HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 oppo ...
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, desig ...
or other form of padding on their hands. It is a regulated sport across the world. The difference between street fighting 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. By the late 19th century, professional boxing moved from bare-knuckle to using
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, desig ...
. 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 Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. BKFC is the first promotion to hold an official state-sanctioned and commissioned bare-knuckle boxing event in the United States since 1 ...
(BKFC) and BYB Extreme (BYB) based out of Miami Florida. In September 2022 it was announced that
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. BKFC is the first promotion to hold an official state-sanctioned and commissioned bare-knuckle boxing event in the United States since 1 ...
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, 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 Elizabeth Wilkinson (alternatively referred to as Elizabeth Stokes) was an English bare-knuckle boxer and practitioner of historical European weapon arts active in the 1720s and early 1730s. She was one of the earliest known female boxers. Du ...
, Daniel Mendoza, Jem Belcher, Hen Pearce, John Gully,
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 and ...
,
Tom Spring Tom Spring (born Thomas Winter) (22 February 1795 – 20 August 1851) was an English bare-knuckle fighter. He was heavyweight champion of England from 1821 until his retirement in 1824. After his retirement he became landlord of the Cast ...
, Jem Ward, James Burke, William "Bendigo" Thompson, Ben Caunt,
William Perry William Perry may refer to: Business * William Perry (Queensland businessman) (1835–1891), businessman and politician in Queensland, Australia * William H. Perry (businessman) (1832–1906), American businessman and entrepreneur Politics an ...
,
Tom Sayers Tom Sayers (15 or 25 May 18268 November 1865) was an English bare-knuckle prize fighter. There were no formal weight divisions at the time, and although Sayers was only five feet eight inches tall and never weighed much more than 150 pounds, ...
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
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, ...
and Jake Kilrain on July 8, 1889, with Sullivan emerging as the victor.National Police Gazette, 16 Apr 2018, p.
/ref> Other noted champions were
Tom Hyer 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 ...
,
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 John Morrissey (February 12, 1831 – May 1, 1878), also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish American politician, bare-knuckle boxing champion, and criminal. He was born in 1831 in Ireland. His parents moved to New York State when he was a ...
.


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. * London Prize Ring Rules: 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 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, 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 Ben Caunt, and the Lancanshire Navigator using purring kicks in his battle with
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 and ...
. 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 pu ...
. 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 ca ...
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.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 The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the Unite ...
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 1761-1762 * Tom Juchau 1765-1766 * William Darts 1766-1769 * Tom Lyons 1769 * Willam Darts 1769-1771 * Peter Corcoran 1771-1776 * Harry Sellers 1776-1779 * Duggan Fearns 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 twe ...
1791-1794 * Daniel Mendoza 1794-1795 * John Jackson 1795-1796 * Thomas Owen 1796-1797 *
Jack Bartholomew John Bartholomew (20 January 1888 – 14 July 1965) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. He played at representative level for Great Britain (non- Test matches), and at club level for Mo ...
1797-1800 * Jem Belcher 1800-1805 * Hen Pearce 1805-1807 * John Gully 1807-1808 *
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 and ...
1808-1822 *
Tom Spring Tom Spring (born Thomas Winter) (22 February 1795 – 20 August 1851) was an English bare-knuckle fighter. He was heavyweight champion of England from 1821 until his retirement in 1824. After his retirement he became landlord of the Cast ...
1823-1824 * Tom Cannon 1824-1825 * Jem Ward 1825-1827 * Peter Crawley (boxer) 1827 * Jem Ward 1827-1832 * James Burke (boxer) 1833-1839 * William Thompson (boxer) 1839-1840 * Ben Caunt 1840-1841 * Nick Ward (boxer) 1841 * Ben Caunt1841-1845 * William Thompson (boxer) 1845-1850 * William Perry (boxer)1850-1851 *
Harry Broome Henry Alfred Broome (1826 – 2 November 1865) was a boxer from the bare-knuckle fighting era who became heavyweight champion of England in September, 1851 when he defeated fellow Englishman William Perry in Mildenhall, England. He lost the tit ...
1851-1856 *
Tom Paddock Tom Paddock, born Thomas Paddock (c. 1822, Redditch – 30 June 1863) also known as the Redditch Needlepointer was a champion English bare-knuckle boxer in the early Victorian era. Tom was baptised on 25 August 1822 in Redditch, Worcesters ...
1856-1858 *
Tom Sayers Tom Sayers (15 or 25 May 18268 November 1865) was an English bare-knuckle prize fighter. There were no formal weight divisions at the time, and although Sayers was only five feet eight inches tall and never weighed much more than 150 pounds, ...
1858-1860 *
Sam Hurst Sam Hurst (13 March 1832 – 22 May 1882), nicknamed the Stalybridge Infant in ironic reference to his considerable physical size, was the English bare-knuckle boxing champion 1860–61. He was born in Marsden, in Yorkshire, England, but in ...
1860- 1861 * Jem Mace 1861-1862 * Tom King (boxer) 1862-1863 * Joe Wormald 1865 * Jem Mace 1866-1871


List of United States Heavyweight Bare-knuckle Boxing Champions

* Tom Molineaux 1810-1815 *
Tom Hyer 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 ...
1841-1851 *
John Morrissey John Morrissey (February 12, 1831 – May 1, 1878), also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish American politician, bare-knuckle boxing champion, and criminal. He was born in 1831 in Ireland. His parents moved to New York State when he was a ...
1853-1859 * John Camel Heenan 1860-1863 * Joe Coburn 1863-1865 * Jimmy Elliott 1865-1870 * Mike McCoole 1870 *
Tom Allen (boxer) Tom Allen (23 April 1839 – 5 April 1903) was a British bare-knuckle boxer who claimed the Heavyweight Championship from 1873, when he defeated Mike McCoole, until 1876, when he lost to Joe Goss. For much of his earlier career he fought jus ...
1870 * Jem Mace 1870-1871 *
Tom Allen (boxer) Tom Allen (23 April 1839 – 5 April 1903) was a British bare-knuckle boxer who claimed the Heavyweight Championship from 1873, when he defeated Mike McCoole, until 1876, when he lost to Joe Goss. For much of his earlier career he fought jus ...
1873-1876 * Joe Goss 1876-1880 * Paddy Ryan 1880-1882 *
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, ...
1882-1889


See also

*
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. BKFC is the first promotion to hold an official state-sanctioned and commissioned bare-knuckle boxing event in the United States since 1 ...
* Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame * BYB Extreme * Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship United Kingdom * Chivarreto boxing * List of bare-knuckle lightweight champions *
Lethwei Lethwei ( my, လက်ဝှေ့; IPA: ) or Burmese boxing, is a full contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking including headbutts. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world, * * * a ...
* London Prize Ring rules * Russian boxing * Rough and tumble fighting


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