Getty NBA Legend Shaquille O'Neal.
Retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal was at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) event last night in Tampa, Florida, and USA Today reported the Hall of Fame basketball player was there for more than just a casual look at “KnuckleMania”.
Per that report, O’Neal is an “unabashed fan of the sport”, and the 19-year NBA veteran who won four NBA championships, as well as three NBA Finals MVP awards, is planning to become an investor in the BKFC.
“These are the greatest, toughest athletes in the world. The fact that they’re not using gloves makes them the toughest athletes in the world. I think this is the future of fighting,” O’Neal said per USA Today.
BKFC Continues To Grow Toward Mainstream Attraction
Just how sure is O’Neal about putting his money behind the BKFC? The founder of the organization Dave Feldman told USA Today that completing the deal with “Shaq” was mostly about “dotting the i’s and crossing t’s” at this point.
Obviously, Feldman would be super excited to add a powerful celebrity figure such as O’Neal to the ever-growing list of people suddenly interested in bare-knuckle boxing.
It’s a sport that wasn’t even legal in the United States until Wyoming adopted it back in 2018, and it’s grown to the point now that mainstream sports figures are becoming interested in it.
“Now we’ve got one of the most sought-after sports figures in the entire world. Who doesn’t know Shaq? And now he’s going to be part of this company and it’s going to make a lot of people want to be part of the company,” Feldman said per USA Today.
O’Neal explained how he first found out about BKFC, and it was only a few months ago. He said his friend invited him to watch one of the events on December 11, and he immediately became hooked.
“And it was a great event. Because they don’t want to use the gloves, they’re fighting like a fight should be had,” O’Neal said.
KnuckleMania: ‘PVZ’ vs. Hart
BKFC’s “KnuckleMania” pay-per-view bare-knuckle boxing event on Friday in Florida featured ex-UFC star Paige VanZant’s debut with the company against rugged contender Britain Hart.
The ever-popular “PVZ” wasn’t able to score the win in the first bare-knuckle boxing match of her career, but the spirited main event did manage to capture the attention of what seemed like the entire combat sports community over the weekend.
The co-main event of the card featured Dat Nguyen defeating Johnny Bedford for the BFKC lightweight title.
After that stirring battle, O’Neal climbed into the ring and presented Nguyen with his new championship belt.
But O’Neal plans on doing even more with the sport moving forward, and the way things seem to be going for Feldman and his team right now over at the BKFC offices, more are sure to follow.
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Shaq Reveals Bare Knuckle Plans: ‘Future of Fighting’