter put on an impressive display to floor his Welsh opponent in the first round at BKFC 60 Milton Keynes.

Christie knocked Round to the canvas twice before a further barrage of punches saw referee Dan Miragliotta stopp the fight.

Victory for the Currock boxer by technical knockout (TKO) was confirmed after just one minute and 38 seconds.

It was a convincing first defence of his British light-heavyweight title for Christie.

And it saw the Cumbrian back on dominant form as he bounced back from his previous BKFC outing when he suffered defeat to American Jared Warren.

This time Christie left nothing to chance as he went on the attack early on against MMA professional Round, who is from Milford Haven, in one of the night's top-of-the-bill contests.

Some strong exchanges between the fighters were followed by a huge left hand from Christie which knocked Round down.

The Welshman fought on only to be immediately floored by a big right hand shot from Christie.

Again, Round got up and continued but Christie's next round of punches were decisive and Miragliotta stepped in to confirm the fight over.

The two fighters embraced as Christie's arm was raised, still the British champion.

• READ MORE: Maryport fighter wins on the big BKFC bare-knuckle stage

It was a fourth victory on the BKFC scene for Christie since 2022, who has previously defeated Terry Brazier, Darren Godfrey and Anthony Holmes.

After the fight the Carlisle man paid tribute to his supporters, whilst also confirming he plans to move into a different weight division as he continues in BKFC.

Interviewed in the ring, Christie said: "First of all, I want to thank God, and then I want to thank everybody who has come and supported me tonight - all the people who have travelled down the road to come and see me chin this Welshman.

"[In my last fight against Warren] I didn't give him the fight he deserved - no excuses. [But] this was my night."

Asked if he would be keen on a rematch with Warren, Christie said no, adding that he planned to go down to "middleweight, welterweight of wherever I belong."

Warren was commentating on the live BKFC stream and said of Christie: "Hats off to Danny Christie.

"He came in and imposed his will."

Warren went on to praise the "nasty hooks" he threw against the talented Round, adding: "He caught him on the chin multiple times in a row, and most people are going to fall down from that."

Christie's win completed a Cumbrian double at BKFC 60 Milton Keynes, after Maryport-based Bartek Kanabey earlier defeated Bakhtyor Kudratov in a lightweight bout.