How Bare Knuckle Boxing Was Molded Into Sanctioned Boxing in 1880-1920

How Bare Knuckle Boxing Was Molded Into Sanctioned Boxing in 1880-1920

1650 B.C.E. boxing

From 1880 to 1920 the sport of boxing was molded into the sport we know and love today. The art and the sport of boxing that is present in today’s main stream sports media derived from more primitive versions of fighting that underwent significant change from the years 1880 to 1920. Modern boxing techniques, rules and safety regulations, and cultural diversity were formed from those first adopted and modified in the late 1800’s. According to experts, hand to hand combat for entertainment dates back to parts of Egypt in 4000 B.C.. The sport grew in popularity and spread to Ethiopia; from Ethiopia it traveled to parts of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. In 686 B.C. the most primitive form of boxing became an essential event in the Olympics, and thus began the beginning of the sport's journey around the globe. Eventually primitive forms of boxing were practiced in Rome as specialized gladiator matches, one of which each opponent was given metal gloves and fought until the other was incapacitated.These earliest forms of hand-to-hand combat entertainment continued to evolve with society and gave way to socially legitimized and semi-professional bare knuckle fighting, or pugilism, in places such as England and Ireland during the 1700's. 

     Bare knuckle boxing, referred to many as "the original boxing", is a primitive form of boxing which was brought to America in the early 1700's from England and Ireland. This style of boxing was popular with drunkards and bar dwellers, for the sport was not yet sanctioned by any professional sports organizations nor was it legal in the majority of states.The fighting styles of bare knuckle boxing, or pugilism, in the early 1800's reflected the not yet professional aspect of the sport, for the fighters would most often use sloppy punching technique and would use grappling techniques such as throws, arm locks, chokes, and even kicks. The rules of bare knuckle boxing varied from whichever type of fight one was taking place in. Due to the non-legitimacy of pugilism as a sport many different rules and forms of bare knuckle boxing existed, of which were chosen by the fighters. An example of an early 1800's form of pugilism is an Irish stand down; this form of bare knuckle boxing dictates that all aspects of maneuvering around the ring is removed, leaving both opponents to take and give punches. Matches that involve techniques such as the Irish stand down often would take place due to a quarrel between two men, some would simply call it a brawl with wages and fans. 

present day pro boxing gloves

1800s boxing gloves

     As time progressed so did the sport of bare knuckle boxing, by 1838 there were enough people infatuated with the sport to make it possible for one to make a living off of fighting. Rules needed to be made and thus a previous bare knuckle boxing champion named Jack Broughton wrote a series of rules known as the "London Prize Ring Rules". These rules hold a very close resemblance to modern day boxing rules, for example the new rules made it illegal to hit one's opponent bellow the belt, and if one of the opponents are knocked down for ten second then the opposing fighter wins. Broughton introduced the notion of using "mufflers" (a protective wrap to go around boxers hands to protect themselves)  in matches, versus the previous notions of only using one's fists. These "mufflers" gave way to better forms of protection such as true padded boxing gloves, but at the time, mufflers were not mandatory for fighters to wear. Soon after in 1867 a man named John Gram proposed the "Queensberry Rules", which state that all fighters must wear padded gloves and other rules still used today in modern boxing. This new set of rules were considered very controvercial but by 1889 the Queensberry Rules were non-contested. Eben Pindyck,  a leading author for The New Yorker, stated that “from 1880 to 1945, nearly two-thirds of confirmed boxing deaths happened in the U.S., while from 1946 to 2010, only a third of the deaths happened here” (stated in his article "An Obsessive Chronicle of Deaths in the Ring"). The data presented by Mr. Pindyck shows that although the Queenberry Rule was in effect during this time, boxers still died. This is because the Queensberry Rule merely kicked started the safety movement, but the quality boxing gloves in the late 1800's and early 1900's versus the quality in boxing gloves in the late 1900's to early 2000's is no comparison. The better the defense the boxer has, the less brain injury he gets and the less likely they are to die from boxing related injuries. Without the Queensberry rule improving on basic safety rules and forcing boxers to wear gloves it began the decline in death of boxers, because without this rule there would have been more fatalities due to the lack of gloves. Many people refer to Jack Broughton as the "father of boxing" because of the initial strides he made with safety and imposed rules, but with better safety equipment such as true padded boxing gloves, boxers not only were safer but had to learn to compensate for the lack of power that the gloves provided. Many future boxing legends such as Muhammed Ali owe their success and their fighting style to Broughton, for Ali was amongst the first to utilize speed, rather than power due to the difficulty of power punches with gloves, to win boxing matches and revolutionize the game.

John L. Sullivan

     As time passed, the art of bare knuckle boxing took a step back from the public's eyes as sanctioned boxing took off. In 1880 the A.B.A., American Boxing Association, was founded and shortly after, the ASA/ABF was established (Amateur Sporting/Boxing Association) in order to be able to conduct annual national championships and belt titles. By 1888 bare knuckle boxing was not sanctioned in 38 states and the Queensberry Code was being strictly enforced. In some states, such as Mississippi, rewards for as much as 1,500 dollars was being offered to anyone who caught pugilist illegally fighting. Legendary boxers were made such as John L. Sullivan, an American Irish heavy weight champion in both bare knuckle boxing and sanctioned heavy weight boxing. The last true bare knuckle boxing match occurred in 1888 between John L. Sullivan, the defending boxing heavy weight champion and his challenger Jake Kilrain. Sullivan won, and continued his boxing career as the last, heavy weight bare knuckle boxing champion and still reigning heavy weight boxing champion.

The sport of bare knuckle boxing was put to rest after the Sullivan match and the American public now moved their eyes solely the sport of sanctioned boxing. The 1900's gave way to a new era of boxers; American Italian, Irish, German, Jewish, and black boxers stepped into the ring and fought for equality. In 1915 the vast majority of boxers were Irish immigrants; this was due to the vast number of Irish immigrants in America at the time and the financial/social situations of said American Irish men. Throughout the 19th century the Irish stand down, although no longer sanctioned nor legal, continued to be popular in the underground fighting community and was immensely present in the Irish American ghettos. One can easily see the cultural influence of this form of pugilism by observing the slang that originated from said fighting style that is still used today. The term "toe to toe", a term of which the definition is "in close combat or at close quarters" ( thefreedictionary.com), is a phrase that originated from the fighting style of going toe to toe, or otherwise known as the Irish stand down. Following the Irish boxing era, set forth by legends such as Sullivan, was the recognition of other cultures and ethnicities such as the Germans and Jewish boxers. Short after in 1920 was the rise of the American Italian boxer era, but it was not until 1929 (the end of the Great Depression) that the persecution of black boxers seised. The black boxing community underwent a series of degrading and unjust verdicts such as the recolection of a black champion's title due to his skin color and the refusal of allowing black boxers to challenge for the championship, but finally boxing equality was achieved. The cultural diversity of the boxing community from 1880 - 1920 made it possible for those such as Muhammad Ali, Floyd Jackson, and Mike Tyson to be the birth of a new era of boxing.

Jack Johnson, the first black champ

"Jack" Dempsy - Irish American boxer - heavy weight champion

     The present sport of sanctionized boxing began with glove free non-sanctioned hand-hand combat in 4,000 B.C., but until 1880-1920 that is all it was. Within a forty year time span a new American passion was founded, and out of the ashes of an outdated art came boxing legends such as Sullivan. Bare knuckle boxing, or pugilism, molded the sport of boxing into the sport we love today. The years of 1880 to 1920 impacted modern day boxing by giving birth to modern day boxing rules, techniques and safety features, and by abolishing cultural discrimination within the sport. The abolishment of bare knuckle boxing gave birth to a new era of fighting sports and to a new era of fighters.

Works Cited

"Bare-knuckle Boxing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017. 

Learned background and surface information about bare-knuckle boxing 

"The Boxing Scene in 18th Century England." Boxing in the 18th Century. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017. 
Found information about the boxing that took place in the 18th century

"Boxing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.
This source was used as surface information on the history of boxing

"Burke, Tom. "Irish American Boxers." Irish American Boxers. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017. 
Information found here on Irish American Boxers and how they were the majority in the early stages of sanctioned boxing.

"Death of Luther McCarty: Ten Seconds of Light." Historic Mysteries. N.p., 24 Sept. 2016. Web. 07 Feb. 2017. 

Additional information on boxing in the mid 1800's.

"Everlast Gloves." Everlast.com. Everlast Fighting Co., n.d. Web.
Found the image of present day pro-fighting boxing gloves.

"Gloves1.jpg." Smithsonianmag.com. The Smithsonian Magazine, n.d. Web.
Found image of 1800's boxing gloves used at the time.

"Home." Fight Club America. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.
Found information about the earliest boxing in recorder history as well as legends in the boxing world throughout history.

"John L. Sullivan." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017. 

Found information on John L. Sullivan pertaining his heritage and fighting history, also found at this source was the image used in the paper.

"Learn More About the Last Ever Bare-Knuckled Boxer." Travel Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.
Found information pertaining to the last knuckle boxing match mentioned in the article above, and also found information on John L. Sullivan.

Pindyck, Eben. "An Obsessive Chronicle of Deaths in the Ring." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2015. Web. 07 Feb. 2017. 

Found information on deaths in the boxing ring, also found quote used in the paper above here.

"Toe-to-toe." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.
Found the definition used in the paper for toe-to-toe boxing, also used this source to aid in drawing connections to how the term came to be.

Wong, Nick. "Why Bare-Knuckle Fighting May Be Safer Than Boxing." Complex. N.p., 13 Nov. 2015. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.
 Used this source as the devil's advocate in my research, for if one truly understands both point of views to the argument of which they are arguing then they can accurately defend their findings.