A bare-knuckle boxing fight had to be called off after one of the boxers, who once fought Anthony Joshua at the Millennium Stadium, lost part of his ear during the bout.
The shocking injury occurred to Welshman Dorian Darch during his fight with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Skurtu at the Vale Sports Arena in Cardiff.
Darch and Skurtu came head-to-head on the main card of BYB 30 in the Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting Series.
A charged-up Darch made a fast start, sending Skurtu to the floor with a powerful combination inside the first minute.
But the Ukrainian avoided the count and hit back with heavy blows of his own after regaining his composure, with one strike causing Darch’s left ear to split in half.
Darch looked unfazed despite blood streaming down his chest but referee Wayne Spinola stopped the fight and asked the medical team to inspect the nasty wound.
The doctor then signalled that the fight should be called off, prompting Darch to let out a roar in frustration and throw his arms up in the air.
GRAPHIC WARNING
Fans inside the Vale Sports Arena booed the decision but would soon realise why it was necessary, with a part of Darch’s ear hanging off.
‘This is very unfortunate,’ one of the BYB commentators said. ‘It’s an absolute travesty for Darch but his left ear is cut down the middle like a butcher’s knife has been taken to it.’
‘Tough pill to swallow last night,’ Darch posted on social media. ‘The old me would be pouting but I give it my all, trained the hardest I ever have and actually tried to box.
‘And still I come up short, my luck is poxed. Unbelievable support which I will be forever grateful for.
‘Special thanks to the doctor who patched my ear up and even let me sip my darkfruits throughout lol we got to run that back @bybbkb x.’
Darch became Joshua’s fourth victim when he was knocked out by the British heavyweight boxer in February 2014, two years after AJ won gold at the London Olympics and then turned professional.
Welsh fighter Darch, who finished his pro career with 12 wins and 12 defeats, also lost to Joshua’s next opponent, Daniel Dubois, in 2017.
Asked how he expects Joshua’s September 21 bout with Dubois to go, Darch said recently: ‘In all fairness to Dubois, since the Joyce fight he’s got a lot tougher.
‘I think he more ore less gave up in that fight, but Hrgovic caught him with loads of right hands and he kept fighting. But you can’t take that many right hands against Joshua, he’ll put you to sleep.
‘AJ’s got one punch knockout power, and Dubois, when he hit me, I’ve seen him knockout other boys out, he was hitting me down but they weren’t concussive punches they were just bowling me over.
‘Whereas AJ hit me in the temple, I lost my sense, my legs were gone.’
Beating Dubois would see Joshua win the IBF heavyweight title and could lead to a much-anticipated undisputed fight with British rival Tyson Fury.
Fury suffered the first loss of his career back in May, losing to Oleksandr Usyk on points. They are set to meet again in a rematch on December 21.
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