Conor Cooke’s first thought were of his sons as he stood over his opponent after knocking him out cold.
Cooke knocked out Stevie Taylor at BKFC Manchester on Saturday night in brutal style, as the latter lay lifeless for over five minutes following the one-punch knockout.
The 38-year-old was the favourite heading into the bout and certainly showed his experience in the four-roped ring from the off.
He put pressure on Taylor early, driving his former professional boxing opponent into the ropes and preventing him from fighting his own game.
Then, less than 20 seconds from the end of the first round, Cooke landed a thunderous right hand on the temple of his Lancashire opponent and Taylor flopped to the canvas instantly.
HIs body stiffened up as he dropped to the ground in what seemed like slow motion and his legs shook, beginning to twitch uncontrollably as he lay on the floor.
Cooke expressed pride in his performance when speaking to talKSPORT.com after the bout, but emphasised his reluctance to celebrate after seeing his opponent struggling on the canvas.
“I was f***ing very emotional to be honest. Like I say, I fight for my boys,” he said.
“My boys are home now watching me. I’d hate for my son to watch me lose like that.
“It was all going through my head and I got very emotional. I didn’t want to celebrate the win.
“Even though it’s a huge win for me. But at the end of the day, the man’s got family. The man’s got loved ones.
“I don’t know if he’s got children or not, but it’s not nice to watch that. I don’t give a f**** what anybody says. We’re bad men. We’ve got hearts.
“It’s the worst part of sport. But we’re still humans, and I would hate to watch any man go out that way…
“You don’t want to go out like that. You want to go out with your hand raised, not in a stretcher. It’s not nice, no matter what.”
Fans inside Planet Ice Altrincham in Greater Manchester grew extremely worried as Taylor lay on the floor for minutes after he was floored by the brutal knockout.
Cooke himself even got onto his knees at one point, expressing sympathy for his English opponent who struggled to make his feet in a moment that has since gone viral online.
However, Taylor did eventually make it up and BKFC’s official social media pages have confirmed that he is making a steady recovery.
The fight was then made official as Cooke stood in the four-roped ring alone to be declared the winner at one minute and 41 seconds of the first round, taking his bare-knuckle record to 5-1.
“It wasn’t nice to watch, I knew I was going to beat him,” Cooke added.
“I said to everybody I’d knock him out. Everybody was telling me he’s this, a pro boxer, he’s sharp.
“I’m a pro f***ing boxer. I’m f***ing sharp. I’m better than anybody.
“I believe I’m the best light heavyweight in the world, and I strongly believe that to the day I die.
“This guy is going to be this and that and I’m knocking him out cold.
“The first round, he didn’t bother me at all. I caught him with a jab. I seen a couple of openings and I took them.
“I’m not proud of the way it happened, because I’ve got kids at home.
‘But a win’s a win. He was going to do it to me. I got there first. Tonight I submitted that f***ing statement.”
Cooke has now put himself in prime position for a title shot following his victory at BKFC Manchester.
The Northern Irishman lost the chance to become the new British light heavyweight champion in his last fight at BKFC 68 in Newcastle after missing weight.
He actually went on to win the bout, securing a unanimous decision victory over Matthew Hodgson, who also won in Manchester on Saturday night.
Cooke holds title in kickboxing, boxing and MMA, and could now be on the verge of championship status in the promotion, which is co-owned by Conor McGregor.
He first ventured into his current sport two years ago after going undefeated in three professional boxing fights, making his debut at BKFC 40 in November of the same year.
The 38-year-old went 6-7 in his pro MMA career during arguably the most fascinating period of his career.
Back in November, Cooke revealed to talkSPORT.com that he spent time training with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones back during his mixed martial arts career, and even once had ‘Bones’ pull a gun on him.
Elsewhere at BKFC Manchester, Gary Fox defeated Jonno Chipchase in the main event to claim the BKFC UK featherweight title.
Former British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Jack Cullen had a successful debut after stopping Jakub Kosicki, while several other fighters secured devastating KO’s.
