-
Home
-
Fight Videos
-
Watch Julian Fernandez’s comeback KO against Dan Podmore in Tijuana
Julian Fernandez retained the BKB Super Cruiserweight World Championship in his hometown after recovering from a first-round knockdown to knock out Dan “Big Pod” Podmore at BKB 59 in Tijuana. The finish came 1 minute, 12 seconds into Round 2 and kept Fernandez unbeaten in bare-knuckle competition.
Tijuana’s Julian Fernandez retains BKB title with Dan Podmore knockout
Tijuana had its main-event moment on September 19 as Fernandez, fighting under the nickname “El Guerrero Mexicano,” overcame the first real crisis of his BKB run. Podmore, a former three-division BKB champion from the UK, landed a counter left hook in the opening round that sent the champion down. Fernandez got up, regrouped and turned the momentum before the round was over, dropping Podmore in return.
The second round settled it. Fernandez pressed forward and landed a combination that left Podmore unable to continue, prompting the stoppage at 1:12. The result gave the Tijuana fighter a successful first defence of the super cruiserweight title and moved his BKB record to 4-0 with one no contest and four knockouts. Podmore’s record now stands at 9-5, with eight KO wins.
The video is worth watching for the swing in the first round alone. Podmore’s left hook appeared to put Fernandez in trouble early, but the champion did not rush his recovery. He worked his way back into range, produced a knockdown of his own, then carried that turnaround into the second. BKB later highlighted Fernandez’s finish as its Knockout of the Night from the event. Fernandez entered the contest with a record of three BKB wins, all by first-round knockout, after winning the vacant championship against Alex Wilson.
That win made him the first Mexican male bare-knuckle world champion, so the Tijuana title defence carried local weight before the opening bell. He was also bringing prior boxing experience, with a reported 16-4 professional boxing record and 13 knockouts. BKB 59 took place at Auditorio Municipal and marked the promotion’s first event in Mexico. The 12-fight show was staged in partnership with Zanfer Boxing, with the main card available through VICE TV and Telemundo in the US, plus talkSPORT in the UK and Ireland; additional fights were scheduled for TikTok.
Fernandez-Podmore was one half of a title doubleheader. In the co-main event, Puerto Vallarta’s Cecy “CSY” Ulloa defeated Andy “The CrAsian” Nguyen by TKO at the end of the third round to win the BKB Super Flyweight World Championship. Nguyen did not return for Round 4.
The rest of the main card produced a series of stoppages. Pablo Felipe Anguiano stopped Ricardo Ramses Rueda in 41 seconds, Adrian Gonzalez beat Javier Santiago Valverde by first-round TKO in his bare-knuckle debut, Felipe Abraham Huerta recovered from an early knockdown to stop Erick Eduardo Soria in Round 3, and Jonathan Duran knocked out Kevin Millan Sanchez in Round 2. Romario Ovalle’s contest with Marco Chino Villa ended as a no contest after an accidental headbutt in the third.