Meet the terrifying bare knuckle fighters who reckon the underground sport is ‘better than sex’
New C4 documentary Bare Knuckle Fight Club goes behind the scenes of a sport which lives by the motto 'fight until you can't carry on'
BARE knuckle fighting is a shady underground sport which sees former convicts and enormous hard men battle it out until they can't stand anymore.
The unregulated boxing matches are not for the fainthearted and where the ultimate rule is to "fight until you can't carry on".
Channel 4 cameras have delved deep into the terrifying practice which one fighter labelled "better than sex".
Appearing in new documentary Bare Knuckle Fight Club, dad Christian "Fat Boy" Evans said: “I love blood spattering on my face, popping people’s noses, it’s definitely better than sex.”
While the wife of another fighter tells the cameras: “The more blood the better. It’s gruesome, but I love it.”
Is bare knuckle fighting legal in the UK?
Despite its unregulated status, a number of high-profile former boxing champs have defected to bare knuckle fighting.
Those involved in the sport insist their shows are legal, and governed by The Dangerous Exhibitions Act.
However the British Boxing Board of Control, which regulates the licensed sport, disagrees.
The board’s general secretary, Rob Smith, told the Mirror last year: “It is a cloudy area, but I do believe it is illegal.
“Police deal with it as a public order matter and stop it.
“It is crazy, there is an inherent risk in licensed boxing and we work very hard to ensure it is as safe as possible.”
Taking centre stage in the documentary is Shaun Smith, a former convict who used to work as a drug dealers' enforcer.
The Liverpudlian is now known as Britain's most terrifying debt collector.
In the programme Shaun and wife Amanda sell out tickets for the UK's biggest ever bare knuckle event with a grand total of 16 fights.
Shaun said of his sport: “I don’t want it in the shadows, I want it in the limelight. I want to pass on what I’ve learnt from my violent life.”
However, it's a brutal sport even outside the ring - and a fight breaks out in the crowd at Shaun's event.
The programme also focuses on James 'Gypsy Boy' McCrory, who is desperate to quit fighting because his partner is pregnant.
If you're tough enough, you can watch Bare Knuckle Fight Club at 11.05pm tonight (March 29).