Bare knuckle

Bare-Knuckle Boxing
John L. Sullivan (Irish-American bare knuckle boxer)
Type:	Boxing
Origin:	England
Creation time:	unknown
List of sports

The term bare knuckle ( bare- fisted, literally: bare knuckle) comes from boxing . In boxing it describes fighting without boxing gloves . Boxing matches with the bare fist involve a higher risk of injury than boxing matches with boxing gloves, since both the fist and the target of the punch meet without a pad.

history

The fist fight with bare knuckles already existed in ancient times . There is evidence that it was practiced in Greece, the Middle East and Africa (Egypt, Nubia, etc.). Before the Queensberry Rules wearing boxing gloves had prevailed, it was usually with bare in professional boxing fists or (bare-knuckle) Bandages boxed. Bare fist boxing matches are no longer part of today's boxing sport.

competition

In many countries, competitions can no longer be legally held because the risk of injury is very high. However, the fighting is often conducted underground illegally, e.g. B. in Great Britain, Ireland, USA, Germany, Poland and Croatia. As mixed martial arts grew in popularity , so did professional bare knuckle championships. On June 2, 2018, the first legal championship in the USA for 130 years took place in Cheyenne , Wyoming , USA under the name Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship .

In South Africa a variant is known as Musangwe , whose roots can be found in the traditions of the shepherds living there.

Films depicting bare fist boxing matches

• In the comedy Snatch - Pigs and Diamonds by the director Guy Ritchie , Brad Pitt plays a bare-knuckle boxer alias One-Punch Mickey, who knocks his opponents into the knockout with just one blow - much to the displeasure of a gang boss.
• The Thriller Fight Club (also with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton ) revolves around bare knuckle fights, with the focus on reducing aggression and kick .
• In the film In a Faraway Land , an Irish emigrant (played by Tom Cruise ) struggles with bare knuckle fights after arriving in the United States.
• In the 1975 action film Hard Times , Charles Bronson played a boxer in the 1930s at the time of the Great Depression, who earned extra income with numerous illegal bare knuckle fights. This film shows the world of boxing without fist guards from its most authentic side.
• In the television series Highlander , Duncan MacLeod, played by Adrian Paul , shows a bare knuckle fight in the episode Death of a Boxer .
• In the gangster epic Gangs of New York with Leonardo DiCaprio , several bare-knuckle boxing matches can also be seen.
• In the 2007 Irish film Strength and Honor , a father competes in bare knuckle championships to pay for his son's medical treatment.
• In the action drama Fighting from 2009, Channing Tatum fights for bare survival by participating in illegal bare knuckle tournaments.
• In The Man from San Fernando and its sequel Full Throttle to San Fernando with Clint Eastwood there are several bare knuckle fights.

There is also a 2007 documentary from the TV broadcaster Arte about the "Musangwe Fight Club" in South Africa.

literature

• Ned Beaumont: Championship Streetfighting. Boxing as a Martial Art. Paladin Press, Boulder CO 1997, ISBN 0-87364-934-6 .
• James Brady: Strange Encounters. Tales of Famous Fights and Famous Fighters. Hutchinson, London 1948.
• Dennis Brailsford: Bareknuckles. A Social History of Prize Fighting. Lutterworth Press, Cambridge 1988, ISBN 0-7188-2676-0 .
• Bartley Gorman, Peter Walsh: King of the Gypsies. The undefeated bareknuckle Champion of Great Britain and Ireland. Milo, Bury 2001, ISBN 0-9530847-6-0 .
• Lenny McLean: The Guv'nor. England's toughest man tells his life. Bombus, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-936261-09-1 .
• Bob Mee: Bare Fists. The History of Bare-Knuckle Prize-Fighting. Overlook Press, Woodstock, NY et al. 2001, ISBN 1-58567-141-X .
• Jake Shannon: The Classical Pugilism and Bare-Knuckle Boxing Companion. 2 volumes. Lulu Enterprises Incorporated, Raleigh NC 2005, ISBN 1-4116-2765-2 (Vol. 1), ISBN 1-4116-3547-7 (Vol. 2).

Web links

• History of German boxing
• Bare Nuckle Fighting. BBC , accessed August 29, 2013 . 
• List of English masters of bare fist boxing

Individual evidence

1. ^ Ollhoff, Jim (2008). Martial Arts Around the Globe (The World of Martial Arts) . Abdo Group. pp. 20-21. ISBN 1599289792
2. ↑ https://www.fastcompany.com/40579781/bareknuckle-fighting-makes-its-fully-legal-return-after-130-years
3. ↑ Bleacher Report: Musangwe !!! A South African Fight Tradition ( Memento of the original from April 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ SABC News from May 2, 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Musangwe Fight Club