Rich Stewart-Bobby Gunn
“BARE KNUCKLE” BOXING: A NEW AGE OF FIGHTING OR JUST DANGEROUS?
New York, NY– Over a century has passed since John L. Sullivan (who later became the first gloved heavyweight champion) fought under London Prize Ring Rules. The year was 1889. Since then boxing has been largely defined under the Marquess of Queensberry rules we are familiar with today. The most obvious indicator being gloved fighters. But that changed this past Saturday night. For the first time in 122 years an unsanctioned bare knuckle boxing match took place using the boxing rules of the 19th century.
EXPANDING ON THE LONDON BARE KNUCKLE RULES
Originally, the London Prize Ring Rules, bare knuckle boxing, were the standard for sanctioned bouts until the late 1800’s here in the US and Canada. This form of pugilism didn’t include many of the current rules and safety measures now included in prize fighting. The main difference is the fact that fighters go into battle without gloves and use their bare hands to inflict damage. With no scheduled breaks or rounds and an allowance of 30 seconds to recover from a throw or knock down, a match can literally go on until the lights literally go off.
SOME CALLED IT A FREAK SHOW ON AN UNREGULATED INDIAN RESERVATION
The stars, if you dare call them that, of the Saturday night show were former cruiserweight (200 lb.) champion Bobby Gunn (22-4-1, 19 KOs) knocked out a fighter reportedly named Rich Stewart (possibly, 14-10, 8 KOs) in the third round of an “unsanctioned” by the Arizona Athletic Commission bare knuckle brawl. The reason we used the world “reportedly” is that on Indian reservations, this one run by the Yavapai Nation, things outside of the norm, especially when it comes to boxing and MMA are not an anomaly.
THIS IS “OLDER SCHOOL” THAN PROFESSOR CHUCK MARBRY TALKS OF!
Naturally, fighting without gloves can cause considerably more damage to the face and the delicate bones in the fingers. In addition, with no scheduled time limits, these fights may end up relying on will more than technique which can also lead to greater injuries. Some argue that modern boxing can cause more sustained brain injuries with gloves due to repeated blows over time. The assumption is that the threshold for pain would reach it’s max a lot sooner with raw fists. Whether this is simply a one shot deal or the beginning of a new form of fighting remains to be seen.
QUERIED ON SUBJECT, PEDRO HAS DIFFERING OPINION THAN MOST
Pedro Fernandez, who fought a bit, thinks the smaller the glove, the less “permanent damage” done. “That’s proven by the fact boxers in a five year period in Nevada in the prior decade, suffered concussions about 20% of the time. MMA fighters had less than 3% of their fighters in this same time span getting concussions (or brain bleeds). ‘m all for the bare knuckle fights,” said Fernandez after the Saturday show. “With the UFC using four ounce gloves, bare knuckle fights would be a way to ‘one up” the sport of MMA to a sense of fights being as real as they can be. Besides, gloves prevent hand injuries more than they do brain injuries.”
THE CROWD LOVED IT!
Either way you look at it, the fight was well received at the Ft. McDowell Casino, just outside of Phoenix, AZ. The return of the “bare knuckle” era may play a role in shaping the future of boxing with a queue form the past.
Jarrad Woods