BARE KNUCKLE BOXING WILL COMEBACK WITH OR WITHOUT BOBBY GUNN
Liberty, NC– A quick on-line survey today will turn up literally dozens of web sites and blogs devoted to the re-surging sport of Bare Knuckle Boxing, and their number grows by the week. Groups, both in America and in Great Britain are working to bring the ungloved version of the manly art of self-defense back to the sanctioned table of the sports buffet.
BARE KNUCKLE FIGHTING HAS CHANCE OF LIFE!
Many boxing fans know all about the roots of our sport, but many don’t know much about the sport that made John L. Sullivan the icon he still is today, some 123 years after the great one’s last Bare Knuckle fight. With that being said, let’s look at some of the basics of Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB):
No Gloves– The fact that there are no gloves changes the dynamic from boxing quite a bit. In the potential codified rules for BKB, some rules allow wraps for the wrist and hand, not to extend below the top knuckles, others allow for no wraps at all.
Punches– BKB uses the same basic punches as gloved boxing; jabs, straight rights and lefts, upper cuts and hooks, and crosses. And these come as single punches and in combinations, just as in boxing. However, in BKB the punches have to be more controlled as well as more accurate than with gloves because a poorly thrown punch can damage or break the unprotected fist of the BK fighter.
Defense– Gloves play a large part in defense of gloved boxing, as they are larger than the hand and give a defensive minded fighter something to duck behind and they also cushion an opponents blows. The BKB doesn’t have gloves to rely on, so it is imperative that they employ proper fighting stances, and defense is vital.
Agility– Because the fist being thrown at you is not covered, the potential for cuts and other damage is greater. Therefore, mobility and agility as well as head movement is of utmost importance to keep from injury.
Offense– With no covering, that means no protection for your hands. And while the chance of damage to the hands is present, your opponents head is still a worthwhile target, and for the same reasons as the head is a target in gloved boxing. Yet, because of the potential damage to the hand while punching to the head is higher, the softer torso and arms are utilized more in BKB.
NOBODY EVER DIED FROM A “BARE KNUCKLE” FIGHT
While the uneducated to BKB may think (wrongly) that removing the gloves is on the verge of barbarism, in fact the opposite is true. Gloves do not reduce the force of a punch to the head. In fact, gloves add not only to the force of a blow to the head, but because the fist is protected by gloves, a fighter can virtually punch with impunity to the head. That is not the case with BKB. Study after study bares out that the bare knuckle version is indeed, safer.
BOBBY GUNN TO FACE JAMES TONEY IN GLOVED CONTEST
After bringing Bare Knuckle Boxing back after over a century, Bobby Gunn battles the aged James “Lights Out” Toney April 7 in a 12-round alphabet title match at the Landers Center in Southaven, MS. BKB is coming, with or without Gunn and the Professor still predicts that it will be the next big thing in sports if it is given half a chance!
Professor Chuck Marbry