Amado Vargas is heading back to the venue where his bare-knuckle debut came with an unexpected trip through the ropes. The son of Fernando Vargas is set to face England’s Callum Nulty at BKB 61 on November 14 at indigo at The O2 in London, returning to the scene of his July knockout of James Springer.
Vargas enters with a 13-0 professional boxing record and one win in bare-knuckle competition. Nulty, a former lightweight hybrid champion with experience in hybrid fighting, gloved boxing and MMA, gets another opportunity after losing his BKB debut to Ash Williams. Their previous appearances in the sport ended in first-round knockouts, with Vargas delivering one and Nulty suffering one. For Vargas, the London booking follows a cancelled assignment in Mississippi. He was scheduled to fight Anel Dudo at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Biloxi on October 23, but Dudo withdrew through injury.
Amado Vargas on BKB 61
BKB announced the cancellation on October 21, leaving Vargas without a fight that week. His next outing now takes him back across the Atlantic. His first visit gave fans plenty to replay. Facing Springer at BKB 57 on July 25, Vargas found himself caught in a scrappy exchange before his opponent kicked him through the ropes of BKB’s triangular fighting enclosure, known as the Trigon. It was an unusual introduction to a sport where the punches are supposed to do the talking.
Vargas returned to the action, danced and taunted Springer, then supplied the finish. A right hand ended the fight at 2:09 of the opening round, earning him a debut victory and Performance of the Night honours. The sequence spread online, with the kick and knockout giving the bout two very different reasons to attract attention. There was a family celebration attached, too.
His brother Fernando Vargas Jr. also won his bare-knuckle debut on the same card, stopping Gary Allen in the second round. Their father, a two-time light-middleweight world champion, was there as Amado celebrated his win. The family name had arrived in another combat sport with two stoppages in one evening. Nulty’s task is to interrupt that momentum.
The fighter from Cramlington, Northumberland, lost to Williams in the first round at BKB 40 in Cardiff on April 19, 2025. His experience across different rulesets gives him more combat experience than his 0-1 bare-knuckle record alone suggests, although he is still seeking his first BKB victory.
The November 14 event also features former IBF featherweight champion Lee Selby against Ollie Sentance in the super-lightweight main event. Marko Martinjak and Matty Askin meet for the BKB bridgerweight world championship, placing Vargas’ return on a London bill with established boxing names and a title fight already attached.
