Who is Decca Heggie? Bare knuckle boxer arrested in the Philippines

DECCA Heggie is a bare-knuckle boxer turned actor with a dark past. 

But what do we know about the fighter — and his recent arrest? 

Bare-knuckle boxer Decca Heggie is facing deportation from the Philippines.

Who is Decca Heggie?

Derek “Decca” Heggie was born in Carlisle in Cumbria on November 22, 1983, and has some Scottish heritage. 

He started his career as a bare-knuckle boxer, a form of boxing where fighters wear no gloves or padding on their hands. 

Since retiring, he has also been involved in organising fights between other fighters, saying: “We’re stopping what would be worse violence in some cases.

“We’re ‘fighters first’ because of that, the fighters get looked after because I know what it takes to step in there and do it.”

Beyond organising fights, the former-boxer has shifted his career to podcasting and acting. 

Heggie presents the Official All of Nothing Podcast, where he interviews “some of the most notorious and controversial figures from all around the world.

Heggie has been vocal about his issues with mental health and drug addiction. 

In 2018, he published an autobiography titled “Prizefighter – The Searing Autobiography of Britain’s Bareknuckle Boxing Champion”. 

What is Decca Heggie’s fight record?

Heggie was unbeaten following a total of 15 fights before retiring from the sport.  

While bare-knuckle boxing is legal, Heggie said that his first three fights were illegal. 

Speaking to Vice, he said: “One in the gangster’s back garden, then I went over to America and had two illegal fights out there — I won all of them. 

“Bareknuckle is always linked to the underworld.”

Bare-knuckle boxing is brutal — a 2021 fight between Heggie and Danny Christie, also from Carlisle, resulted in both being covered in blood, after fighting non-stop for ten minutes in a boxing gym, 

Bare-knuckle boxing is one of Britain’s oldest sports, with records of early fights dating back to 1641.

Why has Decca Heggie been arrested in the Philippines?

On December 1, 2023, it was revealed that Heggie was facing deportation from the Philippines after alleged details of a past criminal conviction came to light.

A UK source said: “The material emerging from the Philippines does not tally with the detainee’s record in the UK. 

“The Philippine Bureau of Immigration will regularly deport people they deem to be undesirable and Heggie possibly falls into this bracket.”

Taking to social media, Heggie told his followers: “I’ve done nothing wrong. I will fight this to the end.”

What films has Decca Heggie been in?

Heggie has a few film acting credits to his name, including 2019’s The Corrupted, starring Sam Claflin, Timothy Spall, and Hugh Bonneville.

He has also featured in 2017’s My Name is Lenny, 2021’s Twist, and Netflix’s Jagame Thandhiram, also in 2021. 

Heggie also appeared in two episodes of Bulletproof in 2020, available on Amazon.