McPhee will knuckle down to progress
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GRADUATING from the school of hard knocks, Donald McPhee has come a long way since taking up bare-knuckle boxing.
Having entered the scene as a rookie two years ago, he has made a sizeable mark on it after landing the UBBAD Scottish championship.
The Castletown labourer sent shockwaves through the sport in 2014 after winning his debut fight and his career has since gone from strength to strength to his current ranking as the number one bare-knuckle fighter in Scotland.
Becoming national champion in September after beating Edinburgh’s Billy Burton, he successfully defended his title in January against Jon Stuart.
He is now preparing for a non-title fight against Sean McFarlane in Coventry on May 7 as he looks to continue his rise through the UK ranks.
The 40-year-old has become a celebrity in Caithness for what he has achieved in the sport during the last two years and said it has changed his life for the better.
He said: “People stop me in the street wanting to speak about my bare-knuckle career – it is good to have a fan base.
“I’ve had a lot of messages since I won the belt and I have even had offers from people who want to help me train.
“In the past I was involved in martial arts, but this is what I concentrate on now.
“It has given me a complete different mindset to life. UBBAD have made me part of their life and I am proud to be part of it.”
Despite its shady image in some quarters, bare-knuckle boxing is a legal activity with UBBAD sanctioned to run the sport in the UK by the World Bare Knuckle Boxing Council.
While it has never been illegal, the introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry rules to boxing in 1867 which enforced use of gloves for mainstream competition bouts earned bare-knuckle boxing an underground reputation.
The sport is heavily regulated with doctors on standby to ensure fighters are fit to compete and step in if they think fighters are in danger.
With a black belt in kuk sool won and four years training in mixed martial arts, McPhee was recommended to take part in a UBBAD promotion.
Although not knowing too much about the sport and harbouring doubts whether he wanted to be part of it before his first fight, McPhee’s reservations were soon laid to rest.
He said: “I went down to London for my first fight and I was not sure if I would do another one.
“The build-up was good, I felt nervous, but it was an excited nervousness about getting in the ring.
“As soon as the first punch is thrown, you just go for it.
"It is a great atmosphere to compete in and there is a camaraderie between everyone on the circuit.
"Everything is left in the ring, outside it, you shake the other guy's hand and wish them all the best.
"There is so much respect between everyone in bare knuckle boxing and I have made good friendships."
Bare-knuckle boxing sounds brutal, but many medics believe being hit by a boxing glove has greater impact and offers more potential for damage than being struck by a fist, a theory McPhee goes along with.
“Being punched by a fist rather than a glove is a harder sting,” he said.
“But when you’re hit by a 14 to 16 inch boxing glove, there is so much more vibration from the impact that it results in more damage to the face.
“I have fought with gloves and you feel the vibrations across the face when hit. But when you get hit by a fist and get a black eye, the worst thing to happen is only receiving a superficial bruise.
“I’d take being hit by a fist rather than a glove any day.”
As well as training in Castletown and Thurso, McPhee travels down to Inverness once a week to train with MMA fighter Ross Houston and has also received training at a boxing club to improve his technique.
He said making the 212-mile round trip for sparring sessions has helped his development.
He said: “I always used to think of myself as a brawler when I first competed, but now I think of myself as a boxer.
“When I face an opponent, I don’t think I’m going to brawl with him. I am going to box my way to the win.
“Training in Inverness has improved me defensively – I have more movement in my feet and I pick my shots better.
“Instead of trying to rush the guy and take him out within 10 seconds, like I did in the past, I now wait for an opening to appear before I make my move.”
McPhee is set to fight McFarlane in Coventry in front of 1500 fans on Saturday, May 7.
“Even though it is not a title defence, this will be a hard fight,” he said. “Either he knocks me out or I knock him out.”
