Bare-knuckle boxing

Bare-knuckle boxing

Irish-American fighter John L. Sullivan
Also known as	Classical pugilism fisticuffs fist fight illegal boxing prizefighting
Focus	Striking grappling
Country of origin	England
Parenthood	Ancient Greek boxing street fighting

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^[3][4] and Ultimate Bare Knuckle Boxing (UBKB) in Warrington,^[5] as well as American promoters Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) in Philadelphia and BYB Extreme (BYB) in Miami.^{[citation needed]}