Donington man John Stephenson has journeyed through the realms of brutal bare knuckle boxing and is set to fight at Field Rage's Ragemania in May
“When I was in my 20s, I used to like a little bit of a scrap here and there,” says John Stephenson, a bare knuckle fighter from Donington.
“I used to go to different campsites and fight to earn a couple of quid.
“As the years went on, bare knuckle companies started springing up and it became really fashionable.”
John (46) still has the same fighting fire in his belly that he did as a 20-year-old – even if it’s a bit more measured.
Bare knuckle boxing is a brutal sport. It has never been illegal in the UK, but has no official regulator and has fluctuated in and out of popularity over the past few hundred years.
Fighters do need to wrap bandages around their knuckles in order for their bouts to take place, but even with that protection (if you can call it that) clashes often turn bloody.
John has ended fights with broken ribs before, and knows bare knuckle boxers who have broken their jaws and fractured their eye sockets. Tooth loss isn’t uncommon.
“It’s all about how you keep yourself covered. You’ve got to be on your game to protect yourself,” he says.
“One wrong move and you could be folded in half.”
With the sport taking its time to catch on in the mainstream industry, it wasn’t until 2020 that John joined up with his first bare knuckle company. Spartan Bare Knuckle Fight Club organised a few fights for him, and he had a battle with an ex-Marine planned before Covid-19 restrictions were introduced.
Next up is a trip to Atherstone, Warwickshire, on May 7 for a charity fight at Ragemania, an event put on by Field Rage.
John’s training is similar to that of ordinary boxers. His schedule is cardio-heavy, and consistent weight sessions are a must.
He goes along to Boston Town Amateur Boxing Club on Friday evenings, where he does some fitness work and spars with other fighters.
“You always keep your gloves on. It’s the same when you do your bag work, because you’ve got to look after your hands,” John says.
“That’s your bread and butter really. Then for fights we wrap our hands in bandages to support our wrists, and that’s when it becomes bare knuckle.
“I’ve got my own set-up at home as well. I’ve got Olympic weights and an aqua bag, so I’ll chip away at that through the week.”
John has two daughters and a sister, who he says are fine with his fighting exploits because of his background in martial arts – he earned a black belt in his youth.
However, he admits that bare knuckle fighting is a completely different kettle of fish – even to ordinary boxing.
“Martial arts is absolutely no good to you in a lot of respects because bare knuckle is just full-on combat straight away, no messing about,” he says.
“It’s a lot tougher, but the fights are a lot shorter as well.
“It’s three two-minute rounds, whereas in boxing you could get hit 100 times in the face with gloves on.
“In bare-knuckle, the fights normally only last a minute or two – sometimes three, depending on how you get on.
“Normally they finish quite quickly, because it’s bone on bone. You only have to get caught wrong.”
So why does he stick at it? Why risk the shattered teeth, broken jaws and fractured eye sockets? For John, the answer is a simple one.
“I love it because you go into a fight with a guy and there’s no beef, you’ve both trained for it, and when you’re done, the level of respect is unbelievable,” he says.
“There’s no animosity. It’s done.”
His love for the sport was rewarded last year when he found out he would feature in a new fighting book.
‘The Gift’ was put together and published by Ted Gambordella, who was inspired by artist Alvaro Rocha’s drawings of MMA fighters, boxers and martial artists.
In turn, Mr Rocha had come to know John during early lockdowns. The artist asked him for some information and then produced some drawings of John based on his life experiences – which were then published in The Gift.
“I was absolutely humbled, to be honest,” John says.
“Out of all the people he could have picked to do drawings for, because he’s from Canada, he picked me.
“He said he liked my style, because during lockdown for morale purposes I would put training videos online and try to keep people motivated.
“He asked if I would give him something in return because he collects memorabilia, so I sent him a signed ticket from a show and a T-shirt.”
Now, John’s focus is back on the brutality of bare knuckle boxing. With his next fight just over a month away, he can’t contain his anticipation.
“I get butterflies when I think about it. This one’s going to be pretty big,” he concludes.
“It’s going to have all the trimmings, because there should be massive crowds. I’m pretty excited.”
