Redemption on the mind in Tik Tok star Bryce Hall's bare-knuckle boxing debut
Tik Tok star Bryce Hall is promising a viral second round knockout when he makes his highly-anticipated bare-knuckle boxing debut tonight in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The social media sensation is swapping a lucrative Tik Tok and YouTube career for the squared circle as he faces undefeated BKFC veteran Gee Perez, who has been forced to tack on 38lb for the bout. Despite being a considerable underdog given his relative lack of experience in the fight game, Hall is confident of a big result that will catapult him to some massive fights in the influencer world.
Indeed, his debut with gloves didn't go his way. The date was June 12 when he stepped out at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami against Austin McBroom, promising to prove his fighting credentials only to suffer an humiliating stoppage defeat that he wouldn't get a chance to rectify for years to come.
"From June 12, 2021 to now I've wanted revenge," Hall told Mirror Fighting at a packed out press conference ahead of the bout. "August 11, three days before my birthday [he turns 24 next week] the best birthday present, the only birthday present I want is a viral-a** f***ing knockout."
And while his weight is all but the same and his attitude can still irk certain sectors of the internet, Hall cuts a very different figure to the youngster that was dismantled by McBroom. That fight was sold on McBroom, a well-meaning family man, athlete and father, squaring up with a cocky 21-year-old social media star whose brash confidence left him primed for memes in defeat.
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However, and perhaps to the frustration of promoters, Hall appears to be a changed man. He's a class act with the media and supporters in New Mexico, spends his time interacting with fans and appears genuinely excited at the prospect of getting another chance at fighting.
One moment that left a lasting impact saw him emerge into the crowd after yesterday's ceremonial weigh-in to meet with a crowd of screaming girls desperate to meet their hero. He signed autographs and took photos after joking that he was "just a normal guy", before leaving the fans in hysterics as he handed out free tickets to come and watch his fight.
He's clearly proven a hit online and in Albuquerque, and has impressed promoter David Feldman with his dedication to the sport. He has dipped his toes into the influencer world once before, allowing celebrities such as Blueface, Kane Trujillo and DK Money to take to the squared circle, albeit in gloves for white collar bouts in the middle of one of this previous shows.
"I'm not looking to do boxing, glove stuff, at all," he insisted. "That was something I tried that didn't work and the fans told me 'we didn't like it' so I'll never try it again. But if a guy with almost 50million collective followers wants to come over to bare-knuckle and fight bare-knuckle then we'll make it happen.
"The size difference has evened up the playing field a little bit [Perez tipped the scales at 164lb for the fight, up from a career-lowest 127lb]. I'm really excited to see what's going to happen because you really don't know. You'd think Gee should go out there and blow him out but then you've got Bryce Hall who is that much bigger than him, that much stronger so you just don't know."
And Feldman isn't the only one. Part of the promotion for the event has seen each fighter pair up a la The Ultimate Fighter with one of the headliners for BKFC's September light-heavyweight title showdown; Perez with challenger Chris Camozzi and Hall with champion Lorenzo Hunt.
Bryce Hall faces Gee Perez tonight in Albuquerque (Nick Vespe/BKFC)Do you believe Bryce Hall will win his bare-knuckle boxing debut? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"He's great, I believe in him and I think he's going to do his thing," Hunt told Mirror Fighting after stepping into the ring with Hall for a final feel of the canvas on Friday night. "Everybody's tough until they're not."
Hall is planning to stick around the sport in a behind-the-scenes capacity after the fact, but wants to get his gloves back on for his next fight. He's called out the likes of British YouTuber brothers KSI and Deji, and is eager to make a quick turnaround to fight on the undercard of the elder sibling's clash with Tommy Fury on October 14 in Manchester.
"October I'm down," he insisted. "Prime card? I'm 100 per cent in - I think Austin needs another shot at redemption. He's not going to beat Gib [the British YouTube star who stopped McBroom twice in their two meetings over the past year] so let's run that back because he's already beat me so let's do it on a Misfits card with smaller gloves and legitimate refs.
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"I don't know, he got knocked down like six times - I think his chin's a lot weaker than it used to be. I want Austin McBroom first, I need to do that for me."
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