WATCH – Regan Buckley’s Brutal Bare Knuckle Debut

Regan Buckley was back between the ropes dishing out punishment last weekend.

The European Games bronze medal winner didn’t quite lace the gloves back up but was letting his hands goes.

The regular raiser of fight fan eyebrows made his bare knuckle boxing debut in Manchester on Saturday night, appearing on BKB UK’s Mayhem in May show.

A buffer Buckley beat up Canden Elsmsly and eventually stopped his opponent after an number of body barrages paid ultimate dividend.

Take a look for yourself below:

Explaining his decision to enter the bloodiest of combat sport codes ‘The Rocket’ before the weekend’s fight the fighter who previously made the transition back to amateur after two pro fights told Irish-boxing.com a new challenge excited him and the violence of full fist action appealed.

“Bare Knuckle is something that’s been on my mind for a long time. I just loved the brutality of it and The toughness, I’m always looking for the next challenge and I think this is definitely something that will challenge me.” he explained to Irish-boxing.com

“Bare Knuckle just offers something new for me. I’m an impulse person and always looking for the next goal to smash or title to take. Something to feed that flame under me something new to focus on, to start from the bottom and work my way to the top.”

It’s not just a once off venture for Buckley, BKB run regular shows and the setup is similar to boxing in terms of belts and promotion and the Bray man forsees long-term involvement. He is already likely to appear on their November Rampage card.

There are those who held hope of a Buckley boxing return and were upset to see him take the bare-knuckle path.

The fighter has never closed the doors on boxing again but points out he has chosen to open a door that excites and suits him at this stage in his life.

“A lot of people may be upset but this is something that I want. I’m a firm believer in doing what makes you happy. And alongside that, I can work around my own schedule in regards to training. I can train, and spar when suits me each day. It’s my own freedom in a way.”