Bare Knuckle Ride

Irish Traveller’s setting up ‘multi-million reality style fighting series to rival UFC’

- Darragh Berry

A Bare-knuckle boxer is setting up a “multi-million, Big Brother-style” fighting competition on television.

James Quinn McDonagh says he wants bare-knuckle fighting to become “the next UFC” as he unveils plans about his three-year hopes to take over the fighting world.

Tens of thousands of euros are being offered to inexperienced fighters in the hope they could become household names in the planned reality TV show.

James claims he is in talks to receive big money backing from a US investor and has been in negotiation with Sky Sports about a lucrative deal.

The fighter, from Coolock in North Dublin, was the subject of a documentary which unravelled the secretive world of Irish Traveller bare-knuckle boxing.

He said: “I was followed around for 12 years behind the scenes, before, during and after these big bouts. I was happy with the documentary, some people weren’t. As a result of its success, I set up a bare-knuckle fighting company.”

His hopes were to create bare-knuckle tournaments across the UK.