Ernest Jackson-Bobby Gunn
UNDERGROUND “BARE-KNUCKLE BOXING”
Liberty,NC– “Looking for love in all the wrong places, looking for love in so many faces,,” those old country song lyrics have taken on new meaning for the Professor the past couple of days. Leaving the Bobby Gunn-Ernest Jackson bare knuckle fight, which shortly after its conclusion some knucklehead with the IQ of a turnip thought it would be great sport to yell “Police” in an unsanctioned (underground) fight (I could just read the headlines: North Carolina Pastor/part time boxing writer arrested at illegal boxing match 700 miles from home!). As there was a mass exodus for the front door, I went and found a rear exit, which led to a fire escape with about 20 steps to the alley.
LOST 45 MINUTES AFTER FIGHT
That’s the last I remember for about 45 minutes. When I “came to” I was in my car, two blocks away from the fight venue, bleeding from both my head and arm, trying to get directions to the Interstate from an Indiana State Trooper.” Well, the so-called police officer called me “Stupid” (no kidding!) and not wanting to either kick his rear end and get arrested, or finish getting my rear handed to me, I moved on. I headed back to my car, (where my GPS was in my glove compartment…that’s how out of I was from either being pushed down, tripping down, or being abused by Martians, I still have a 45 minute block that the doctor says the concussion may or may not let me remember) when out of the dark alley beside the 7-Eleven came an older lady pushing a cart with all her earthly belongings in it. She came up to me, with a few choice words for the officer, and asked me if “those dudes in the green car jumped me?” I told her I really didn’t remember what had happened. With a quick pat on my hand, she told me how to get back to the Interstate. I told her thanks, and she was gone.
MY CAMEO ROLE IN A HUMPHREY BOGART MOVIE?
Now to the Gunn-Jackson fight. I have had 12 Golden Gloves fights and 36 pro scraps myself, and I worked with my esteemed trainer, Lou Kemp in more amateur fights than I can count, and about 100 professional. This was my very first Bare-Knuckle Boxing event, and other than the fact that it was ‘Mano e Mano’ and involves throwing fists, there is absolutely no comparison between gloved boxing and the bare knuckle variety of the sport. The strategy is different, the timing and tempo is different, and perhaps because this was a non-sanctioned event, while all were respectful to a fault of both combatants, this was for me, grandly other worldly. I felt like I had step back into a Humphrey Bogart movie.
MANO Y MANO WAS EXCITING TO SAY THE LEAST!
This bout was a “Fair Play” fight, meaning it was governed by a referee, and this fight was basically ruled by the standard boxing rules, except no rounds and a 60-minute time limit. Both fighters wore mouth guards, and Jackson used wraps on his wrists and hands (none below the knuckles) and Gunn wore no wraps at all. There was an opening prayer for the safety of both combatants, and for the travel of all who were there, the referee called both fighters to scratch, they touched fists, the ref called time, and the fight was on.
JACKSON WAS NO ROOKIE TO “BARE-KNUCKLE” BOXING
It was quickly evident to me that this was not Ernest Jackson’s first rodeo. He moved fluidly and put combinations together well. It soon became evident that he also possessed a solid right hand. Bobby Gunn was primed as well. Using his left jab and an occasional hook, Gunn seemed to be sizing up Jackson, while Jackson seemed to be looking to land that big right hand. In a corner away from me, it looked that when Jackson missed a right, Gunn caught him with a solid left hook to the body, and Jackson was down. He was up rather quickly, where one would have thought he might have taken a few more seconds to gather himself.
AGAIN, NO “REST-PERIODS” IN THIS MATCH
The fight went back and forth fairly evenly for the next couple of minutes, Jackson now wary of Gunn’s left hooks while looking for an opening to drop his own right hand. At around the 6 or 7 minute mark Jackson seemed to begin to tire, as he began to breathe through his mouth, while Gunn was still going strong and picked up his tempo, and was now landing at will. A straight punch to the heart had Jackson rocked back on his heels, and a follow up double left hook to the body and Jackson is down for the second time. He tries to get to his feet, but his legs will not cooperate, and the referee calls it at about 10 minutes. Jackson has skills and acquitted himself well, thus he has nothing to be ashamed of. However, on the night of December 1, 2011, Bobby Gunn was simply the better fighter. Gracious in victory, Gunn congratulated his foe and wished him well.
Bobby was kind enough to spare me a few minutes before the fight, and we shared about our mutual passion and vision to see bare knuckle boxing go mainstream. Gunn found out that in addition to me being the “Ring Talk Professor,” and now the American BKB Ambassador, that I had a 12 year professional wrestling career, and have been in the ministry for 21 years, we had agreed to do a regular interview after the fight. However, Mr. Turnip Head messed up all that, hopefully, after I recover from my wounds from my abduction from Martians (that’s the story I’m going with) Maybe I can get up to the great State of New Jersey, or perhaps catch up with him and Quinn, before of after their upcoming mega-fight. Thats a fight you do not want to miss!
Professor Chuck Marbry