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Lee Selby vs. Ollie Sentance Headlines BKB 61 in London
Lee Selby has his opponent for BKB 61. The former IBF featherweight champion will face unbeaten bare-knuckle fighter Ollie Sentance in an all-British main event at indigo at The O2 in London on Saturday, November 14.
The matchup gives Selby a second bare-knuckle fight after a debut that nearly went sideways. The Welshman took heavy shots from Antonio Rizzo in the opening round of BKB 55 in Cardiff on June 27, then scored several knockdowns before stopping him in round two. BKB’s official results record the finish as a knockout, though the announcement for his London return describes it as a TKO. Selby left with a 1-0 record and a win that had required some recovery work.
Sentance was on that same Cardiff card. He stopped Corey Healey in the second round, adding to a fourth-round TKO of Nico Earwaker at BKB 51 in February. The Kidderminster fighter is 2-0 in bare-knuckle competition, with both wins coming by stoppage. His bout with Earwaker also took place in London, so November will not be his first trip into the Trigon in front of the capital’s fight crowd.
Former World Champion Lee Selby Meets Ollie Sentance at The O2 in BKB
Selby brings the bigger name, and a long boxing resume. He won the IBF featherweight title against Evgeny Gradovich in 2015, defended it five times and lost it to Josh Warrington in 2018. He retired from professional boxing in 2022 with a 28-4 record.
His return to fighting this year has put him in a different setting: bare fists, a triangular ring and, after Cardiff, an opponent who already has two BKB stoppages to his name.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back in the Trigon and fighting in London again,” Selby said in the September 29 event announcement. He called Sentance a tough opponent and said he expected “a proper battle.” For Selby, a Barry native, the London date is another chance to fight in front of British fans after making his BKB entrance closer to home in Wales.
Sentance gave Selby his due as a former world champion, but made clear he does not see a boxing title as an advantage he has to concede.
“I’ve worked hard for this opportunity and I’m coming to London to test myself against one of the best names in the sport,” he said in the announcement.
Sentance has competed in mixed martial arts and kickboxing, but his two BKB results provide the clearest evidence of what he can do under these rules. BKB had previously announced Selby as its November headliner without naming an opponent. Sentance’s addition turns that return date into a meeting between two fighters who both won at BKB 55, albeit in different bouts and under different levels of attention. Selby was the Cardiff main event; Sentance appeared on the prelims. Now they share the top billing.