Onward, Christian soldiers

World Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB) superwelterweight champion Rolando Gabriel Dy walked from his dressing room to the music of “Onward, Christian Soldiers” and made his way to the trigon for his title defense against Hall of Fame inductee Scott McHugh at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England, last weekend. The marching song was unusual but for Dy, it was made for him. On the right side of his shirt is a reference to Psalm 56:4 over a cross. This is the verse from the Bible: “In God, I will praise His word. In God, I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” That›s pure faith.

Dy has repeatedly acknowledged that if not for God, he wouldn’t have become a world champion. His life has been a struggle from when his father Rolando Navarrete, the former WBC superfeatherweight champion, abandoned his mother and sister when he was 10 months old. His mother Jennifer worked different jobs, including a waitress in a restaurant, and provided for his education until he finished college. Dy’s first dream was to become a lawyer but the drive to fight led him to MMA. His MMA career never got off the ground and he once suffered four losses in a row. Then, he tried his luck in BKB in 2022 and with God’s grace, found his true calling.

Dy was offered high-paying jobs as a martial arts and fitness coach in Bahrain and United Arab Emirates but persisted in pushing the envelope in BKB. Now, he’s the world BKB superwelterweight king with two successful title defenses under his belt. In compiling a 7-1 record, two of his victims were former two-time world boxing champion Paul Malignaggi and Roberto Duran’s son Alcibiade, both of whom he knocked out.

Against McHugh, Dy was DyIncredible, his sobriquet. McHugh had a two-inch advantage in reach and height but inside the space-restricted trigon, that isn’t a factor. Dy, 36, was aggressive from the start, shrugged off McHugh’s jabs and countered with precision. McHugh went down thrice in the second round where Dy called on referee Clive Allison to end the carnage to no avail. In the third, McHugh dropped on all fours from a crushing left hook to the side of the face and his corner threw in the towel.

Dy said the inevitable happened. He had predicted a third round KO. “No way Scott could win the fight, I prepared for it and knew what would happen,” he said. “In BKB, you can’t hide behind the gloves, it’s bare fists. You’re stripped away from gloves. It’s just your bare hands, gloves can’t save you. I fight not only for my family but for glory, for my country. I’ll fight the best of the best, not just some random dude. I owe it all to God.”

Iraqi Adel Altamimi will likely be Dy’s next challenger and the bout could be early next year. Dy said Altamimi is not in his class. There’s an intriguing fight coming up between Malignaggi and former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz with the winner tipped to challenge Dy. But if Malignaggi wins, as Dy said he would, a rematch may not sell since Dy knocked out Malignaggi in the second round last May. Ortiz could be a more attractive opponent but has to get past Malignaggi for a chance to face Dy.