A centuries-old tradition continues to fit today’s scene.
James Figg (depiction from AwesomeStories)
Bare-knuckle boxing (that is, boxing with no gloves to protect your hands) traces back to Ireland of the 1700s. James Figg was the first bare-knuckle or fisticup champion (note: the latter term is often used as a salacious reference).
A good share of bare-knuckled boxing was done (and is being done) by regular guys to settle disputes. It’s especially popular–to this day–among gypsies, who are sometimes called Travellers.
It’s a form of boxing’s underground, well depicted in the popular 1999 movie, Fight Club (Twentieth Century Fox). In this form of fighting, the fighters pick a location and then they go at it, often in full public view. A match can be held near a grocery store, in somebody’s backyard, on a street, or in a parking lot. Any old field will due, too.
Some of the fighters are former boxers who bring skills into a match that other competitors just don’t have. And some matches are fought for money as onlookers bet (sometimes aggressively) on competitors.
Rules are ad hoc. Sometimes there’s a ref, and sometimes there’s not. More often than not, there aren’t any rounds, time limits, and breaks.
Bare-knuckling fighting boxing can mimic boxing when fighters train for matches. Excitement builds, and tensions reach a fever pitch, as matches draw near.
What’s the future for bare-knuckle fighting? Will it ever reach the status of MMA? We’ll just have to see. It’s brutal, for sure, perhaps too brutal to ever become a mainstream sport. Then, again, what’s “too brutal” these days?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nBSwZY1m8Y&has_verified=1
