Trojan Free Fight Lawrence Tracey steps into the ring on Saturday 11th September at Indigo at the O2 in his debut on Bare Knuckle Boxing 22. We caught up with Lawrence regarding his upcoming bout and his future plans for MMA.
Lawrence, it’s been a while, a lot has happened and a lot has changed. The obvious question is why Bare Knuckle Boxing?
Well, this all started early last year when MMA events were getting scrapped because of COVID. I noticed BKB was promoting events during COVID and I was keen to get involved and stay active in combat. So, I reached out to them and the ball began to start moving, but then due to restrictions, it was scrapped. I switched to BKB just to stay active because of the lockdown and now I’m still up for it, and still want to do it because I’m genuinely interested and keen.
Does this mean you’re done with MMA?
Not at all, I was supposed to be fighting on Golden Ticket Fight Promotions last year, but obviously, that was axed due to COVID. I managed to fight once last year against Ian Garry on Cage Warriors, me going over to BKB is just me being a curious martial artist and trying to stay active. Three weeks after my bout on September 11th I will go over to GTFP 16 on Saturday, October 2nd to fight for the welterweight championship.
MMA is still in the mix I was supposed to fight on GTFP 16 for the welterweight title back in June. A couple of weeks before that fight I got headhunted in training and split my eye. I glued it back together myself and the next day I was playing tennis with my dad and I was playing a bit shit so, my dad questioned me about it and he asked me if I was suffering from a concussion. I went to hospital in the end and they confirmed that it was a minor concussion.
When both fights were presented to me and I was really keen. I initially agreed to BKB and then GTFP didn’t have the dates set but I agreed and then the dates came later and it was three weeks apart, not that bothers me. My opponent on GTFP is making out I’m going pull out fights, but the reality is I wasn’t going to fight back then with a concussion that’s irresponsible. Me and him were going back and forth on social media and were having a laugh its good to have a little banter here and there.
The impact of that concussion is the reason the last fight was scrapped at GTFP. Cuts can heal up but the pull-out was because of the concussion. You’d be stupid to take a fight that you know is going to put you in a stupid position. Don’t get me wrong with boxing there is a lot of concussions, but I wouldn’t be surprised to get a few bumps and bruises. You can get that all in sparring so, three weeks between fights isn’t a big deal. Luckily three weeks in between any superficial stuff can heal in between and the rest I’ll workaround. I’ll be absolutely fine.
For me, from an MMA point of view what I seemed to do in fights is turn up and smash people or go in with the wrong attitude and lose. I rarely think I’ll lose to someone if I ever fight again. Even in the Ian Garry fight I expected a trade but he took me down and did the job, but those things won’t happen again.
What are your thoughts on your opponent on BKB Darren Godfrey Jnr?
He looks durable he looks like he takes punches, to begin with, and then comes back in the end to win fights. I think I’m going to take him out, to be honest with you, I think it will be a relevantly comfortable one to start off with, not to take anything away from him.
I have a background in boxing you know, I find with MMA you have to be patient and there are more disciplines in the mix so it’s a lot to think about. As a 5ft10 I always had to fight with combinations and get in and out because of the range of fighters I was going up against. With BKB I think I’ll be able to use that to my advantage.
What weight are you fighting at?
They’re pretty loose about that, but its 84-86kg. That’s good for me because then I can make the weight for the MMA fight easier as well and not be dehydrated. The thing is because I got a fight afterward in MMA I’m still training for that, but doing straight boxing rounds as well. I’m training with Jon Pitman at Fight Factory. Some of these boxers are really great they can put a pacing on you, but they help you build the experience you need to get in the ring.
How do you prepare for something like Bare Knuckle Boxing?
When you come from MMA everything else seems like a water down form of combat I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but it’s fewer things to deal with you know, fewer things to worry about. BKB in 2-minute rounds and 3 rounds in a bout. I can throw for 6-minutes straight easily. BKFC is another organisation that gets my attention, if all goes well with BKB I wouldn’t overlook that opportunity. Even in BJJ I’m still competing my kids are competing, I’m a martial artist I’m keen on it all. I don’t care what it is I like a competition I like doing those things, especially if the opportunity comes. I know a couple of guys that are swaying to go over to BKB so, it’s on the up.
Any last words to wrap up the interview?
If anyone thinks I’m going over to BKB because I’m retiring from MMA or signing up for a way out they got it wrong I’m coming for those welterweight titles if any of my opponents think they’re going to walk through me they got another thing coming!
You can watch Lawrence compete on Bare Knuckle Boxing 22 on September 11th live at Indigo at the O2 or watch it live on Fite.TV. Lawrence also competes for the Golden Ticket Fight Promotion Welterweight title on GTFP 16 on October 2nd.
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