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<\/p>\nThere is nothing unusual about couples getting together through work or a shared passion \u2013 except when that lifestyle happens to feature the brutal world of bare-knuckle fighting.<\/p>\n
Meet Liam and Mathilda Wilson, who not only both fight but have done so on the same bill, as well as cornering for each other. It\u2019s an unusual arrangement, but one they are proud of, and they\u2019re keen to do it again.<\/p>\n
This fighting duo are known in the combat sports world as the 'Bare-knuckle Couple'. Daily Star Sport<\/b> caught up with both at the recent BKB 34 event at London\u2019s O2, where Mathilda was involved in the only women\u2019s match on the show. <\/p>\n
READ MORE: 'Blood, gore, marriage proposals and Big Narstie \u2013 my night at bare-knuckle boxing' <\/b><\/p>\n
READ MORE: 'I fled the war in Ukraine \u2013 now I'm a British bare-knuckle boxing champion' <\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cFor my first two bare-knuckle fights, we fought in the same night, then been in each other\u2019s corner,\u201d says the Swedish fighter, who has a young son with her Scouser hubby.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit mad. In my first match, I stopped my opponent in the first round and I didn\u2019t have a scratch. My second one, I could barely see out of my eye afterwards so I couldn\u2019t really coach him but luckily we had a friend with us to help in case.<\/p>\n
What do you think of the Wilsons' story? Tell us in the comments section below<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
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\u201cWe want to fight soon again together. We\u2019ll take one more with us [to be in the corner], but it is stressful still. It\u2019s all about the preparation, you can\u2019t say too many things [in the corner]. It\u2019s more about the emotional support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liam has won European bare-knuckle titles and competed in King of the Streets, the underground fight club which makes regular boxing look like a tea party. He wasn\u2019t in action at BKB 34, but he intends to fight for the burgeoning promotion soon, preferably on the same bill as his wife.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like it that way,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of people wouldn\u2019t be able to do that because it\u2019s stressful, with us both fighting and being in each other\u2019s corner. But we love to do that and we want to carry on doing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMathilda always goes first because she wouldn\u2019t be able to handle it if something happened to me. I\u2019m a little bit more hardened in that way, so Mathilda will go first on the card and I\u2019ll go second. We work well like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The pair met in an MMA gym after Liam had moved to Sweden. Mathilda has dabbled in numerous martial arts, but bare-knuckle boxing is the one for her now. She says: \u201cI\u2019ve done a bit of everything, kickboxing, Thai boxing, gloved boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt [bareknuckle] is f***ing amazing, it\u2019s just the best. As soon as I took my gloves off, I knew I\u2019d never be able to put them back on again. You feel free, it\u2019s the best feeling."<\/p>\n
Her biggest issue is finding quality opponents given the shortage of female fighters in the bare-knuckle world. However, her fight with the impressive Lailane Mota, who was flown in from Brazil, showed BKB\u2019s determination to grow the female scene.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve been struggling to get opponents and I\u2019ve been waiting around. Since I\u2019ve signed with BKB, I\u2019m finally going to get regular fights,\u201d she adds. \u201cMy opponent is from Brazil so they are putting money into the female scene. It\u2019s hard to find girls in my weight division. My fight two years ago was the first one in England. Now I\u2019m the first one in BKB.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Liam, he didn\u2019t take up combat sports until the age of 27 after numerous jobs, including a spell in the army and working as a holiday rep. He says he found a home in King of The Streets, where he has fought under the moniker of \u2018English Wilf\u2019, with his fights being viewed millions of times on YouTube.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d just got into bare-knuckle and my family were telling me I was stupid for doing it,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI was flicking through Instagram and saw this King of the Streets thing. I applied for it but didn\u2019t tell anyone. I just wanted to see if I still had something or was being stupid.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI had my first fight and I was like \u2018this is for me\u2019. I just felt like that was the path I was supposed to be on. All the training I\u2019ve done in the past was meant for King of the Streets.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is now looking forward to fights with BKB. He says: \u201cI\u2019ve had six fights in bare-knuckle and I\u2019ve won two European titles. I think in the future I\u2019m looking to come to BKB and finish off my career with Mathilda fighting in the same card.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the Bare-knuckle Couple, it\u2019s what we do. There are people who try to name themselves the bare-knuckle couple of different parts of the country, but there\u2019s only one. We\u2019ll fight people for that name, no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
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