Britain Hart has an ambitious schedule. The reigning BKFC strawweight champion has booked two title fights in two continents with just six weeks between bouts.
On September 29th she is defending her belt against Melanie Shah at BKFC 51 in Salem. On November 4th she is booked to face Po Denman in another title fight 12,000 kms away in Pattaya.
At BKFC Asia 5, the card headlined by Buakaw’s bare knuckle bout with Saenchai, she is taking on local favourite Denman in a strawweight title fight. The promoters are clearly very confident she will be able to successfully defend that belt this month:
Weight cut
Hart will not just need to beat Shah, who hails from the UK and has two wins from her two previous bare knuckle bouts. She will need to emerge from the fight relatively unscathed as there would not be enough time for a broken bone or serious cut to heal.
It is certainly an ambitious schedule for the 33 year old who has a 7-3 record in bare knuckle boxing. Hart’s record in traditional boxing is slightly less impressive and stands at 4-4-3.
Hart has already started cutting weight in preparation for BKFC 51 and has enlisted the help of experienced mixed martial artist Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc to help her do it:
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Seasoned boxer
While Shah looks relatively inexperienced with no boxing experience outside of her two bare knuckle fights Denman has enjoyed far more success than Hart, albeit at a local level. The Thai is a veteran of 21 bouts and has only ever lost one of them.
Denman, whose real name is Chisakan Ariphipat, has a professional record of 17-1-1. She has never been stopped and the sole loss of her career came at the hands of WBC international super flyweight champion Hee Jung Yeh.
Her bare knuckle record stands at 2-0 and she has a notable win over Tai Emery. Denman has been competing as a flyweight for BKFC and will be dropping down a division for this fight.
Hart clearly isn’t seeking to pad her record with winnable fights. She is travelling to Thailand to defend her title against one of the best bare knuckle boxers in the division.
The champion just needs to ensure she comes through this month’s fight unscathed first. Hart certainly seems to be set for a hectic few weeks which should involve numerous rounds in the ring as well as hours of international travel.
