Bare-knuckle boxing 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.
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term welterweight was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the opponents. If used, welterweight is typically between lightweight and middleweight.
The International Boxing Union (IBU) is a professional boxing sanctioning body founded in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, in 1996. It is unrelated to the International Boxing Union, based in Europe, which operated until the Second World War.
John H. Clark was an Irish-American boxer. He was born in Oughterard, County Galway, but spent most of childhood in England before moving to the United States. Clark was a clog and jig dancer before pursuing a career in prize-fighting. He was the Lightweight Champion of America for two streaks before losing to Arthur Chambers in 1879 following a 136-round bout. He owned a billiard hall and boxing school in Philadelphia.
Arthur Chambers was an Anglo-American boxer.
Young Barney Aaron was a bare-knuckle boxer.
Johnny Moneghan was a lightweight bare-knuckle boxer. He gained the recognition of becoming the first official Lightweight Champion of America. He stood 5' 4 ½" and weighted approximately 124 pounds.
Owen "Owney" Geoghegan was a lightweight bare-knuckle boxer. Geoghegan claimed the Lightweight Championship of America in 1861, and held it until his retirement in 1863. He stood 5' 6" and weighed between 130 and 140 pounds.
Johnny Broome was a lightweight bare-knuckle boxer.
Michael Richman is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Legacy Fighting Alliance. A professional competitor in mixed martial arts since 2008, Richman has competed for Bellator MMA, and is also 2-0 as a professional boxer. Richman currently competes as a bare-knuckle boxer with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Dat Nguyen is a Vietnamese-born American boxer and bare-knuckle boxer. He recently competed in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and was the BKFC Bantamweight Champion.
Denys Berinchyk is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the WBO lightweight title since May 18, 2024.
Danny Needham was an American boxer. He was of Irish descent. He was based in St. Paul, Needham started his pro boxing career by challenging lightweight bare-knuckle champion Tommy Danforth to a fight. The fight agreement stipulated that Needham needed to knock his opponent out to win the fight, so the fight was awarded to Danforth even though Needham was better than him through 8 rounds. Needham would become the lightweight champion of the Northwest in 1888 and he would controversially lose a bout for the lightweight championship of America. Around 1889, he made the jump to welterweight. One of his first fights in his new weight class is one of the longest boxing matches ever recorded, a 100 round fight against Patsy Kerrigan. The fight was declared a draw, with both men being in the brink of death. The following year, Needham would challenge Tommy Ryan for the welterweight world title. But he would end up losing after 76 rounds, in another one of the sport's longest matches. Needham moved to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush. He spent the final years of his life in the St. Peter State Hospital, before dying of throat cancer in 1922. He was inducted to the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013.
The Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame in Belfast, New York, dedicated to the sport of bare-knuckle boxing. It is housed in barns that were once owned by the Greco-Roman wrestling champion and physical culture pioneer William Muldoon. The heavyweight boxing champion John L. Sullivan, who fought in both bare-knuckled and gloved boxing contests, trained in these barns under Muldoon's guidance for his championship bout against Jake Kilrain in 1889. The barns were originally across Main Street from their current location, on the grounds of the Belfast Catholic Church. They were bought, moved, and restored by Scott Burt when the church became no longer interested in maintaining them. Burt opened the Hall of Fame in 2009, when it had its first induction class.
The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. The promotion was founded in April 2018, and is presided over by David Feldman, Bobby Gun, and Danny Provenzano.
The year 2018 is the 1st year in the history of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, a bare-knuckle fighting promotion based in Philadelphia. The season started with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 1: The Beginning. BKFC is available on PPV all over the world and on FITE TV.
The year 2019 is the 2nd year in the history of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, a bare-knuckle fighting promotion based in Philadelphia. The season started with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 4: USA vs Mexico. BKFC is available on PPV all over the world and on FITE TV.
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 August 2024, BKFC UK has held 8 events, all of which have taken place in England.
Caleb Baldwin 
James Hart
Owney Geoghegan 
Sam Collyer