Welsh bareknuckle boxers Barrie Jones and Sean George were the stars of the show at BKB 25 in London at the weekend, with the pair of them coming away with major title belts - although at a price with some gruesome injuries sustained.
BKB is one of the biggest names in bareknuckle boxing, a sport that has enjoyed growth in the UK due to a number of high-profile events, the latest of which was held on Sunday evening. There was no shortage of blood and sweat during a bruising schedule of action, with the two Welsh fighters taking centre stage.
Jones, from Ferndale, produced arguably the performance of the night in what was the main event at the Indigo in London's O2. The 36-year-old beat Jimmy Sweeney by technical knockout after four rounds to claim the World Lightweight title.
READ MORE : Bareknuckle boxer at centre of infamous street incident fought back from suicide attempt
Sweeney is known as one of the top fighters in BKB, with some considering him the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. The win has subsequently made Jones one of the top names in what is a ferocious sport clearly not for the faint-hearted.
Jones has an unbeaten record of seven fights so far since turning his back on professional boxing, and became a star of bareknuckle boxing in America after producing a stunning 15-second knockout. You can read more about that here.
But that's not to say he didn't come away unscathed this time around. The man known as the Welsh Wrecking Machine told WalesOnline: "I'm going to have a rest first. Fighting is the last thing I want to think about at the moment.
"There's talk about going back to America, but we'll see. I'm taking a week off work and that now. There are ice packs on my head. I've got two black eyes. My left hand can't close. I've got three cuts on my face. There's a few lumps on my head."
Commenting on the fight itself, he added: "He jabbed my head off first round. Second round was quite similar. My corner gave me good advice. Told me to stop showing him so much respect. There's no bigger name in BKB in the UK. He's the greatest fighter that we've had.
"Once I settled I started catching him with some lovely shots.. I knew I would get him in the end and I did"
Meanwhile, Abertillery's Sean 'the Outlaw' George, further cemented his status as a legend of the sport with a successful defence of his British Bantamweight title against Scotland's Tony Lafferty.
George had already beaten Lafferty with a points win back in November, and was handed the decision from the judges again this time around. Indeed, the Welshman enjoyed the better of the early rounds, knocking his opponent down to the canvas with a left hook-right combination.
Lafferty recovered to narrow the gap on the scores as the fight went on, and managed to open up a few nasty cuts on George's face, but ultimately didn't do enough to claim the contest.
After the fight, George took to social media to reveal the full extent of his facial injuries, and also paid tribute to popular referee and community activist Barrington Patterson - known to all as One Eyed Baz - who tragically died of a heart-attack recently.
Taking to his Instagram story, George posted the message 'That was for u [sic], BAZ'.
