Bareknuckle boxer Milner going for broke - after two wins that took 52 seconds

Milner took only 44 seconds to flatten Tom Watson in an MMA fight on Saturday night – and his previous fight was over even quicker. Oliver Bassill was beaten in just EIGHT seconds. Next for Milner is a return to the bareknuckle boxing ring.

He’s been matched with Welshman Hari Miles – a former gloved pro – and says he’s planning to reproduce his explosive MMA form. Milner was beaten by Daniel Podmore in a challenge for the British heavyweight title in March and says that’s led to a rethink.

He said: “Podmore was better than I expected and I tried to be a boxer against him. I thought I could keep him on the end of my jab, but he found his range and got on took over. I don’t think I was really ready for him, but that fight lit a fire under me.

“I was fighting again around eight days later and won in eight seconds. Oliver Bassill has a 4-1 record in bareknuckle boxing and I knocked him out with a couple of uppercuts. I’m looking to come out faster now. It either ends in the first 30 seconds – or I run out of steam !”

Milner accepts Miles has “good credentials.” He fought at a good level during a 21-fight pro gloves career and sparred Tyson Fury when he was preparing to fight Italian southpaw Francesco Pianeta. Miles also has bareknuckle boxing experience, but Milner reckons he can shut his mouth with a quick win.

He said: “Hari went on social media and said he could beat me, Daniel Podmore and Rob Cunningham on the same night. “So I rang up (BKB TM co-owner) Jim Freeman and asked him to make the fight. Hari is a good boxer and a southpaw, but I don’t think he likes getting hit.

“It’s different being hit in bareknuckle boxing. You can’t train someone to fire back after they’ve been hit by a punch in a bareknuckle fight. It’s either in you or it’s not. I can see this being over early.”

Get all the local sport in the Eastbourne Herald - out every Friday