The former opponent of Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois had an ear torn off in a brutal bare-knuckle boxing match

A bare-knuckle boxing match ended in gruesome fashion on Saturday night when one fighter’s ear was ripped open.

The incident occurred during a bridgerweight bout between former professional boxer Dorian Darch and Ukrainian Volodymyr Skurtu at the Vale Sports Arena in Cardiff on the main card of BYB 30.

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Darch, who fought Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois during his 25-fight (12-12-1) career in the paid ranks, got off to a great start, knocking Skurtu down with a thumping right hand within the first 30 seconds.

To the Ukrainian’s credit, he got back to his feet and landed a blow to Darch’s left ear, splitting it in half.

Darch marched forward unfazed, red wine streaming down his chest, but when referee Wayne Spinola noticed the extent of the injury, he halted proceedings so doctors could examine the wound.

When they did, the fight immediately stopped, with Darch’s ear looking like it had been chopped off with a knife.

Overcome with frustration, Darch let out a bloodcurdling roar as Skurtu jumped to the ropes in celebration.

This is not the first time that Darch’s evening of bare-knuckle boxing has ended prematurely.

The Welshman has taken part in this brutal sport four times (1-3), all three defeats being due to a doctor’s interruption.

He won his debut in March 2021 by knocking out Mason Shaw in two rounds, and ten months later he advanced to a heavyweight world championship fight against Jody Meikle.

Darch won almost every second of the fight until the fourth round, when the fight was stopped due to a deep cut under his left eye.

A similar story occurred when he fought Ryan Barrett for the British cruiserweight belt in June 2022. Darch had the upper hand before the fight was stopped in the third stanza due to two bad cuts above both eyes.

*GRAPHIC WARNING*

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Darch is the first to admit that he has “skin like tracing paper” and, at 40, he will be wondering what he will do next.

If this is his last fight, Darch can look back on his career with pride.

The journeyman from Aberdare never shied away from a challenge and shared the ring with the who’s who of the big heavyweights.

One of his first appearances as an away fighter was against Joshua in 2014, two years after AJ’s Olympic gold.

Many opponents rejected the Watford powerhouse, but Darch immediately accepted the call.

He was vastly outmatched, but fought Joshua for two rounds before referee Terry O’Connor stepped in and stopped the fight after “Dark Fruits” was caught on shaky legs by a left hook.

Three years later, he fought in Triple D’s sixth professional fight against Dubois and suffered the same fate. However, he also held out until the end against Hughie Fury and had a one-on-one fight with Eddie Chambers in between.