Ollie Sentance is an underdog heading into London against a former IBF champion but his confidence is enough to convince some that he’s poised to tilt the fighting world off it’s axis. Sentance will clash with Lee Selby at BKB 61 on November 14th and when asked for his initial thoughts when he first found out that ‘Lightning’ Lee would be next up, Sentance said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“As soon as I got offered the fight, mate, I said yes about 20 times. Make the fight. Let’s get the fight on. This is bare knuckle. This is a different sport entirely. Lee’s a big name from the world of boxing, but I’m confident in my skills. I’m confident I can beat him.”
When asked if he feels like his localized experience edge in bare knuckle will ultimately be the big difference maker here vs. Selby, Sentance stated [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“I’ll go back to the playground rules, mate. When I look at Lee Selby, I don’t think he could beat me in a street fight. I think I would take him down. I’d put him on his back and elbow his face in. So I’ll take some pride and some confidence in that knowing that fair enough this is BKB and this is a specific rule set. but if this fight is on the playground then I’m winning this fight. So yeah everything will come into play and you’re going to see a great performance on the 14th of November.”
The shared BKB history between Ollie Sentance and Lee Selby
When asked for his thoughts on Lee Selby’s debut in gloveless combat at BKB 55 earlier this year, Sentance explained [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“Well, I actually fought on that card. I won on that card. I was think the second fight of the night and I didn’t stay till the end to watch it to be fair. I thought it was already done. The win was already there. This guy looked about 58 kilos ringing wet. He was shorter than Lee. He had no boxing pedigree. I believe he was a kickboxer. Then when I watched the highlights after, I don’t know, a few days later, he was coming forward swinging his hand back. Bless him. No disrespect to this guy, he come and he give his best, I’m sure. But it was written in the stars already, do you know what I mean? This guy had zero chance. He clipped Lee a couple of times here and there. He cut him over his eye. He looked a little bit lost in there at times, but I don’t take nothing from that to be fair. Like, it’s it’s just a fight, you know? It’s his first bare knuckle fight. Like, I’m sure he’s gained experience from it and that, but I’m expecting the best, most capable, toughest, biggest, strongest Lee Selby on the 14th of November. I’m preparing for him and that’s who I’m going to beat.”
After making his bare knuckle debut at BKB 51 in February and then winning his sophomore fight on Selby’s prior undercard in Cardiff, when asked if this has been a whirlwind year for him in this new sport for him, Sentance said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“100% mate. It’s been brilliant and I’ve not turned down a single fight. Like when I fought Corey Healey, he was a late replacement. About 3 weeks before my original opponent pulled out and yeah like I’ll take any fight against anybody. Obviously when this fight come up it was a no-brainer. This is the fight that I’ve sort of manifested if you like. It was after my first fight where I did an interview at the back and I sort of jokingly said Tom Ross, bless him, said, “Who do you want next? Ollie? You’d be on the main card next, Ollie?” I said, “Main event, Lee Selby.” I started laughing like it was a bit of a joke kind of thing. But then two fights later and we’ve got it. So yeah, this is the opportunity that I’ve been after and as I say, I’m going to take it with both hands. But it’s been a great rise. It’s been fantastic and I think in the world of bare knuckle, which is a fast growing combat sport, you can have a roll in this. You can have two or three fights and then get a world title shot. So once I beat Lee on the 14th, that’s what I’ll be aiming for, world title shot Estevan [Partida]. Obviously all my focus is on Lee right now but as soon as that final bell goes and I’ll get my hand raised, I want the world title next.”