Canelo Alvarez's former rival has 'hair pulled' but wins with stunning KO in epic 92-second bare-knuckle battle

28/04/2024 11:26

Canelo Alvarez’s former rival Alfredo Angulo scored a 92-second KO in a classic bare-knuckle war.

Angulo famously fought and lost to Mexican rival Alvarez in March 2014, being stopped by the pound-for-pound ranked star who has since made a rise to super stardom.

After giving up boxing in 2020, Angulo made the switch to bare-knuckle boxing under the BKFC banner, and made his debut at BKFC Knucklemania IV against opponent Jeremiah Riggs.

And it was a brutal encounter that lasted just 92 seconds, with the pair coming out all guns blazing from the opening bell.

Riggs had the upper hand early on landing some big shots flush on the chin of Angulo, who held up well and landed his own work.

But most notably, Angulo had his hair pulled multiple times during clinches, as the exchanges became vicious.

Bare-knuckle boxers are allowed to use Muay Thai clinching methods, but the move is illegal and receive backlash from fans.

After a tough opening minute, the 42-year-old went on his own assault landing a thumping right hand which left his rival with his back flat on the canvas.

Riggs was unable to clamber to his feet in time and was clearly dazed by the shot, so he was counted out by the referee who waved off the contest.

The debutant celebrated wildly by climbing the ropes, after making a brilliant start to life in BKFC.

But fans were quick to circle back to the hair pulling, with one writing: “So apparently holding your opponents hair is legal?”

Another wrote: “Are they seriously allowed to pull the guys hair & dirty box?

“Just watched this & was in shock, never seen this in BKFC before. Great comeback, smashed that dirty rat.”

A fan even said: “The cheating was crazy!”

But some were simply in awe of the action, with one continuing: “Bare knuckle fighting is insane!”

Another concluded: “That was mental, pair of mad b*****ds. Satisfying to watch that KO after he pulled his hair.”

Angulo will hope he can have a bright future in bare-knuckle fighting, having failed to become world champion in traditional boxing but it is still early days.