Champions are Crowned at BYB 25 Brawl On The Bay in Tampa

BYB 25 Brawl on the Bay came to the Fairgrounds on Thursday night and featured two Championship Bare Knuckle Boxing matches and 5 other top-level fights. I have never covered a BYB event, but I was fascinated by the ring that is used for the fights.

 It is called a Trigon and you guessed it, It is a triangle-shaped ring and It’s also the smallest fight surface in all of combat sports.

BYB Extreme also has the highest finish rate of all combat sports so I was expecting a lot of knockouts and stoppages and BYB 25 provided them in spades with five of the fights stopping early. The other two that went the distance and the longevity that both of those fights had were surprising.

Getting the night started was Jaica Pavilus defeating Randine Eckholm fairly easily by connecting jabs and uppercuts at will. Eckholm kept pressing and it cost her as damage was sustained and blood continued to flow after the bell rang for the end of round one.

Pavilus relaxed and took her time as the veteran boxer from New York popped big shots on Eckholm to swell Eckholm’s face.  Pavilus knocked Eckholm down with a beautiful right uppercut left hook combination and the referee thankfully stopped the fight.

Eckholm was taking too much damage and she has a ton of heart but needs to work on her skills for her to get her first win in BYB Extreme.

Our second fight of the 7-fight card was Javiel Ramos as a favorite over Lukas Jones. Ramos fighting out of New York, got in a clinch, and struck Jones with open and closed fists 22 plus times with Jones getting a few shots in.

Ramos smothered Jones and continued to press with both fighters expending a lot of energy.  The two fighters clutched and used dirty boxing against each other with Jones hitting Ramos with body shots then a couple of uppercuts. Ramos took a knee and never got up as the 10 count clicked.  

Fight number 3 was between Harry “The Hitman” Gigliotti vs “Rowdy” Rusty Crowder. Gigliotti moved to 2-0 after going to war with a resilient Rusty Crowder, winning by unanimous decision that no one in the arena thought would go the distance. 

The Hitman had the reach and used his distance and his speed advantage over Crowder to place his jab at will on the bridge of his nose.   

Crowder also landed some shots and showed a ton of heart trying to figure out Gigliotti. He continued to try to connect with an overhand right and landed a few but Gigliotti trapped Crowder on the ropes numerous times, throwing body shots.

Crowder would bull rush his way back to the center of the ring and throw punches but Gigliotti kept his distance to minimize the damage. 

His experience, length and skill set were the key factors in getting a well deserved decision 49-45 after the five rounds with Crowder deserving a ton of props. Would have been 50-45 but the Hitman had a point removed for his in-ring shenanigans.

Even though the scorecards weren’t close, my team had this as the fight of the night and we are all looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for both of these warriors.

The next fight was a complete contrast in fighting styles as Muay Thai fighter Will Chope took on the hometown slugger in Martin Brown. Brown made easy work out of Chope as both fighters clutched each other against the ropes. 

Brown hit Chope with a short hook and elbow to put Chope down for an 8 count. After getting back on his feet, Chope also hit the canvas for the final time as Brown clutched Chope again and crushed Chope with a body shot for the K.O.

Highly impressive BYB debut for Martin “Lay Him Down” Brown and the skies the limit for his future in BYB Extreme.

Our first Championship Belt was on the line in the Super Flyweight Woman’s division as Agnesa “Spitfire” Kirakosian outlasted Shelby Cannon to win the BYB Super Flyweight title by unanimous decision. 

Cannon used a lot of dirty boxing and aggressiveness early trying to smother  Kirakosian and took the first of six rounds.  Kirakiosian then used her boxing experience to fend off Cannon’s attack by changing stances and confusing Cannon while delivering shots that bloodied Cannon. 

Spitfire caused Cannon’s knee to hit the ring for the first knock down of the fight in the second with a clean right hook. In the third round, Kirakosian continued to circle and fire jabs at Cannon and changed angles which helped her with her attack. 

Kirakosian continued with the combinations and landed body shots and hooks with Cannon trying her best to land a big shot. As the final bell rang in the sixth, all that was left was the raising of the Spitfire’s hand and the placement of the title belt around her waist. 

The BYB Brawl on the Bay fight card moved quickly with minimal time between fights as the Heavyweight Eliminator was next.

The Cuban Assassin Gustavo Trujillo (5-0) crushed Levi Costa in the first round of the Co-Main event. The height and reach difference was evident early and often as Trujillo opened up Costa in under a minute. 

Trujillo was smooth in his movements and punches and setup a thunderous right hand with multiple jabs to score the K.O.

It was a highly impressive performance by the Cuban Assassin which now leads him to the BYB Heavyweight Championship bout against Ike Villanueva.

In the Main Event Cub “Savage” Hawkins defeated Ryan Jett to take home the BYB Light Heavyweight championship. 

Both fighters came into the ring as natural counter punchers and Hawkins got off to a good start taking the first round landing a beautiful left hook and a flurry of punches to close out the round. 

Hawkins grinned at Jett from his corner trying to get under Jett’s skin. Both Jett and Hawkins came out flying in the second with an exchange of about 30 punches with Jett coming out ahead. 

The ref talked to both fighters for grabbing and pushing and afterwards, Jett hit Hawkins twice with straight right hands but Hawkins got the best of Jett late in the ring. Jett’s face was turning into a bloody mess with his right eye starting to close.

Hawkins took his time while Jett spit out blood as he pressed the action in the forth. Hawkins smothered Jett after hitting him with multiple hooks and a solid right hand. Jett’s face and right eye had the crowd thinking that this fight would be called with Jett pleading to continue with the ringside doctor.

Jett continued to battle and move forward against Hawkins with Hawkins landing at will due to his calculated attack. As the fourth round ended, The fans called for the fight to be stopped as Jett’s face was busted up and a complete mess. He wanted to continue but the ref concluded the fight due to a doctor stoppage.

Hawkins took home the well-deserved Light Heavyweight Championship and this battle was declared by ringside announcer Pauli Malignaggi as the “fight of the night.”  

BYB 25 Brawl On The Bay was a huge success for the promotion and for the fans of the sport and continues to grow. The fans in the stands were boisterous and engaged and loved the action as did I. 

If you like combat sports, BYB is for you. The Trigon ring provides less room for the fighters to move away from each other so the battles are more intense and action-packed. 

Their next card is scheduled for Denver On May 10 so get your tickets for the Mile High Brawl as Super Middleweight champion LT “Smash” Nelson looks to become BYB’s first two-division title holder when he takes on his toughest opponent yet in Tommy Turner.

For more info go to BYBExtreme.com