(PHOTO: Sammy Morris was inducted into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022 but could not make the trip. On Saturday, she will officially receive her due as she made the trip to Belfast, N.Y. from the United Kingdom)
By JOHN ANDERSON
How much does the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame in Belfast mean to those in the sport and fans of American history?
Guests from the United Kingdom and North Carolina arrived two days early ahead of the weekend festivities to tour the Bareknuckle Boxing Hall of Fame on Hughes Street in Belfast and even help President Scott Burt with some last-minute painting and cleaning before sharing stories of what brought them together.
On Wednesday night, two hall of famers, Sammy Morris, the No. 1 cut person in the world and referee Wayne Spinola sat down to talk about the history, the sport and being in Allegany County this weekend.
Morris started with bare knuckle boxing when it was unsanctioned and trying to make its way back into the world. She prides herself in fighters being able to go home safely to their families with fewer injuries and head trauma compared to gloved boxing and ultimate fighting or mixed martial arts.
With her thick mid-Wales accent, Morris recalls her humble beginnings.
“It was pretty bloody low-level to be honest, and to see where it was and where it has come today.,” she said. “You would have never thought 11 years ago this sport would be where it is today, The production teams, the safety teams and the research into the neurology aspect. And, it’s proven the bare knuckle boxing is safer to the brain than glove fights.”
Morris actually starts with the fighters the day before the fight, checking their medical conditions at weigh in and she stays in the same hotel with them. There are other “corner” men or women who check the fighters between rounds on the undercard, and they are also under her supervision. She does not work as a “cut man” for the undercards because her team goes right to the locker room with a fighter after the bout to check on them.
However, she does work the championship bouts and the main events.
“I work the main event, I check on facial swelling, and even if they are not cut, I will Vaseline them up and check for concussions, I am in there, maintaining and protecting the fighters,” Morris said. “If there is a cut, I have to stop the bleeding, stop the swelling and make sure the fighter is safe enough to keep going. I am the first protocol before a doctor or neurologist.”
Bare knuckle boxing is also a fast sport, the ring is a trigon, about half the size of a regular ring. Knockdowns happen often, and 90 percent of fights end with a knockout before the sixth and final round. The fighters start three feet apart which also lends to quick action.
“You get a minute between rounds, but realistically, you have 30 to 40 seconds to clean them up and out of the ring,” Morris said. “It’s fast-paced and a highly stressful job. It also comes with a lot of guilt. I’ve worked every fight but on BKB fight in England. There have not been many fights that have been stopped in my corner because of a cut.”
The other thing Morris does, which Burt has stood his ground on, is tape each fighter the same. The tape is on the palm and back of the hand and does not cover fingers or knuckles. There are restrictions on how much tape can be used and what kind. Burt and Morris have leveled the playing field because of this. It’s one of the reasons the sport has gained popularity and is now a pay-per-view hit.
Morris was also inducted into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022. She could not make it to the United States, so she will be presented with her award on Saturday. A weekend pass is $60 and to attend the tour of the John L. Sullivan barns to see where he trained, his actual equipment, his bed and his ring is $10.
“As soon as I walked in the barns, I got goosebumps,” Morris said. “I felt the history. And then I realized how far we have come. I’ve been with the English side of bare knuckle for 13 years. This company has been together for 10 years. I worked in it before it was in the spotlight. It was in cellars and pubs, not even 20 people there 20 stone-drunk blokes and it was vile. What was missing was the safety aspect and continuity.”
WIth her induction in 2022, Morris was then in the spotlight, More and more in boxing took notice. That includes the World Boxing Council (WBC) who hired her as a cut person. She said she owes it all to Burt.
“Scott is amazing. He noticed I was not getting recognized or appreciated, Scott stepped up for me and let people know what I do and the importance of a cut person. His support is great, and him inducting me into the bare knuckle hall of fame has changed my life,” she said. “I put so much into bare knuckle boxing, I live and breathe it. I care so much about the fighters, and now I have a place in history that can be left behind and I paved the way for women in this sport. And now it’s growing.”
Morris added, “I am being picked up by the WBC when they were looking for the top four cut people in the world. But no matter where I am, I have one goal: I want to make sure those boys, and women, go into the ring and go home safely to their families.”
As a referee, Wayne Spinola has witnessed Morris in action.
“She has saved fighters and got them the extra one or two rounds they needed to win,” Morris said. “She was noticed by the WBC and is one of their top cut women and was recognized by them as a future hall of famer. I can tell you from my seven years as a referee, a cut person can make a difference in a fight. I have seen them cut arterial cuts long enough to win a fight. And I’ve seen a doctor stop a fight because a cut person is not good enough to do their job. So it is imperative you have a good cut person in your corner.”
Spinola, a Queens native who now lives in Wilson, N.C., was the referee for the first sanctioned bare knuckle event in Wyoming seven years ago. While Burt had the Hall of Fame in Belfast up and running, the sport making a comeback has taken this to a new level. Burt now awards medallions and championship belts at all of the major fights all over the world as the President of the Police Gazette Boxing Corporation.
Spinola grabbed the large leather-bound ledger and thumbed through the pages of championship fights. On each page, he recognized the names and the fights he was the referee for. He said that is special, to be part of history.In the ring, Spinola had 90 fights over a 14-year period,Taekwondo, muay fighting and MMA. His last fight was in 2011 as he turned to being an official.
He is now a Hall of Fame referee.
“I’ve been dying for three years to get here to Belfast, to see where John L. Sullivan trained and lived and fought and to see his ring,” Spinola said. “You see pictures of the hall of fame, but to walk in, the feeling is incredible, And then I saw my picture on the wall … that was crazy. And I was humbled.”
Spinola has successfully testified in several states to make bare knuckle boxing a sanctioned event. He argued a punch by a first is not as bad as a knee to the face or an elbow to the face. It’s not as bad as an elbow or kick to the head. He said all of that is legal in UFC, MMA and other sanctioned sports, but those things do not happen in bare knuckle boxing events. The commissioners agreed.
“I love the spot. The sport is super exciting, it reminds me of when the UFC first started. I know everyone, we are one little family. I fell in love with Scott Burt, he is a great friend. It’s special because it changed my perspective of fighting, the refereeing in general,” he said. “The history in Belfast gives you chills. The first time I walked in the barns it gave you chills. It’s exciting to be part of something that is historic. You are a part of history. Every title fight I get to referee and see someone go on to be a champion, your name is written in the history books and you don’t get that in the other sports.”
He said refereeing bare knuckle boxing was also a shock.
“It was a shock to the system. It is so much faster than all of the other combat sports, part of the reason is starting three feet apart. One punch really does make a difference in bare knuckle,” Spinola said. “Bone on bone, my fist hitting your jaw is a different sound, a different feeling and a different energy. As soon as I saw it in person, it was a shock how intense and fast it was. In (gloved) boxing there is an unwritten rule, you let the other person recoup. That is not the case in bare knuckle boxing. Every fight there are cuts. And it looks bad, because your heart rate is going so fast, the bleeding is faster and the fighters go all in, it gets more and more exciting.”
The last fight Spinola refereed showed how exciting it is.
“The last fight I did in Nashville, there were four knockdowns in the first round. The one fighter was knocked down three times in the first round and he came back to win in the fourth round by doctor stoppage,” he said. “You are fighting in a trigon, it’s like a boxing ring cut in half. It’s not stylistic … there is nowhere to go.”
Click on this story for a schedule of events this weekend:
