Fighter Gets Kicked Out of the Ring, Then Delivers Brutal KO a Minute Later
Amado Vargas turned a chaotic BKB 57 debut into a first-round KO win over Liverpool’s James “The Pitbull” Springer, stopping him at 2:09 at London’s Indigo at The O2. The Las Vegas fighter was pushed through the ropes and appeared to be kicked out of BKB’s Trigon during a rough exchange, but recovered quickly before ending the contest with a hard right hand.
Vargas made his bare-knuckle debut in the super-featherweight bout after entering with an unbeaten gloved-boxing record. Springer, listed at 130.4 pounds, came in as a local fighter with a stated background as a glove-boxing veteran, while Vargas weighed 131 pounds and held a three-inch height edge at 5-foot-8. The fight was scheduled for five three-minute rounds, though it did not make it past the opening frame due to a brutal KO.
Bare-Knuckle Debut Turns Chaotic After Ring Ejection and Huge KO
The first round got messy early. Vargas pushed forward, Springer complained about shots to the back of the head, and the referee ruled one early sequence a knockdown. Springer tried to turn the contest into a clinch-heavy scrap, but Vargas had already opened a cut and was finding room for short punches.
Then came the clip that took over social media. During a clinch near the ropes, Springer bundled Vargas out of the Trigon and appeared to throw a kick as Vargas fell through the ropes. Commentary immediately called attention to the kick, and Vargas later addressed it himself: “He kicked me out of there, bro. That’s what he did.”
Vargas did not lose his composure. After returning to the fighting area, he dropped Springer again with a short left around the temple. With about a minute left in the round, Vargas landed the finishing right hand, leaving Springer unable to continue. Referee Clive Allison officially waved off the action at 2:09 of round one.
The win gave Vargas his first bare-knuckle victory and brought him Performance of the Night honors. It also capped a major evening for the Vargas family, as Fernando Vargas Jr. competed on the same BKB 57 card and scored a knockout win of his own. The brothers had recently joined BKB after building their reputations in conventional boxing, with Amado also known for handing Deen The Great his first defeat.
Fernando Vargas Jr. summed up the format after the event: “It’s a street fight in there. What BKB is doing is amazing. Giving young fighters an opportunity on a different platform and it really is a great platform.”
Amado was equally fired up after his debut. “Man I love this sh*t. I love fighting. Shout out to all the fans and all the haters putting money in my pocket,” he said. “All of my supporters – thank you for always showing love. This fight was for you guys. BKB is doing an amazing job. This is the best promotion right here. I feel amazing. I worked my ass off in my camp and it showed in there.”
For Vargas, getting kicked out of the ring was a brief detour. The right hand made sure it was the moment everyone remembered.
