BKB 61: Lee Selby to Headline London Return at the O2

Sports admin September 20, 2026 0 Comments

BKB 61: Lee Selby to Headline London Return at the O2

Former IBF featherweight world champion Lee “Lightning” Selby is returning to bare-knuckle boxing.

BKB announced Saturday that BKB 61 will take place Nov. 14 at indigo at The O2 in London, with Selby set to headline the event. An opponent has not yet been announced, and tickets are expected to go on sale soon.

The fight will be Selby’s second appearance inside BKB’s three-sided Trigon after an impressive debut earlier this year.

Selby stopped Antonio Rizzo in the second round at BKB 55: Carnage in Cardiff on June 27. BKB’s official fight video lists the result as a second-round knockout, while the promotion entered Selby into bare-knuckle competition after signing him to a multi-fight, multi-year agreement in February.

Lee Selby Is 1-0 in Bare-Knuckle Boxing

Selby’s first bare-knuckle fight answered one of the biggest questions surrounding his crossover.

The Welsh boxer had been out of professional competition since 2022, but his technique translated quickly without the gloves. Rizzo pressured early, but Selby settled into the fight and scored multiple knockdowns before ending the bout with a body shot in Round 2.

The result moved Selby to 1-0 with one knockout in BKB.

Before moving into bare knuckle, Selby compiled a 28-4 professional boxing record with nine knockouts. He held the IBF featherweight championship from 2015 to 2018 and also won British, Commonwealth, European and WBC International titles during his gloved career. BoxRec lists Selby with five victories in world-title bouts.

BKB initially signed Selby with the stated goal of pursuing another world championship, this time without gloves.

BKB Continues Its Push in the United Kingdom

BKB 61 will add another major U.K. date to a schedule that has already included Cardiff, London and Newcastle in 2026.

Athlon previously examined how BKB has used recognizable former boxing champions such as Selby, Victor Ortiz and Yuriorkis Gamboa to expand its roster. The promotion has also leaned heavily into international events and broader distribution as part of its growth strategy. Athlon’s look at BKB’s expanding bare-knuckle operation breaks down that approach.

BKB has used indigo at The O2 repeatedly, including its BKB 51 event in February. The promotion described the venue as its London home after staging numerous events there over the previous decade.

Before BKB 61 arrives, the promotion is scheduled to hold BKB 60 in Newcastle on Oct. 10.

BKB CEO David Tetreault called Selby’s return another important piece of the company’s international expansion.

“Lee Selby is a proven world champion and one of the biggest names in boxing,” Tetreault said in the announcement.

Selby said he is looking forward to returning to the Trigon and fighting in London again after experiencing the format once already.

The biggest unanswered question is now who BKB will put across from him.

With Selby 1-0 in the promotion and having publicly targeted bare-knuckle championship gold since signing, BKB 61 could represent the next step toward putting the former IBF champion into its title picture.

More of the BKB 61 card and Selby’s opponent are expected to be announced later.