Ben Rothwell and Gustavo Trujillo stand tall among heavyweight bare knuckle fighters but who would win a hypothetical clash between the BKFC and BKB, respectively titleholders? An ex-UFC vet who respects Rothwell quite a bit and also lost his BKB heavyweight crown to Trujillo has weighed in on how he would see the dream bout playing out.
That fighter in question is Ike Villanueva, who appeared on Bare Knuckle Bowker ahead of his Jarome Hatch title eliminator bout for BKB 48.
In terms of who the best heavyweight overall in bare knuckle is, many cite names like Leonardo Perdomo, Ben Rothwell, or Gustavo Trujillo. With cross-promotional events not being the norm in combat sports, we will not have a chance to solve these questions in the immediate future. But when asked where he thinks Gustavo Trujillo sits in the general bare knuckle heavyweight landscape, Villanueva said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
The only one that would really give him trouble is Big Ben. Big Ben is; he's a big; that's a cornfed mofo, man [laughs]."
"He's big, and he can weather that. And like he says, Gustavo will have to be on his A game, but if it plays out.""You fight him in the BKFC style or the BKB style? It favors him in the BKB style, for Big Ben."
"because there's no room for Gustavo really to move because he's just gonna tie you up and just wear you down.
Ben Rothwell vs. Gustavo Trujillo would "be a hell of a fight", per Villanueva
Further expounding upon his thoughts regarding a dream-based, mega matchup with Ben Rothwell and Gustavo Trujillo, Villanueva continued [via 
That's a lot of weight behind Big Ben, and Gustavo's like probably like 245. But I think that would be a hell of a fight, like for a fight fan."
"You got two just monsters, and you got guys, one is a great boxer."
"One's just like a f****ing; man, I respect him but I hate saying this, it's like a f***ing bar brawler.
"because when he touches you, good night. You see what he did to last anyway. I mean God. Now I know why the dude was shying away to fight."
"He wanted no part of Big Ben. And I've been a fan of Big Ben since day one, and I'm glad he's doing what he's doing."
"But that'd be a hell of a fight, though. Him and Gustavo? Oh man, that'll be a hell of a fight.