Bare-knuckle boxing

Bare-knuckle boxing is boxing fought without gloves. Its rules and accepted techniques have varied across eras and organizations.

London Prize Ring Rules: A nineteenth-century code for prizefighting that permitted wrestling and bouts without gloves. These rules formalized an influential version of bare-knuckle combat.
Prizefighting: A form of combat sport in which fighters compete for a prize, historically often under minimal rules. Bare-knuckle boxing grew within prizefighting traditions.
John L. Sullivan: An American boxer widely recognized as the last major heavyweight champion to compete in bare-knuckle prizefights. His career bridged bare-knuckle championship bouts and the glove era.
Boxing in England: The history and practice of boxing in England, from prizefighting to regulated professional sport. English prizefighting supplied many early rules and champions of bare-knuckle boxing.
Marquess of Queensberry Rules: A boxing code requiring gloves, timed rounds, and a ban on wrestling. Their adoption helped distinguish modern gloved boxing from earlier prizefighting.
James Figg: An English prizefighter and instructor active in the early eighteenth century, often credited with popularizing organized boxing. Figg helped establish boxing as a public profession before modern rules.
James J. Corbett: An American heavyweight boxer who defeated John L. Sullivan in a gloved championship bout in 1892. His victory is commonly treated as a turning point toward gloved heavyweight boxing.
Boxing gloves: Padded coverings worn over a boxer’s hands to reduce some injuries and protect the hands during striking. Gloves became a defining equipment change in the sport’s transition to modern boxing.
Boxing stance: A fighter’s body and hand position for balance, defense, and striking. Bare-knuckle fighters adapt hand position to protect vulnerable knuckles.
Jack Broughton: An English prizefighter who introduced an influential set of boxing rules in 1743. His rules limited dangerous practices while prizefights were commonly bare-knuckle.

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