BKB Bridgerweight Champion Daniel Podmore will defend his title against pro boxing standout Emil Markic on 4 April in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. BKB Bare Knuckle announced the match up yesterday.
It’s the U.S. debut for Birmingham’s Podmore, known as “Big Pod”, and he’ll face a challenger with over 40 pro boxing bouts who’s unbeaten in bare knuckle.
Podmore (7-3, 7 KOs) won the newly created BKB bridgerweight belt this past November. He stopped friend and previous opponent Ryan Barrett in the first round. Barrett came out with guns blazing but Podmore weathered the storm before finishing him.
It’s the second title for Podmore, who’s also held the BKB Cruiserweight Title. He’s also won two fights in a row since back-to-back stoppage losses to Akhmed Baguzaev and Richie Leak.
There was talk of Podmore defending his belt in April against Welsh contender Dorian Darch. But Podmore is now fighting Markic in the States on 4 April, while Darch faces Eryk Majda on 19 April in Cardiff at BYB 40. Perhaps a Podmore-Darch fight will take place down the road if both men get their hands raised in April.
Markic (2-0, 2 KOs) is still a newcomer to bare knuckle. He has plenty of boxing experience, with a record listed as 36-5. He’s faced the likes of light heavyweight contenders Callum Johnson and Umar Salamov, and defeated faded two-division champ Tomas Adamek in 2019. Markic has impressed in his bare knuckle wins, but is taking a huge step up in competition against Podmore.
Andy Nguyen Makes BKB Debut
Also on the BKB 39 fight card is popular female fighting veteran Andy Nguyen. The 42-year-old nears her 15th anniversary of fighting professionally, and has competed in MMA, bare knuckle MMA, Lion Fight Muay Thai, boxing and bare knuckle boxing. Nguyen is 2-1 in bare knuckle boxing and takes off the gloves for the first time in almost 2 years.
Nguyen faces Erisnelsy Torres Castillo, who lost her BKB debut by decision to former title challenger Shelby Cannon last December.
Preacherman on Comeback Trail
A third bout is official for the 4 April “Brawl at the Beach” fight card.
BKB lightweight contender Joshua Oxendine returns to action at BKB 39. “The Preacherman” faces Estevan Partida in a lightweight bout.
Oxendine, a former title challenger, suffered a setback in his last bout. He was stopped by fellow contender Jarod Grant in three rounds last December. He’ll try to get back on track against Partida. Partida is 1-0 in bare knuckle. He stopped Dan Wilson in one rond in his BYB debut last month in Denver.
