Bally’s is putting numbers behind the punches. The casino operator and BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing announced an expanded partnership on October 21, bringing venue ownership, punch-tracking technology and streaming together for Bally’s Fightnight by BKB.
The next stop is Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi on Friday, October 23, with Jarod “Kid Gatti” Grant facing replacement opponent Luis “Pantera” Guerrero. The broadcast starts at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Bally Sports Live and EstrellaTV’s free, ad-supported streaming channels, according to the announcement. Tickets are on sale through BKB’s ticketing service.
The pitch goes beyond putting fights inside a casino. Hard Rock Biloxi is owned and operated by a Bally’s subsidiary, while Bally’s supplies its ForceIQ technology and distribution platforms. That puts the building, the measurements and the viewing experience inside one business arrangement.
Bally’s Bets on Bare Knuckle as BKB Brings Punch-Tracking Tech to Biloxi
“We own the venue, we built the technology and we control the distribution,” Bally’s executive chairman Soo Kim said in the announcement. ForceIQ sensors sit inside fighters’ hand wraps. Bally’s says they track punch speed, retraction speed, punch type and G-force readings, feeding information to arena screens and broadcasts simultaneously. The system supports leaderboards, heat maps, power rankings, predictive insights and fantasy-style scoring. or viewers, that means another way to follow the exchanges beyond waiting for the replay.
Grant, a former BKB lightweight champion with an 8-3 record and six knockouts, headlines at super lightweight against Guerrero, 1-1 with one knockout. Guerrero replaces Bekhzod “The Lion” Usmonov, giving the former champion a different assignment days before fight night. The announced co-main event sends light heavyweight champion Cub “The Savage” Hawkins, 10-1 with nine knockouts, down to middleweight against unbeaten Rowdy Montgomery, 2-0.
Former UFC fighters Ike Villanueva and Cody East meet at bridgerweight, while Biloxi’s former lightweight champion Monica Medina faces Claudia Zamora. The updated release also lists Brandon Shavers against German Ramos, Jeff Denton against Cody Jenkins, Dillon Winemiller against Terrell Glynn, Doug Freeman against Adam Nash, Aquasha Rapley against Miranda Barber, and Devin Wallace against Jerry Dutchover.
The series heads next to Bally’s Dover Casino Resort in Delaware on November 20. Former WBO junior welterweight title challenger Hank Lundy faces Jairo “Almighty” Santos in a five-round welterweight headliner, with both making their professional bare-knuckle debuts.
