BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing will hold its first event outside the United States and United Kingdom when BKB 59 arrives in Tijuana, Mexico, on September 19. The show launches a multi-event partnership with Zanfer Promotions and positions Mexico as BKB’s entry point into Latin America.

BKB 59 is scheduled for Auditorio Municipal de Tijuana, with Tijuana’s own Julian Fernandez defending the BKB Super Cruiserweight World Championship against former three-division BKB titleholder Dan “Big Pod” Podmore. Mexico’s Cecy Ulloa will meet Andy “The CrAsian” Nguyen for the vacant BKB Super Flyweight World Championship in the co-main event.

BKB Heads to Mexico

BKB has previously staged events across its established US and UK territories, but Tijuana marks the promotion’s first move into a new national market. The July agreement with Zanfer was built as a long-term plan rather than a single-night collaboration, with the companies targeting multiple shows each year and a route into the wider Latin American combat-sports space.

Mexico makes sense as the first stop. Boxing sits deep in the country’s sporting culture, and Zanfer brings a local track record that few promoters can match. The company has worked with names including Jaime Munguia, Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza, and will help BKB co-promote shows and identify Mexican boxers interested in moving into bare-knuckle competition.

BKB CEO David Tetreault has described the Tijuana date as the promotion “planting” its flag in Mexico and Latin America. Fernando Beltran, Zanfer’s founder and president, has framed the deal as the start of a larger build for bare-knuckle boxing in the country.

Fernandez is a fitting choice to front the first card. The Tijuana fighter carries a 3-0 bare-knuckle record, including 2-0 under the BKB banner, and has stopped every opponent he has beaten. His last BKB outing ended with a first-round knockout of Alex Wilson at BKB 53.

Before switching disciplines, Fernandez built a 16-4 professional boxing record with 13 knockouts and won a Mexican national boxing championship. His challenger has a much longer history in BKB’s UK scene. Podmore, from Birmingham, has held heavyweight, bridgerweight and cruiserweight titles in the promotion. He enters with a 9-4 bare-knuckle record and a recent TKO win over Jarome Hatch at BKB 55 in Cardiff.

A win in Tijuana would give the veteran another title chapter, while Fernandez can use a hometown defense to become one of the first faces of BKB’s Mexico operation. The second title fight gives the debut card another Mexican connection.

Mexico is the first country beyond BKB’s established US and UK footprint to host one of its events. That gives BKB 59 a different feel from a standard stop on the schedule: Tijuana is intended to be the base for an ongoing Mexican presence, with the company using the September 19 card to introduce its format, talent pool and championship structure to a new audience. BKB CEO David Tetreault has described the move as the promotion “planting” its flag in Mexico, a line that reflects a plan to build roots rather than make a brief cross-border visit.

The move arrives during a period of rapid growth on TikTok. BKB launched its account in April and had collected more than 53 million likes by August, while its BKB 55 preliminary broadcast from Cardiff was reported to have set TikTok’s highest watch time for a live sporting event. The company has said Mexico forms part of a long-term international plan that includes the United States and United Kingdom, with the objective of developing a mainstream sports brand capable of filling arenas across all three markets.

Zanfer’s role reaches beyond staging BKB 59. The partnership is set up to support television and digital distribution, commercial sponsorship and future live events in Mexico and the Latin American region. Zanfer can also provide a local route for boxers interested in crossing into bare-knuckle competition, which could give BKB a more consistent Mexican talent base after the Tijuana debut. The promoter has worked with high-level Mexican boxing figures, including Jaime Munguia, Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza.

The choice of Tijuana also gives BKB a local figurehead from night one. Fernandez was born in Mexico, fights out of Tijuana and will make the first Mexico main event a hometown title defense. The 32-year-old is unbeaten at 3-0 in bare-knuckle bouts, including two BKB wins, and every one of those victories has ended before the final bell. His matchup with Podmore pairs a local champion with a former BKB titleholder across three weight divisions, giving the event a clear sporting hook alongside its business significance.

Puerto Vallarta’s Ulloa has competed in combat sports for 18 years and owns a 2-1 BKB record with one no contest. She was ranked No. 1 at flyweight in bare-knuckle boxing in 2019 and now has the chance to win a world title in her home country.

Nguyen, a three-time King of the Cage atomweight champion, comes into the bout at 1-1 in BKB after a long MMA career. That pairing gives BKB 59 a contrast between Ulloa’s experience in bare-knuckle competition and Nguyen’s background as a veteran of mixed martial arts.

BKB has added several former boxing names in recent months, including Paulie Malignaggi, Victor Ortiz, Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr., Alfredo Angulo, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Lee Selby, Lucas Browne, Hank Lundy, John Molina Jr., Fernando Vargas Jr. and Amado Vargas. The Zanfer deal offers a pathway for more boxing talent from Mexico to join that group over time.