I fought Kell Brook and Liam Smith, now I’m the best bare-knuckle boxer on the planet with highlight reel of brutal knockouts
Barrie Jones had an unremarkable pro boxing career but is in a league of his own without the gloves.
'The Welsh Wrecking Machine' is widely considered to be the pound-for-pound best bare-knuckle boxer on the planet, boasting an unblemished 10-0 record and world titles in three different weight classes.
But as a gloved pro Jones was somewhat an underachiever.
The Rhondda puncher won 72 out of 79 amateur fights and collected nine consecutive Welsh titles before turning over as a professional in 2004.
He did so with big expectations on his shoulders, however, Jones wasn't able to achieve more than a solitary Welsh Area super-welterweight title in the paid ranks.
His biggest night as a pro came in 2008 when he was thrust into a British title fight against a young Kell Brook.
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Three months prior, Jones had fallen to defeat at the hands of Tony Doherty when he challenged for the Welsh Area welterweight belt.
But he was given the opportunity to box Brook on short notice after former Lonsdale titleholder, Kevin McIntyre, pulled out due to injury.
"I was on holiday in Turkey at the time," Jones told talkSPORT.com. "My father phoned me telling me about the fight.
"He was due to fight Kevin McIntyre, he was the champion from Scotland but they stripped him.
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"He was a southpaw, like me, so I think they picked me because of that.
"I had just over two weeks to train for it which isn't really enough, is it? But when you get an opportunity like that you've got to take it.
"I went into the fight exactly the same as the Doherty fight, I thought I could save a bit of energy in the later rounds by starting slow. But the fight got away from me."
The contest was waved off in the seventh round after Jones' corner threw in the towel.
Yet to the Welshman's credit, he walked through everything Brook threw at him and remained on his feet throughout the contest.
Three years later, Jones fought another future world champion, Liam Smith, at the Liverpool Olympia.
Once again, he was stopped inside the distance - this time via a body shot in the third stanza.
Jones fought seven more times before hanging up his gloves in 2015, ending his career with a record of 22-10.
Three years would pass until he stepped back between the ropes again, although this time it was in the brutal world of bare-knuckle boxing.
In 2018, Jones signed with Britain's leading bare-knuckle promotion BKBtm - and he took to the sport like a duck to water.
"I didn't understand what I was getting myself in for really, I'd never watched it or anything," Jones added.
"I got introduced to it by my friend Hari Miles (a former BKBtm heavyweight).
"Until my debut, I had no idea what to expect. It's a brutal sport but I love it and it suits me well...
"As a boxer, I didn't want to get involved as much and I chose to box rather than fight but in bare-knuckle, you have no choice but to fight which I've learnt is my strength.
"I train exactly the same as I did when I was boxing apart from a bit of extra strength and conditioning but I'm a lot more aggressive now.
"I didn't get that many stoppages in the pros (9 KOs) because of my style but now I'm getting a fair few in bare-knuckle."
Nine of Jones' ten wins in bare-knuckle have come via knockout with Jonny Tello being the only man able to stand up to the 39-year-old's earth-shattering power.
In his first shot at a BKBtm world title, against Ismet Minaz in 2021, he knocked the travelling Turk out on his feet and sent him plummeting through the ropes.
Meanwhile, the usually durable Luiz Melo was dispatched in 15 seconds after the Brazilian MMA fighter made the ill-advised decision to trade in the pocket with Jones.
But the fights that have gone on to define his illustrious career the most are his back-to-back victories over Hall of Famer Jimmy Sweeney in April and September 2022.
Sweeney is the most decorated bare-knuckle boxer of all time (four-weight world champion) and had reigned supreme over the sport for the past ten years.
Up until he met Jones the Irishman had beaten every man he had ever faced.
But Jones overcame the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against him to stop Sweeney twice.
"When I got into the sport, I asked, 'Who is the best bare-knuckle boxer' and everyone told me it was Jimmy Sweeney so that made me want to fight him then.
"It took me a few years to get the fight but after I went over to America and knocked out Melo, Joe Brown (BKBtm promoter) offered me it.
"Fair play to Jimmy he didn't have to take that fight. I was probably all risk for him and no reward.
"In the pre-fight build-up, everyone was saying, 'He's in the best shape of his life, no one beats this version of Jimmy Sweeney'.
"I stepped up a weight to face him at 80kg and when we stepped on the scales I was 74kg, 6kg underweight.
"So I knocked back two bottles of water, ate some food and stepped back on the scales and I was about 76kg then meaning we could take the fight.
"In the first fight, he started really well and had two great rounds. He was so fast and he even cut me, no man had done that before.
"But I was happy to walk through him and I knew I would eventually catch him - and I did.
"I connected with a good right hand and his eye socket went. We re-matched five months later and I dropped him twice, then they waved it off at the end of the first round."
As he nears his 40th birthday it is unclear what the future holds for Jones.
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He has toyed with the idea of retirement several times over the last couple of years but admits he keeps getting 'pulled back in' by big fights.
If he is to compete again then Jones insists it will have to be against a name that will 'contribute to his legacy'.