![]() Irish-American fighter John L. Sullivan | |
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Country of origin | England |
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Bare-knuckle boxing (also known as bare-knuckle or bare-knuckle fighting) is a full-contact combat sport based on punching without any form of padding on the hands. The sport as it is known today originated in 17th-century England and differs from street fighting as it follows an accepted set of rules.
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. The last major world heavyweight championship held under bare-knuckle boxing rules happened in 1889 and was held by John L. Sullivan. [1] [2] 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 English promoters such as Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB) in Coventry and Ultimate Bare Knuckle Boxing (UBKB) in Warrington, as well as American promoters Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) in Philadelphia and BYB Extreme (BYB) in Miami.[ citation needed ]
The sport as it is known today originated in England. [3] 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." [4]
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, John Gully, Tom Cribb, Tom Spring, Jem Ward, James Burke, William "Bendigo" Thompson, Ben Caunt, William Perry, Tom Sayers and Jem Mace. [5]
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 in Australia on December 3, 1855, when Smith gave in after 17 rounds. [6]
The bare-knuckle fighter Jem Mace is listed as having the longest professional career of any fighter in history. [7] He fought for more than 35 years into his 60s, [8] 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 and Jake Kilrain on July 8, 1889, with Sullivan emerging as the victor. [1] [2]
Other noted champions were Tom Hyer, Yankee Sullivan, Nonpareil Dempsey, Tom Sharkey, Bob Fitzsimmons, and John Morrissey.
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. [9] [10]
Early fighting had no written rules, but Mike Amoia is known in the past to have dipped his hands in petrol for 13 minute intervals to strengthen his thump. 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 in 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 that are not recognised in boxing today. [11] 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. [12] [13] 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 pummels him multiple times, were allowed. [14] The traditional bare-knuckle boxing stance was actually designed to combat against the use of grappling as well as block punching. [15] Kicking was also allowed in boxing at that time, with William "Bendigo" Thompson being an expert in kicks during his fight with Ben Caunt, [16] and the Lancanshire Navigator using purring kicks in his battle with Tom Cribb. [17]
It was during classical pugilism where many famous boxing techniques were invented. Samuel Elias was the first to invent a punch that would later become known as the uppercut. [18] Tom Spring popularized the use of the left hook 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. [19] Daniel Mendoza would become the inventor of the outboxer-style of boxing. [20] [21]
The "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. [22] This form of combat was popular in Irish-American ghettos in the late 19th century but was eclipsed in the 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.
After more than a century, bare-knuckle boxing returned legally to the UK in Kettering on 29 June 2015. The show was promoted by UBBAD, headed by Joe Smith-Brown and Jim Freeman. They discovered that, by law, fighters would have to wear hand wraps in order to compete in bare-knuckle 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 and BYB Extreme use 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, both for non-title and title fights. In BKB and BYB Extreme, non-title fights are 5 rounds of 3 minutes while title fights are 7 rounds of 3 minutes. Female fights in both BKB and BYB Extreme are shortened to two-minute rounds. 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, punching in the clinch is prohibited and fights can range from 3 rounds of 3 minutes to 7 rounds of 3 minutes.
In October 2021, BKFC Thailand (later renamed BKFC Asia) was established as the officially licensed branch of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) in Asia. It hosted its first event, titled BKFC Thailand 1: The Game Changer on December 18, 2021, at the Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall in Pattaya. BKFC Thailand became the first promotion to receive full licensing and sanctioning for bare-knuckle boxing in Thailand and Asia.
On 26 February 2022, Swedish fighter Mathilda Wilson defeated English fighter (and late replacement) Taylor Reeves in the UK's first legal female bare-knuckle fight in the modern era. The bout was held in Wolverhampton and was sanctioned and governed by the International Sport Kickboxing Association, with Wilson winning by first-round TKO to become the first Scandinavian woman ever to compete professionally in bare-knuckle boxing.
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.
1. Fighters are permitted to wrap and tape the wrist, thumb, and mid-hand. No gauze or tape can be within 1 inch (25 mm) of the knuckles.
2. Fighters will "toe the line". There are two lines, 3 feet (91 cm) 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. All fighters must wear 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. [23]
Weight class | Holder |
---|---|
Police Gazette | |
World Heavyweight | Arnold Adams |
World Cruiserweight | Marko Martinjak |
World Light Heavyweight | Cub Hawkins |
World Middleweight | Barrie Jones |
World Welterweight | Seth Shaffer |
World Lightweight | Luis Palomino |
World Bantamweight | Johnny Bedford |
World Women's Featherweight | Paty Juarez |
World Women's Flyweight | Christine Ferea |
World Women's Super Welterweight | Jozette Cotton |
Weight class | Holder |
---|---|
World | |
Heavyweight / +16 st (224.0 lb; 101.6 kg) | Dan Podmore |
Cruiserweight / 16 st (224.0 lb; 101.6 kg) | Carl Hobley |
Light Heavyweight / 15 st (210.0 lb; 95.3 kg) | vacant |
Super Middleweight / 14.5 st (203.0 lb; 92.1 kg) | Marko Martinjak |
Middleweight / 14 st (196.0 lb; 88.9 kg) | Dan Lerwell |
Super Welterweight / 13.5 st (189.0 lb; 85.7 kg) | Jimmy Sweeney |
Welterweight / 13 st (182.0 lb; 82.6 kg) | Jimmy Sweeney |
Lightweight / 12.5 st (175.0 lb; 79.4 kg) | James Connelly |
Featherweight / 12 st (168.0 lb; 76.2 kg) | Barrie Jones |
Bantamweight / 11.5 st (161.0 lb; 73.0 kg) | Barrie Jones |
Flyweight / 11 st (154.0 lb; 69.9 kg) | Scott McHugh |
Minimumweight / 10.5 st (147.0 lb; 66.7 kg) | vacant |
British | |
Heavyweight | Kevin Greenwood |
Cruiserweight | Bradley Scott |
Light Heavyweight | vacant |
Super Middleweight | Dave Thomas |
Middleweight | Dan Lerwell |
Super Welterweight | Danylo Hrebenuyk |
Welterweight | Marley Churcher |
Lightweight | Ionel Levitchi |
Featherweight | Martin Refell |
Bantamweight | Aaron McCallum |
Flyweight | Liam Rees |
Minimumweight | Jonny Jones |
Weight class | Holder |
---|---|
BYB | |
Heavyweight | Ike Villanueva |
Super Middleweight / 165 lb (74.8 kg; 11.8 st) | LT Nelson |
Middleweight / 160 lb (72.6 kg; 11.4 st) | Desmond Green |
Welterweight / 147 lb (66.7 kg; 10.5 st) | Carlos Alexandre |
Lightweight / 135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st) | Julio Tanori |
Featherweight / 125 lb (56.7 kg; 8.9 st) | Harold McQueen |
Women's Super Welterweight / 154 lb (69.9 kg; 11.0 st) | Jozette Cotton |
Women's Lightweight / 135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st) | Paty Juarez |
Weight class | Holder |
---|---|
BKFC | |
Heavyweight / 265 lb (120.2 kg; 18.9 st) | Mick Terrill |
Cruiserweight / 205 lb (93.0 kg; 14.6 st) | Lorenzo Hunt |
Light Heavyweight / 185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st) | Lorenzo Hunt |
Middleweight / 175 lb (79.4 kg; 12.5 st) | David Mundell |
Welterweight / 165 lb (74.8 kg; 11.8 st) | Vacant |
Lightweight / 155 lb (70.3 kg; 11.1 st) | Luis Palomino |
Bantamweight / 135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st) | Keith Richardson |
Women's Flyweight / 125 lb (56.7 kg; 8.9 st) | Christine Ferea |
Women's Strawweight / 115 lb (52.2 kg; 8.2 st) | Britain Hart |
Weight class | Holder |
---|---|
BKFC Asia | |
Light Heavyweight / 185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st) | Sirimongkol Singmanasak |
Featherweight / 145 lb (65.8 kg; 10.4 st) | Kritsana Srisang |
Women's Strawweight / 115 lb (52.2 kg; 8.2 st) | Po Denman |
Weight class | Holder |
---|---|
BKFCUK | |
Heavyweight / 265 lb (120.2 kg; 18.9 st) | |
Cruiserweight / 205 lb (93.0 kg; 14.6 st) | Anthony Holmes |
Light Heavyweight / 185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st) | Danny Christie |
Middleweight / 175 lb (79.4 kg; 12.5 st) | |
Welterweight / 165 lb (74.8 kg; 11.8 st) | |
Lightweight / 155 lb (70.3 kg; 11.1 st) | |
Bantamweight / 135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st) | |
Weight class | Holder |
---|---|
Hardcore FC | |
Heavyweight | Timur Slashinin |
Light heavyweight / 93 kg (205.0 lb; 14.6 st) | Vitaly Ananin |
Middleweight / 84 kg (185.2 lb; 13.2 st) | Muhamed Kalmykov |
Welterweight / 77 kg (169.8 lb; 12.1 st) | vacant |
Lightweight / 70 kg (154.3 lb; 11.0 st) | Emil Novruzov |
Featherweight / 66 kg (145.5 lb; 10.4 st) | Timur Musaev |
Weight class | Holder |
---|---|
Top Dog | |
Light heavyweight / 94 kg (207.2 lb; 14.8 st) | Oleg Fomichev |
Middleweight / 85 kg (187.4 lb; 13.4 st) | Naim Davudov |
Welterweight / 77 kg (169.8 lb; 12.1 st) | vacant |
Lightweight / 70 kg (154.3 lb; 11.0 st) | Kantemir Kalazhokov |
Featherweight / 64 kg (141.1 lb; 10.1 st) | vacant |
Bantamweight / 59 kg (130.1 lb; 9.3 st) | Chingiz Salbyryn |
Weight class | Holder |
---|---|
GROMDA | |
Heavyweight | Mateusz Kubiszyn |
The Marquess of Queensberry Rules, also known as Queensbury Rules, are a code of generally accepted rules in the sport of boxing. Drafted in London in 1865 and published in 1867, they were named so as the 9th Marquess of Queensberry publicly endorsed the code, although they were written by a Welsh sportsman named John Graham Chambers from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. The code of rules on which modern boxing is based, the Queensberry rules were the first to mandate the use of gloves in boxing.
Thomas Molineaux, sometimes spelled Molyneaux or Molyneux, was an American bare-knuckle boxer and possibly a formerly enslaved person. He spent much of his career in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, where he had notable successes. He arrived in England in 1809 and started his fighting career there in 1810. His two fights against Tom Cribb, widely viewed as the Champion of England, brought Molineaux fame even though he lost both contests. The result of the first encounter was hotly contested, with accusations of a fix. The second match with Cribb, however, was an undisputed loss. His prizefighting career ended in 1815. After a tour that took him to Scotland and Ireland, he died in Galway, Ireland, in 1818 at age 34.
James "Jem" Mace was an English boxing champion, primarily during the bare-knuckle era. He was born at Beeston, Norfolk. Although nicknamed "The Gypsy", he denied Romani ethnicity in his autobiography. Fighting in England, at the height of his career between 1860 and 1866, he won the English Welterweight, Heavyweight, and Middleweight Championships and was considered one of the most scientific boxers of the era. Most impressively, he held the World Heavyweight Championship from 1870 to 1871 while fighting in the United States.
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 and governed the conduct of prizefighting/ bare-knuckle boxing for over 100 years. They "introduced measures that remain in effect for professional boxing to this day, such as outlawing butting, gouging, scratching, kicking, hitting a man while down, holding the ropes, and using resin, stones or hard objects in the hands, and biting." They were later superseded by the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, which were the origin of the modern sport of boxing.
Nat Langham was an English middleweight bare-knuckle prize fighter. He had the distinction of being the only person ever to beat Thomas Sayers while defending the English middleweight championship. Langham first took the championship by defeating George Gutteridge on 23 November 1846. Langham was considered a scientific boxer, and known for using sharp, well-timed blows, particularly with his left, though he was right handed. He was a 1992 inductee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and a mentor to the British boxers Tom King and Jem Mace.
Simon Byrne, nicknamed "The Emerald Gem", was an Irish bare-knuckle prize fighter. The heavyweight boxing champion of Ireland, he was drawn to England by the larger sums of prize money on offer and his hopes of becoming the heavyweight champion there as well. He became one of only six fighters ever to have been involved in fatal fights as both survivor and deceased since records began in 1741.
Tom King also known as "The Fighting Sailor" was an English boxer who fought both bare-knuckle and with gloves. Strong, fast, and durable he was a skilled pugilist. One of his quirkier pre-fight rituals was to drink a tot of gin before every bout. He retired from the ring in 1863, as the Heavyweight Champion of England, following his defeat of the reigning champion Jem Mace and American contender John C. Heenan.
Nicholas Ward was an English bare-knuckle fighter. Nick Ward was the heavyweight champion of England for four months in 1841. His first recorded fight was in 1835 against Harry John Lockyer. In 1840 he fought his brother Jem Ward's old enemy James Burke; Burke was a feared and dangerous fighter, who had killed one opponent, the champion Simon Byrne. Following the match Jem Ward had refused to fight Burke, would not hand over the championship belt or acknowledge Burke as the heavyweight champion, even after he was acquitted of murder. Nick Ward won the bout against Burke when his gang of supporters forced the referee to disqualify Burke for an alleged foul. This winning pattern was repeated when in February 1841 Ward became heavyweight champion. He beat Ben Caunt, the reigning champion, when Caunt was disqualified, after the referee succumbed to pressure from the crowd claiming Caunt hit Ward while he was down. In May of the same year Caunt legitimately beat Ward and regained his title. At this time boxing was governed by the less than arduous London Prize Ring rules. The more strict and fair Queensbury rules were not implemented until much later in the century.
Tom Spring was an English bare-knuckle fighter. He was champion of England from 1822 until his retirement in 1824. After his retirement he became landlord of the Castle Inn at Holborn in London, where he arranged the patronage and contracts of many of the major boxing events of the period while overseeing fair play in the ring.
Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi is an Italian-American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017 and has since worked as a boxing commentator and analyst, currently with BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting Series and ProBox TV alongside Mike Goldberg. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF junior welterweight title from 2007 to 2008, and the WBA welterweight title from 2012 to 2013. Malignaggi competed once as a bare knuckle boxer in 2019 in a loss to MMA fighter Artem Lobov. Malignaggi was particularly known for his hand speed, boxing ability, athleticism, and durable chin.
Joseph Goss (1837-1885) was an English bare knuckle boxer. He emigranted to the United States of America in 1867. After defeating Tom Allen in Boone County, Kentucky, he held the American and what many boxing historians now consider the World Heavyweight boxing championship from 7 September 1876 to 30 May 1880. Although he rarely scaled more than 160 pounds, the clever and aggressive Goss routinely fought men both bigger and heavier than himself.
Joe Coburn was an Irish-American boxer. In 1862 he claimed the Heavyweight Championship from John Carmel Heenan when Heenan refused to fight him.
Young Barney Aaron was a bare-knuckle boxer.
Tom Allen 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 just above the middleweight range, around 165-75, making him smaller than most of the heavyweights he met, he became an American citizen later in life.
Paddington Jones was a British bare-knuckle boxer from 1785 to 1805 who also worked extensively as a second.
James Belcher, also known as Jem Belcher, was an English bare-knuckle prize-fighter and Champion of All England 1800–1805.
Josh Burns is an American professional bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. Since 2022, he has competed for BYB Extreme. From 2020 to 2021, Burns previously competed for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).
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 1889. Its first event was held in 2018, with 49 "numbered" events held as of August 2023.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship United Kingdom (BKFC UK) is the British branch of the American bare-knuckle boxing promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). In September 2022, it was announced that Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship had formed Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship UK (BKFC UK) by acquiring the UK-based Bare Fist Boxing Association (BFBA). As of April 2024, BKFC UK has held 6 events, all of which have taken place in England.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Thailand (BKFC Thailand), officially known as Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Asia (BKFC Asia), is a bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Pattaya, Thailand. It is the officially licensed branch of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) in Asia. BKFC Asia is the first promotion in Thailand and Asia to receive full international licensing and sanctioning for bare-knuckle boxing. Founded in 2021, BKFC Asia has held 5 total events as of November 2023.