Former IBF featherweight world champion Lee Selby has hinted at a possible return to the ring, suggesting he might compete in bareknuckle boxing (BKB).
Selby attended a BKB event in Bolton on Saturday and admitted he felt the urge to fight again, describing it as having “itchy knuckles.”
He was present in the corner for Joe Morgan, who successfully made his bareknuckle debut with a first-round victory, after previously competing in seven professional gloved boxing matches.
When asked about his own potential step into bareknuckle competition, Selby stated it was “a possibility.”
He noted that the BKB roster recently added another notable former gloved boxer, Paulie Malignaggi, a former two-weight world champion.
Selby, who successfully defended his world title four times during his career, last competed professionally in March 2022.
That fight saw him defeated in the fifth round by Gustavo Daniel Lemos in an IBF eliminator held in Argentina.
Now aged 38, Selby reflected on his time away: “I retired three years ago… I boxed in Argentina where everything was against me. But I`m a fighting man so I went there for little money and fell short.”
He added, “Three years is the longest I have been out. I feel fresh and rejuvenated.”
Reiterating his interest in bareknuckle boxing, Selby confirmed once more, “It`s a possibility.”
At the same event, Selby watched fellow Welshman Kallum Skhane`s attempt to become a BKB world champion fall short.
Skhane, a former Welsh amateur international, was defeated in the fourth round by Harry Gigliotti. Gigliotti secured his sixth consecutive win and proclaimed after the bout: “I`m the greatest of all time.”
In the initial two rounds, Skhane outboxed Gigliotti effectively, utilising his speed. However, by the third round, Skhane had sustained damage around his left eye and nose. Gigliotti began to land more forceful jabs and dropped the Welsh fighter late in the third round with a body shot.
Skhane managed to get up and was seemingly ahead in the fourth round until Gigliotti found an opening and landed a powerful left uppercut to the body, sending Skhane down to his knees for the full ten-count.
