Confident, but not overly so: Dodson eager to defend his BKFC title vs. Aguero

Mar. 27—John Dodson can be brutal in the bare-knuckle fight ring and brutally honest out of it.

Wednesday, in a phone interview, Dodson was asked if Dagoberto Aguero — his opponent in Friday's BKFC 59 main event at Tingley Coliseum, with Dodson's BKFC flyweight title at stake — will be his most dangerous bare-knuckle opponent yet.

The popular Albuquerque fighter was, well, brutally honest.

No.

Ryan Benoit and Jarod Grant, Dodson said, the fighters he defeated in his first two bare-knuckle fights, presented more of a threat.

"To tell you the truth," he said, "(Aguero) is not gonna be the most dangerous one that I've ever faced."

Does the above translate to overconfidence, as Dodson prepares to defend the title he won in defeating Joshua "J.R." Ridge at Tingley on Aug. 11?

Never, he said. Every Dodson opponent gets the ultimate respect, as in, "I'm ready to go ahead and knuckle somebody's face in as hard as I can."

Aguero, 1-0 as a bare-knuckle fighter but 15-2 as a professional boxer out of the Dominican Republic, does present certain problems.

"He's such a dynamic striker," Dodson said. "He wants to be elusive on the back foot, throw combinations from that one-two area. But I guarantee you he's not gonna surprise me, not one bit, with anything he does.

"I'm not underestimating this guy. ... I just want to be the most undying killing machine that he's never seen before."

Clearly, that's what Dodson has been during his brief yet spectacular BKFC career. He's 3-0, having dispatched Benoit, Grant and Ridge in a combined time of 4 minutes, 10 seconds. Neither Benoit, Grant nor Ridge saw the second round.

Meanwhile, Dodson, 24-14 as an MMA fighter, has continued to fight in the cage. Between the Benoit and Grant fights, he beat Hideo Totoro by first-round TKO in Saitama, Japan. After the Ridge fight, he returned to Japan and lost by unanimous decision to Hiromasa Ougikubo.

At 39, he's nowhere close to retiring — whatever the combat-sports discipline.

"I'm just a fighter," he said. "I'm a guy that wants to lay waste by knocking them out continuously, whether it be knuckling it up, MMA or whatever.

"... If (celebrity boxer) Jake Paul needs somebody else to get beat up by after he fights (Mike) Tyson, I will gladly go ahead and retire Jake Paul."

The BKFC's previous two cards at Tingley each set organization records for attendance and paid gate. In all likelihood, the arena will be packed again on Friday.

Dodson loves fighting for the home folks.

"It's gonna be amazing to be around another sold-out crowd, cheering my name, and have it in my hometown," he said. "I've never lost in my backyard, and I don't plan on doing it anytime soon."

NO ERIC: Dodson said his younger brother, Eric Dodson (3-1 BKFC), was scheduled to fight on Friday's card before his opponent was forced to withdraw due to family issues.

"Sorry for that guy's loss," John Dodson said. "Hopefully they can run it back sooner than later."

MMA: Moriarty welterweight Tim Means (33-15-1), John Dodson's Moriarty High School wrestling teammate of some two decades ago, is scheduled to face Serbia's Uros Medic (9-2) on an April 27 UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In September, Means snapped a three-fight losing streak with a victory by third-round TKO over Andre Fialho in Las Vegas.

BOXING: Albuquerque native Angelo Leo (23-1, 11 KOs) has an opponent for his April 10 bout in Plant City, Florida: Mexico native Eduardo Baez (23-5-1, nine KOs).

The bout will be Leo's third, the previous two both impressive victories, in barely four months since he signed with Florida-based ProBox. This follows a 2 1/2 -year hiatus after Leo parted ways with Mayweather Promotions.

Leo, the former WBO super bantamweight champion, is pursuing a title shot at featherweight.

... Albuquerque's Amanda Lovato (1-2-1) scored her first pro boxing victory on March 23, defeating Mollie Backowski (0-2) by unanimous decision in Superior, Colorado.

Lovato plans to stay busy. Arlene Sanchez Vaughn, her trainer, posted on Facebook that Lovato has signed to fight Melanie Timko (pro debut) on May 25 in Lincoln, Nebraska.