MIAMI \u2014\u00a0Boxing media\u2019s older guard sometimes try to gate-keep the sport \u2014 even as it evolves.<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t want you following YouTube media. They don\u2019t want to shine a light on the boxing culture that permeates non-traditional elements of the sport, either, whether that\u2019s influencer boxing, bare-knuckle fighting, or, in the case of Mike Perry and Malki Kawa\u2019s upstart fight firm, dirty boxing.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not one of those people. I never have been. <\/p>\n
When I was at Business Insider, I gave mainstream attention to the rising Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship<\/a> when it only had five events behind it. Now, it\u2019s one of the most interesting spectacles in the business.<\/p>\n Dirty Boxing Championship is kinda similar. <\/p>\n It\u2019s weird, it\u2019s wild, and if you want your grandfather\u2019s boxing, this ain\u2019t for you. But we\u2019re not in the 1960s no more.<\/p>\n In 2026, there\u2019s an increasing cross-pollination whether that\u2019s internet sensation Jake Paul getting his jaw broken when fighting Anthony Joshua, a bona fide killer. Or one of the UFC\u2019s most murderous punchers, Francis Ngannou, dropping Tyson Fury in a shock crossover a few years back.<\/p>\n Dirty Boxing Championship, for now, has a greater following from MMA fans than boxing \u2014 likely because of Perry\u2019s fan-friendly fights in the UFC, and Kawa\u2019s long-reigning representation of all-time great fighter Jon Jones.<\/p>\n That could change because of the way it wants to position itself.<\/p>\n Weeks before I turned up at the James L. Knight Center in Downtown Miami for DBX 6 \u2014 the sixth event in Dirty Boxing Championship\u2019s short history \u2014 I spoke to Perry, Kawa, main event fighters Michael Garcia and Rob Perez, and freak-of-nature Adam Progress.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what they said about the possible growth trajectory of its business, should it capture the boxing market\u2019s fervent fans.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see MMA fighters going to influencer boxing. Streamers doing influencer boxing. I mixed in with bare knuckle, and, you know, we created something truly special with the Dirty Boxing Championship\u2019s ruleset,\u201d founder Mike Perry, who had 14 wins (11 KOs) against 8 losses in MMA, told Boxing Social ahead of the event.<\/p>\n Perry told us he\u2019ll compete in Dirty Boxing Championship himself one day, hoping to use that rule-set in his favor. For him, the route toward relevancy for any embryonic combat sports promotion in 2026 is about cultivating cross-pollination interest. \u201cWe give the perfect middle ground where MMA fighters and boxers can meet and throw down,\u201d he finished.<\/p>\n Malki Kawa, an MMA manager and Dirty Boxing co-founder, told me: \u201cThis sport has the potential to grow and catch on, even in boxing.\u201d <\/p>\n For Kawa, there are elements of traditional boxing that are boring. MMA is no different. \u201cHere,\u201d he said, \u201cyou\u2019re guaranteed to have action. <\/p>\n \u201cI could take two of your best boxers and put them in our rule set. If they never threw an elbow, it\u2019s still better than regular boxing. That\u2019s just the reality. There\u2019s no hugging allowed, right? The ring is smaller. The gloves are smaller.\u201d<\/p>\n He said: \u201cIt\u2019s all made for the fan \u2014 the guy who spends his money to come in and watch action. That\u2019s what this is for. So, if you like action, then Dirty Boxing is your thing.\u201d<\/p>\n There Are Actual Rules<\/p>\n For one, it\u2019s all about fighting dirty. \u201cDirty Boxing redefines the boundaries between traditional boxing and MMA,\u201d its website said.<\/p>\n Gloves are 4-ounce to ensure \u201cfast-paced, explosive action while reducing hand injuries\u201d<\/p>\n Ground-and-pound is permitted to \u201creward aggressive, strategic offense\u201d<\/p>\n The ring I saw in Miami was small to \u201cminimize stalling\u201d<\/p>\n Elbows are allowed to \u201ccreate more finishing opportunities\u201d<\/p>\n Rounds are 3 minutes \u201cto maintain a fast-paced, high-intensity fight style\u201d<\/p>\n And, finally, if you hold, expect \u201cwarnings or point reductions\u201d<\/p>\n If there\u2019s a split draw after 3 rounds, a round of \u201csudden death\u201d determines an eventual winner<\/p>\n Boxing Social also spoke to three of the fighters before the show.<\/p>\n There was no love lost between Perez and Garcia, who shared top billing in a heavyweight main event, but they paused their relentless trashing of one another to explain their interest in Dirty Boxing over the rulesets you see in mixed martial arts leagues, or traditional boxing.<\/p>\n It was critical Perez learned \u201chow to throw elbows,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been hit with baseball bats. I\u2019ve been hit with pipes. I\u2019ve been hit with s*** a lot harder than elbows. So, me being afraid of elbows is non-existent. I like to throw elbows just to spice it up and be more versatile in the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Garcia, meanwhile, regards his Muay Thai background as pivotal to any effective transition to the Dirty Boxing ruleset. \u201cYou need to know how to move around in the ring as a boxer with your boxing,\u201d he said, but setting up your elbow strikes, particularly from Muay Thai stances, are as instrumental, he said.<\/p>\n Dirty Boxing Championship 6<\/p>\n If you work at, or attend, a fight event, it won\u2019t be long before you come across carnage \u2014 either in the ring, or behind the scenes.<\/p>\n Before a punch had even been thrown, hours before the event had even started, a crew member tried a back-flip in the ring during rehearsals, seemed to land on his neck, and had to be taken to hospital.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll be fine. <\/p>\n He managed to get to his feet, and walked off on his own accord, complaining about his shoulder. <\/p>\n A lot of male stupidity is because someone, especially in Miami, wants to impress a woman. The woman watching the scene had her own boyfriend, I\u2019m told, who has hundreds of thousands of social media followers. So, for the injured party\u2019s sake, hopefully it wasn\u2019t broadcast on Twitch. <\/p>\n Perhaps for the benefit of the savages, it did find its way to social media. <\/p>\n Regardless, it set the tone for the night. And that tone was loud, in-your-face, and full of live streamers and content creators, including Andrew and Tristan Tate. <\/p>\n Perry even had crates of an event partner\u2019s cannabis cocktail brand, Tempter\u2019s, but the venue, I was told, was adamant it couldn\u2019t be cracked in-house. <\/p>\n Shame, I thought this was America.<\/p>\n Ringside Insights From DBX6<\/p>\n The fighter I was most looking forward to seeing was Adam Progress, a Hamburg-born fighter who, at 6-foot-8, at 185 pounds, cuts a near-Sebastian Fundora-esque figure in combat sports. <\/p>\n Imagine being whacked by one of his limbs when you think you\u2019re out of range, but just happen to still be inside his.<\/p>\n Inspired by the UFC, and especially Jon Jones, Progress drilled MMA training, fought in the sport, trained in Thailand, and not necessarily to his immediate physical advantages. \u201cJust because you\u2019re tall, you don\u2019t necessarily need to fight at a long reach or distance,\u201d he told me ahead of his fight against Blake Lacaze on Saturday. \u201cIt has advantages because you\u2019re not so easy to hit, but also it has disadvantages; you have more place to target if you fight close range.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, of course, the art of boxing is hit and don\u2019t get hit, and you\u2019re better with it when you fight in your range.\u201d<\/p>\n Progress told me Lacaze \u201cdoesn\u2019t know what\u2019s waiting for him\u201d and expected a signature knockout victory.<\/p>\n He was the second of five fights on the main card but didn\u2019t make his walk until 11.05 p.m. local time. <\/p>\n Their fight didn\u2019t disappoint. From the start, Lacaze closed the distance and landed a brutal straight to knock Progress\u2019s head back, before he responded with elbows now inside. If Progress was expecting an easy finish, Lacaze wasn\u2019t going to give it to him until a head-butt left him wincing, and needing full use of a timeout to recover. But Progress didn\u2019t let him recover for long, whipping hooks, and short-range pops with his right, when hurling shots at him in his own corner.<\/p>\n After the bell, Lacaze\u2019s corner treated him like they were still going to send him out for the second round, and a ring doctor assessed him to make sure he could see, while Progress rolled his eyes in a neutral corner.<\/p>\n Progress punished him even more in the second, with powerful punching to the head, and a soul-destroying shot to the body to finish Lacaze for good, who could only lay on the canvas beyond the ropes. \u201cI expected a first-round knockout,\u201d he said, post-fight. \u201cBut \u2026 I got a workout.\u201d<\/p>\n Tibaba Progress GETS IT DONE!<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa LIVE & FREE on YouTube \u2014 Dirty Boxing Championship (@DirtyBoxing_) April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n In the main event, Michael Garcia silenced loudmouth Rob Perez, who had the even louder backing of a partisan, South Florida crowd, with a merciless first-round clubbing.<\/p>\n Earlier in the show, Taylor Burley walked with his bible to the ring but lost in the first-round to Miles Janicic, Gabriel Eurit cracked AJ Cunningham with one of the nastiest spinning back elbows I\u2019ve heard live, and Zac Pauga beat Joseph White through the ropes until the referee waved it off.<\/p>\n Gabriel Eurit with a SPINNING ELBOW knockdown that nearly finishes AJ Cunningham! \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa LIVE & FREE on YouTube
\ud83d\udcc5 TONIGHT, April 10
\ud83d\udccd Miami, FL \u2013 James L. Knight Center pic.twitter.com\/s0zoAc8ihM<\/a><\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcc5 TONIGHT, April 10
\ud83d\udccd Miami, FL \u2013 James L. Knight Center pic.twitter.com\/GjukuJmZ4Y<\/a><\/p>\n