Dirty Boxing: Mike Perry explains how DBX is leading the combat sports revolution

A combat sports revolution is on the horizon thanks to Dirty Boxing Championship (DBX), which is co-owned by mixed martial artists and bare-knuckle boxer Mike Perry, and counts UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and boxing legend Roy Jones Jr among its ambassadors.

The second official DBX event - DBX2 - takes place at The Hangar in Coconut Grove in Miami on Saturday, June 14, with Friday’s face-off to whet the appetite for what promises to be an entertaining night of action.

Before the sparks fly, AS USA caught up with Perry to get the lowdown on Dirty Boxing, which describes itself as a “super-fast and close-action combat sport,” combining elements of MMA and vintage boxing…with a twist.

“An exciting new sport and ruleset”

What inspired you to create DBX? Have you always wanted to become a promoter as well as continuing as a fighter?

“I’ve always been a fighter and I’ll always be a fighter. I’m waiting on my next opportunity. In the meantime, I’ve had really exciting fights in my life, people have always appreciated when I’ve stepped into the ring. With that excitement, we created a new sport and a new ruleset that can bring the excitement to the fans even better than when I fought.

“We have the support of so many courageous fighters, like Yoel Romero, like Andrei Arlovski, like Jairzinho Rozenstruik, like Alex Caceres. We’ve got eight UFC fighters on Saturday’s card. For these guys to come and fight for me is incredible.

“My exciting fights grew a platform that I could share with these fighters and with the world. We’re putting a spotlight on these guys, we’re giving them a chance to be seen in a very destructive fashion of fighting. It’s all-action and it’s very exciting. People are going to see these fighters and maybe they’ll remember their names."

What is Dirty Boxing’s USP? What is the new ruleset you mentioned?

“Dirty Boxing is boxing with 4oz gloves. We’ve got spinning backfists and Superman punches. It’s like an upper-body MMA style of striking. One thing that changes us big time from other sports, like boxing and MMA, is the elbows. There are still some MMA corporations that don’t have elbows. We have elbows in boxing with 4oz gloves.

“There’s ground and pound to knock down opponents. If you hit your opponent with a strike and they fall, you can keep striking on the ground as long as they aren’t in a clinch. If they’re unable to cause a stalemate and the action slows, the referee will stand them back up and the boxing continues."

DBX aiming for the top in combat sports

Do you have a vision about where you’d like DBX to be in 5-10 years’ time?

“This is just our second show. We had an incredible response to DBX1. We had 10-and-a-half million streams, we had 50,000 concurrent viewers. We’ve all put so much work into this and we know that everyone is going to tune into this ruleset to see the action.

“In 5-10 years, maybe we’ll be the new leading factor in combat sports. Maybe people will love to watch Dirty Boxing. If we could get a Mike Tyson-esque fighter with 4oz gloves on, throwing elbows at his opponent, and ground and pounding him for the finish, I think that sounds very exciting."

DBX2 card in Miami

What should we expect from DBX2 in Miami on Saturday (June 14)?

“The fighters are itching to get at each other, that’s going to be a fun part of it. Tomorrow night, all the nerves hit, everyone’s backstage. The cool, the quiet, the calm before the storm. They’ll step into the ring and battle their freaking hearts out.

“There will be stars in the building for sure. These fighters are stars, they’re putting it all on the line. They’re risking their lives for your entertainment."

What are some stand-out matches on the DBX2 card?

“We’ve got Jessy Jess, a former UFC fighter who fought Paige VanZant, against Marilia Morais.

“In the co-main event, we’ve got Alex Caceres versus Saidyokub Kakhramonov.

“And then our main event - Jairzinho Rozenstruik against Victor Cardoso. They’re both really big guys, heavyweights.

“We’ve got Francisco Trinaldo versus E.C. Moon, who is a fully-fledged boxer. We got a boxer to come on over and try Dirty Boxing. I’m hoping his technique in boxing shows through. The thing about MMA versus a boxing opponent is the MMA fighter has to use their MMA capabilities, grabbing and pushing, hitting in the clinch, hitting at range and distance.

“To see a boxer versus a former UFC fighter, that’s a really entertaining aspect of Dirty Boxing. Seeing the cleanliness of boxing striking against the dirtiness of MMA striking. Which will be better?

“And one of our featured bouts: Alex ‘The Spartan’ Nicholson takes on Rob ‘The Wolf’ Perez, who’s experienced in Dirty Boxing. Those two have been talking so much trash to each other, back and forth, they’re itching to get at each other. They’re huge heavyweights."

What’s the next big thing on the horizon for DBX?

“Now we’re trying to stay consistent with our showings. I’m not sure where our next event will be. We’ve done two here at The Hangar in Coconut Grove in Miami. It looks like we’re making another card for July. You’ll hear about that maybe a little bit after our event tomorrow."

How to get tickets for DBX2 in Miami

There are a limited number of tickets remaining for the event, so if you happen to be in Miami on Saturday, June 14, you can still go along to see the action in the flesh yourself. Tickets are available on eventbrite.com.

If you are unable to get along in person, DBX2 will also be streamed live for free on Dirty Boxing’s official YouTube channel.

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