Bare-knuckle boxing (or simply bare-knuckle) is a

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opp ...

which involves two individuals throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time without any

boxing gloves Boxing gloves are cushioned gloves that fighters wear on their hands during boxing matches and practices. Unlike "fist-load weapons" (such as the ancient cestus) which were designed as a lethal weapon, modern boxing gloves are non-lethal, design ...

or other form of padding on their hands. It is a regulated sport across the world. The difference between

street fighting Street fighting is hand-to-hand combat in public places, between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g. a street) and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or occasionally even death. Some street fig ...

and a bare-knuckle boxing match is that the latter has an accepted set of rules, such as not striking a downed opponent. The rules that provided the foundation for bare-knuckle boxing for much of the 18th and 19th centuries were the

London Prize Ring Rules The London Prize Ring Rules were a list of boxing rules promulgated in 1838 and revised in 1853. These rules were based on those drafted by England's Jack Broughton in 1743 (known as the Broughton Rules) and governed the conduct of prizefighti ...

. By the late 19th century, professional boxing moved from bare-knuckle to using

. The last major world heavyweight championship happened in 1889 and was held by

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing, ...

. The American '' National Police Gazette'' magazine was recognized as sanctioning the world championship titles. Bare-knuckle boxing has seen a resurgence in the 21st century with the English promotion BKB (Bare Knuckle Boxing) along with other UK promotions such as Warrington’s UBKB (Ultimate Bare Knuckle Boxing) and Bare Fist Boxing Association (BFBA) & American promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) and BYB Extreme (BYB) based out of Miami Florida. In September 2022 it was announced that Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship had acquired the UK organisation Bare Fist Boxing Association (BFBA) to form Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship UK ( BKFC UK). The move meant that BKFC would now regularly hold shows throughout the United Kingdom.

Early history

The sport as it is known today originated in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. According to the boxing chronicle ''Pugilistica'', the first newspaper report of a boxing match in England dates from 1681, when the ''Protestant Mercury'' stated: "Yesterday a match of boxing was performed before his Grace the

Duke of Albemarle The Dukedom of Albemarle () has been created twice in the Peerage of England, each time ending in extinction. Additionally, the title was created a third time by James II in exile and a fourth time by his son the Old Pretender, in the Jacobite ...

, between the Duke's footman and a butcher. The latter won the prize, as he hath done many before, being accounted, though but a little man, the best at that exercise in England." The first bare-knuckle champion of England was James Figg, who claimed the title in 1719 and held it until his retirement in 1730. Before Jack Broughton, the first idea of current boxing originated from James Figg, who is viewed as the organizer of cutting edge boxing. In 1719, he set up a 'pugilistic foundation' and charged himself as 'a professional in the Noble Science of Defense' to instruct boxers on the utilization of clench hands, sword, and quarterstaff. Noted champions were Jack Broughton, Elizabeth Wilkinson, Daniel Mendoza, Jem Belcher,

Hen Pearce Henry "Hen" Pearce (7 May 1777, in Bristol – 30 April 1809, at St. Martin's Lane, London) was an English bare-knuckle prizefighter who fought under the London Prize Ring rules and was the recognised English Champion from 1804 until his retire ...

John Gully John Gully (21 August 1783 – 9 March 1863) was an English champion prizefighter who became a racehorse owner and, from 1832 to 1837, a Member of Parliament. Early life Gully was born at Wick, near Bath, the son of an innkeeper who became ...

Tom Cribb Tom Cribb (8 July 1781 – 11 May 1848) was a world champion English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century. Cribb was born near Bristol but moved to London before starting professional fighting. He undertook a series of fights between 1805 a ...

, Tom Spring, Jem Ward, James Burke, William "Bendigo" Thompson,

Ben Caunt Ben Caunt (22 March 1815 – 10 September 1861) was a 19th-century English bare-knuckle boxer who became the heavyweight boxing champion known as the "Torkard Giant" and "Big Ben". Early life Caunt was born on 22 March 1815 in Hucknall Torkard ...

, William Perry, Tom Sayers and Jem Mace. The record for the longest bare-knuckle fight is listed as 6 hours and 15 minutes for a match between James Kelly and Jonathan Smith, fought near Fiery Creek, Victoria, Australia, on December 3, 1855, when Smith gave in after 17 rounds. The bare-knuckle fighter Jem Mace is listed as having the longest professional career of any fighter in history. He fought for more than 35 years into his 60s, and recorded his last exhibition bout in 1909 at the age of 78. Professional bare-knuckle boxing was never legal under any federal or state laws in the United States until Wyoming became the first to legalize on March 20, 2018. Prior to that date, the chief sanctioning organization for bare-knuckle boxing was the magazine '' National Police Gazette'', which set up matches and issued championship belts throughout the 1880s. '' The Police Gazette'' sanctioned what is considered the last major bare-knuckle heavyweight world championship, between

and

Jake Kilrain John Joseph Killion (February 9, 1859 – December 22, 1937), more commonly known as Jake Kilrain, was a famous American bare-knuckle fighter and glove boxer of the 1880s. Early life Kilrain found employment as a teenager in Somerville, Mas ...

on July 8, 1889, with Sullivan emerging as the victor.National Police Gazette, 16 Apr 2018, p.
/ref> Other noted champions were Tom Hyer,

Yankee Sullivan Yankee Sullivan (born James Ambrose; – 31 May 1856), also known as Frank Murray and James Sullivan, was a bare-knuckle fighter and boxer. He claimed the American bare knuckle heavyweight champion from 1851 to 12 October 1853. When Tom ...

, Nonpareil Dempsey, Tom Sharkey, Bob Fitzsimmons and John Morrissey.

Rules

Classical Pugilism began to adopt rules by the mid 1700s to decrease cases of injuries and death, while also showcasing the sport as a respectable athletic endeavor. There were three rules that were adopted during that time until the acceptance of modern gloved boxing. * Broughton Rules: The first set of rules devised by champion Jack Broughton in 1743. Under Broughton’s rules, a round continued until a man went down; after 30 seconds he had to face his opponent (square off), standing no more than a yard (about a metre) away, or be declared beaten. Hitting a downed opponent was also forbidden. *

: A new set of rules initiated by the British Pugilists’ Protective Association in 1838 and further revised in 1853. The new rules provided for a ring 24 feet (7.32 metres) square bounded by two ropes. When a fighter went down, the round ended, and he was helped to his corner. The next round would begin 30 seconds later, with each boxer required to reach, unaided, a mark in the centre of the ring. If a fighter could not reach that mark by the end of 8 additional seconds, he was declared the loser. Kicking, gouging, butting with the head, biting, and low blows were all declared fouls. * Marquess of Queensberry Rules: Another set of rules that was codified by

John Graham Chambers John Graham Chambers (12 February 1843 – 4 March 1883) was a Welsh sportsman. He rowed for Cambridge, founded inter-varsity sports, became English Champion walker, coached four winning Boat-Race crews, devised the Queensberry Rules, staged the ...

of the Amateur Athletic Club and patronized by John Sholto Douglas, the 9th marquess of Queensberry, in 1867. The new rules added restrictions that continued in boxing to the modern day, such as fighters having to wear padded gloves, a round being consisted of three minutes of fighting followed by a minute of rest, wrestling becoming illegal, and any fighter who went down had to get up unaided within 10 seconds. If a fighter was unable to get up, he was declared knocked out, and the fight was over. During this period the introduction of the first weight divisions also took place.

Techniques

Early fighting had no written rules. There were no weight divisions or round limits and no referee, resulting in very chaotic fights. An early account of boxing was published in Nottingham, 1713, by

Sir Thomas Parkyns, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Parkyns, 2nd Baronet (1664–1741), known as "Luctator" or the "Wrestling Baronet", was an English country gentleman now known as an architect and enthusiastic patron of wrestling. Life Born in 1664 at Bunny, Nottinghamshire, he was th ...

, a landowner in Bunny, Nottinghamshire, who had practised the techniques he described. The article, a single page in his manual of wrestling and fencing, ''Progymnasmata: The inn-play, or Cornish-hugg wrestler'', described a system of headbutting, punching, eye-gouging, chokes, and hard throws, not recognized in boxing today. Consequently, there were no round limits to fights. When a man could not come to scratch, he would be declared loser and the fight would be brought to a halt. Fights could also end if broken up beforehand by crowd riot, police interference or chicanery, or if both men were willing to accept that the contest was a draw. While fights could have enormous numbers of rounds, the rounds in practice could be quite short with fighters pretending to go down from minor blows to take advantage of the 30-second rest period. Even though Broughton's era brought rules to make boxing more civilized, there were still many moves in this era that are illegal in today's gloved boxing. That being said, there were also new revolutionary techniques that were formulated during this time. Grappling was allowed and many favored the use of cross-buttocks throw and suplexes, although grabs below the waist were illegal. Clinching, known as chancery, were also legal and in-use. Fibbing, where a boxer grabs hold of an opponent by the neck or hair and pummel him multiple times, were allowed. The traditional bare-knuckle boxing stance was actually designed to combat against the use of grappling as well as block punching. Kicking was also allowed in boxing at that time, with Wiliam "Bendigo" Thompson being an expert in kicks during his fight with

, and the Lancanshire Navigator using purring kicks in his battle with

It was during classical pugilism where many famous boxing techniques were invented.

Samuel Elias Samuel Elias, better known as Dutch Sam (4 April 1775 in Petticoat Lane, London – 3 July 1816), was a professional boxing pioneer and was active between the years 1801 and 1814. Known as the hardest hitter of his era, he earned the nickname "T ...

was the first to invent a punch that would later become known as the

uppercut The uppercut (formerly known as the undercut; sometimes also referred to as the ''upper'') is a punch used in boxing that travels along a vertical line at the opponent's chin or solar plexus. It is, along with the cross, one of the two main pun ...

. Tom Spring popularized the use of the

left hook A hook is a punch in boxing. It is performed by turning the core muscles and back, thereby swinging the arm, which is bent at an angle near or at 90 degrees, in a horizontal arc into the opponent. A hook is usually aimed at the jaw, but it can ...

and created a technique called the "Harlequin Step" where he would put himself just within reach of his opponent, then avoiding the instinctive punch while simultaneously delivering one himself, basically inventing the boxing

feint Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or ...

.Tom Spring IBHOF
Daniel Mendoza would become the inventor of the outboxer-style of boxing.

Irish stand down

"Irish stand down" is a type of traditional bare knuckle fighting where the aspect of maneuvering around the ring is removed, leaving only the less nuanced aspects of punching and "taking" punches. This form of combat was popular in Irish American ghettos in the United States in the late 19th century but was eclipsed in the

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

community first by bare knuckle boxing and then later by regulation boxing. The Irish stand down is also known as strap fighting or toe to toe.

Modern bare-knuckle boxing

Bareknuckle boxing returned after more than a century in Kettering, Northamptonshire, on June 29, 2015. The show was promoted by UBBAD, headed by Joe Smith-Brown and Jim Freeman. Smith-Brown and Freeman discovered that, by law, fighters would have to wear hand wraps in order to compete in bareknuckle contests legally. With the resurgence of bare-knuckle boxing in the 21st century, several modifications have been made to classical rules that controlled historical bare-knuckle boxing. Additionally, there are several changes from the Marquess of Queensberry Rules. Most notably, there is an 18-second count on any knockdown in the BKB, although the BKFC uses the traditional 10-count. In most modern bare-knuckle promotions, there is no three-knockdown rule and fighters cannot be saved by the bell. Fights consists of 5 rounds of 2 minutes in BKFC and 7 rounds of 2 minutes in BKB. One of the distinguishing characteristics of modern bare-knuckle boxing is the inclusion of punching in the clinch, also known as "dirty boxing". In BKB, the rules are essentially those of gloved boxing but with the absence of gloves. On the 26th February 2022 Mathilda Wilson of Sweden took on Taylor Reeves of England, who had stepped in as a late replacement, in the first legally sanctioned female bare knuckle bout to take place in the UK in the modern era. The bout was held in Wolverhampton and was sanctioned and governed by the International Sport Kick-boxing Association ISKA Mathilda Wilson was victorious winning by TKO in the first round and in the process became the first ever Scandinavian women to compete professionally in bare knuckle.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Rules

1. Fighters are permitted to wrap and tape the wrist, thumb, and mid-hand. No gauze or tape can be within of the knuckles. 2. Fighters will “toe the line”. There are two lines, apart, in the center of the ring where the fighters will start each round. The front foot will be on the line, and the referee will instruct the fighters to “knuckle up”, which indicates the beginning of the bout/round. 3. Punches are the only strike allowed and must be with a closed fist (no kicks, elbows, knees or grappling). 4. In the clinch, the fighter may punch his way out with the open hand. If there is a three-second lull in action while clinching, the referee will break the fighters. 5. A fighter who is knocked down will have 10 seconds to return to his feet, or the referee will stop the fight. It is not permitted to hit a downed fighter. Any fighter who does will be disqualified, and the purse will be withheld. While a fighter is downed, the other fighter will be instructed to report to a neutral space. 6. If a fighter is cut and the blood is impairing a fighter’s vision, the referee may call a timeout to give the cutman 30 seconds to stop the bleeding. If the blood cannot be controlled and the blood inhibits the fighter’s vision, the referee will stop the fight and award victory to the other fighter. 7. Fights are two minutes per round and each bout will be 3 or 5 rounds in length. In BKB can be 3, 5 or 7. 8. Attire: All fighters must have a groin protector with a cup, a mouthpiece, trunks or boxing trunks, and boxing/wrestling shoes. 9. All fighters are expected to give 100% effort and behave with complete sportsmanship.

Current titleholders

Police Gazette

Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB™)

BYB Extreme (BYB)

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC)

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship UK (BKFC UK)

List of English Heavyweight Bare-Knuckle Boxing Champions

* James Figg 1719-1730 *

Tom Pipes Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

1730-1734 * George Taylor 1734-1736 * Jack Broughton 1736-1750 * Jack Slack 1750-1760 * William Stevens 1760-1761 *

George Meggs George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

1761-1762 * Tom Juchau 1765-1766 *

William Darts William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

1766-1769 * Tom Lyons 1769 * Willam Darts 1769-1771 *

Peter Corcoran Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

1771-1776 *

Harry Sellers Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

1776-1779 *

Duggan Fearns Dugan or Duggan ( ga, Uí Dhúgáin) is an Irish surname derived from Ó Dubhagáinn. History A family of the name Dugan had its territory near the modern town of Fermoy in north Cork, and were originally the ruling family of the Fir Maighe t ...

1779 * Tom Johnson 1787-1791 *

Benjamin Brain Benjamin ("Big Ben") Brain (1753 – 8 April 1794) was a bareknuckle prizefighter who took the championship of all England in 1791 against the reigning champion Tom Johnson. A collier by trade, he was a valiant fighter whose career spanned twen ...

1791-1794 * Daniel Mendoza 1794-1795 * John Jackson 1795-1796 * Thomas Owen 1796-1797 * Jack Bartholomew 1797-1800 * Jem Belcher 1800-1805 *

1805-1807 *

1807-1808 *

1808-1822 * Tom Spring 1823-1824 * Tom Cannon 1824-1825 * Jem Ward 1825-1827 * Peter Crawley (boxer) 1827 * Jem Ward 1827-1832 *

James Burke (boxer) James "Deaf" Burke (8 December 1809 – 8 January 1845), was one of England's earliest boxing champions. He was also deaf. Career Burke, who trained in the area around the River Thames, stood tall and weighed . On 30 May 1833, in a particularl ...

1833-1839 * William Thompson (boxer) 1839-1840 *

1840-1841 * Nick Ward (boxer) 1841 *

1841-1845 * William Thompson (boxer) 1845-1850 *

William Perry (boxer) William Perry (1819 – 24 December 1880), known as "The Tipton Slasher" after his native town of Tipton, was a British heavyweight prize fighter of the 19th century and claimed the championship of England, with some dispute, for two periods b ...

1850-1851 * Harry Broome 1851-1856 * Tom Paddock 1856-1858 * Tom Sayers 1858-1860 * Sam Hurst 1860- 1861 * Jem Mace 1861-1862 * Tom King (boxer) 1862-1863 *

Joe Wormald Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

1865 * Jem Mace 1866-1871

List of United States Heavyweight Bare-knuckle Boxing Champions

Tom Molineaux Thomas Molineaux (23 March 1784 – 4 August 1818), sometimes spelled Molyneaux or Molyneux, was an American bare-knuckle boxer and possibly a former slave. He spent much of his career in Great Britain and Ireland, where he had some notable ...

1810-1815 * Tom Hyer 1841-1851 * John Morrissey 1853-1859 *

John Camel Heenan John Camel Heenan, also known as the Benicia Boy (2 May 1834 – 28 October 1873) was an American bare-knuckle prize fighter. Though highly regarded, he had only three formal fights in his career, losing two and drawing one. Heenan is best rem ...

1860-1863 * Joe Coburn 1863-1865 *

Jimmy Elliott Jimmy Elliot (1838, Athlone, Ireland – March 1, 1883) was an Irish-American boxer who was Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1865 to 1868. On December 12, 1870 Elliott was arrested and convicted of highway robbery and assault with in ...

1865-1870 * Mike McCoole 1870 * Tom Allen (boxer) 1870 * Jem Mace 1870-1871 * Tom Allen (boxer) 1873-1876 * Joe Goss 1876-1880 * Paddy Ryan 1880-1882 *

1882-1889

References

Sources and Further reading

''The Outsiders – Exposing the Secretive World of Ireland's Travellers''
Chapters 4 and 5 () by Eamon Dillon, published Nov 2006 by Merlin Publishing * David Snowdon, ''Writing the Prizefight: Pierce Egan's Boxiana World'' (2013)
Interview with bare knuckle boxer from the 1950s
* Near the KNUCKLE; 3,000 fans turn up at skydome to witness a night of bloody battles. - Free Online Library (thefreelibrary.com) * Inside The World Of Bareknuckle Boxing (boxing-social.com) * Bare-knuckle boxing staged at O2 Arena for first time - BBC News * BoxRec: Barrie Jones * The brutal life of Wales' bare-knuckle boxing world champion who saw his Olympic dream crushed - Wales Online * Can bare-knuckle boxing, stripped of its seediness and danger, go mainstream? (espn.com) {{martial arts * Free information website https://bareknuckleboxing.freeforums.net Boxing Combat sports Individual sports Boxing terminology et:Rusikavõitlus