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44-406: Though not sanctioned by any governing body, the colored heavyweight title was publicly recognized due to the color bar in pro boxing in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when white champions drew the color line and would not defend the title against a black man. In the heavyweight division, the color bar was adamantly defended by "The Boston Strong Boy", bare-knuckle boxing champ John L. Sullivan ,

88-530: A cultural universal . Boxing contests date back to ancient Sumer in the 3rd millennium BCE and ancient Egypt circa 1350 BCE. The ancient Olympic Games included several combat-related sports: armored foot races , boxing, wrestling, and pankration , which was introduced in the Olympic Games of 648 BCE. In ancient China , combat sport appeared in the form of lei tai . It was a no-holds barred combat sport that combined boxing and wrestling. There

132-434: A fight between two black boxers would not draw at the gate. Jack Johnson fought Joe Jeanette a total of seven times, all during his reign as colored champ before he became the world's heavyweight champion, winning four times and drawing twice (three of the victories and one draw were newspaper decisions ). In their first match on 1905, they had fought to a draw, but in their second match on 25 November 1905, Johnson lost as he

176-540: A glove and headguard in maximising the impact energy attenuation. A study conducted by Lystad showed that combat sports with little to no protective gear such as MMA or boxing has an injury incidence rate range of 85.1–280.7 per 1000 athletes in comparison to another striking combat sport like Taekwondo which has a large amount of protective gear such as pads, headgear, mouth guard and gloves, has an injury incidence rate range of 19.1–138.8 per 1000 athletes. This means that injury rates are drastically lowered when protective gear

220-635: A halt. Fights could also end if broken up beforehand by crowd riot, police interference or chicanery, or if both men were willing to accept that the contest was a draw. While fights could have enormous numbers of rounds, the rounds in practice could be quite short with fighters pretending to go down from minor blows to take advantage of the 30-second rest period. Even though Broughton's era brought rules to make boxing more civilized, there were still many moves in this era that are illegal in today's gloved boxing. That being said, there were also new revolutionary techniques that were formulated during this time. Grappling

264-487: A mouthguard and must wear suitable gloves. The lack of protective clothing makes competitors vulnerable to concussions and further traumatic head injuries. A scientific experiment, conducted in 2015 by Dr Andrew McIntosh of ACRISP at the Federation University of Australia, tested the impact of seven different head guards in combat sport. The results of the experiment revealed the benefits of the combination of

308-425: A shot at the world title solely due to their race, the general public gave credence to the colored heavyweight title. The color bar remained in force even after African-American heavyweight title holder Jack Johnson won the world's heavyweight title in 1908, thus ensuring the colored title remained the ultimate prize for all other black boxers. Once he was the world's heavyweight champ, Johnson (who relinquished

352-535: Is UFC. Combat sports are generally more popular among men as athletes and spectators. For many years, participation in combat sports was practically exclusive to men; USA Boxing had a ban on women's boxing until 1993. A study conducted by Greenwell, Hancock, Simmons, and Thorn in 2015 revealed that combat sports had a largely male audience. The techniques used can be categorized into three domains: striking , grappling , and weapon usage , with some hybrid rule-sets combining striking and grappling. In combat sports

396-435: Is considered the last major bare-knuckle heavyweight world championship, between John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain on July 8, 1889, with Sullivan emerging as the victor. Other noted champions were Tom Hyer , Yankee Sullivan , Nonpareil Dempsey , Tom Sharkey , Bob Fitzsimmons , and John Morrissey . Classical pugilism began to adopt rules by the mid-1700s to decrease cases of injuries and death, while also showcasing

440-552: Is evidence of similar combat sports in ancient Egypt, India and Japan . Through the Middle Ages and Renaissance , the tournament was popular. Tournaments were competitions that featured several mock combat events, with jousting as a main event. While the tournament was popular among aristocrats , combat sports were practiced by all levels of society. The German school of late medieval martial arts distinguished sportive combat ( schimpf ) from serious combat ( ernst ). In

484-788: The German Renaissance , sportive combat competitions were known as Fechtschulen , corresponding to the Prize Playing in Tudor England . Out of these Prize Playing events developed the English boxing (or prizefighting ) of the 18th century, which evolved into modern boxing with the introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry rules in 1867. Amateur boxing has been part of the modern Olympic Games since their introduction in 1904. Professional boxing became popular in

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528-725: The Marquess of Queensberry Rules . Most notably, there is an 18-second count on any knockdown in the BKB, although the BKFC and BYB Extreme use the traditional 10-count. In most modern bare-knuckle promotions, there is no three-knockdown rule and fighters cannot be saved by the bell. Fights consists of 5 rounds of 2 minutes in BKFC, both for non-title and title fights. In BKB and BYB Extreme, non-title fights are 5 rounds of 3 minutes while title fights are 7 rounds of 3 minutes. Female fights in both BKB and BYB Extreme are shortened to two-minute rounds. One of

572-768: The martial arts . Some combat sports (and their national origin) include boxing (Greek-British), Brazilian jiu-jitsu (Japanese-Brazilian), catch wrestling (British-American), jujutsu (Japanese), judo (Japanese), freestyle wrestling (British-American), Greco-Roman wrestling (French), karate (Chinese-Okinawan-Japanese), kickboxing (numerous origins, mainly Southeast Asian), Lethwei (Burmese), mixed martial arts (numerous origins), Muay Thai (Thai), sambo (Soviet/Russian), sanda (Chinese), savate (French), taekwondo (Korean), Vale Tudo (Brazilian), pankration (Ancient Greek), luta livre (Brazilian), and folk wrestling (various). Traditional styles of wrestling exist in most cultures; wrestling can be considered

616-598: The 1980s and 1990s. Modern MMA developed out of the interconnected subcultures of Vale Tudo and shoot wrestling . It was introduced in Japan in the form of Shooto in 1985, and in the United States as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1993. The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were introduced in 2000, and the sport experienced peak popularity in the 2000s. During this period, multiple brands and promotions were established. The most well-known promotion for MMA

660-728: The Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall in Pattaya . BKFC Thailand became the first promotion to receive full licensing and sanctioning for bare-knuckle boxing in Thailand and Asia. On 26 February 2022, Swedish fighter Mathilda Wilson defeated English fighter (and late replacement) Taylor Reeves in the UK's first legal female bare-knuckle fight in the modern era. The bout was held in Wolverhampton and

704-516: The UK in Kettering on 29 June 2015. The show was promoted by UBBAD, headed by Joe Smith-Brown and Jim Freeman. They discovered that, by law, fighters would have to wear hand wraps in order to compete in bare-knuckle contests legally.   With the resurgence of bare-knuckle boxing in the 21st century, several modifications have been made to classical rules that controlled historical bare-knuckle boxing. Additionally, there are several changes from

748-477: The United Kingdom. Combat sports A combat sport , or fighting sport , is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat . In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent ( knockout , KO), or attacking the opponent in a specific or designated technique. Combat sports share a long history with

792-566: The United States in the 1920s and experienced a "golden age" after World War II . Professional wrestling was once competitive catch wrestling , a legitimate combat sport in the late 19th and early 20th century, however it has since evolved into athletic theater. The creation of Brazilian jiu-Jitsu is attributed to the Gracie family of Brazil in 1925 after Asian martial arts were introduced to Brazil. Vale-tudo , wrestling, Muay Thai kickboxing and luta livre gained popularity. Modern Muay Thai

836-602: The World Boxing Council ultimately abandoned the idea. Eighteen men were recognized as World Colored Heavyweight Champion, combining for 28 total reigns. Bare-knuckle boxing Bare-knuckle boxing (also known as bare-knuckle or bare-knuckle fighting ) is a full-contact combat sport based on punching without any form of padding on the hands. The sport as it is known today originated in 17th-century England and differs from street fighting as it follows an accepted set of rules. The rules that provided

880-419: The age of 78. Professional bare-knuckle boxing was never legal under any federal or state laws in the United States until Wyoming became the first to legalize on March 20, 2018. Prior to that date, the chief sanctioning organization for bare-knuckle boxing was the magazine National Police Gazette , which set up matches and issued championship belts throughout the 1880s. The Police Gazette sanctioned what

924-510: The aspect of maneuvering around the ring is removed, leaving only the less nuanced aspects of punching and "taking" punches. This form of combat was popular in Irish-American ghettos in the late 19th century but was eclipsed in the community first by bare-knuckle boxing and then later by regulation boxing. The Irish stand down is also known as strap fighting or toe to toe. After more than a century, bare-knuckle boxing returned legally to

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968-679: The boxing chronicle Pugilistica , the first newspaper report of a boxing match in England dates from 1681, when the Protestant Mercury stated: "Yesterday a match of boxing was performed before his Grace the Duke of Albemarle , between the Duke's footman and a butcher. The latter won the prize, as he hath done many before, being accounted, though but a little man, the best at that exercise in England." The first bare-knuckle champion of England

1012-404: The canvas floor protection from a hard fall. In sports such as Taekwondo, competitors are permitted to wear a trunk protector, head guard, gloves, groin guard and shin and forearm pads. Professional boxing and MMA are two of the most dangerous combat sports in the world due to the lack of protective gear worn (compared to the protected fists). Competitors in these two sports have the option to wear

1056-468: The colored title) never fought black opponents, either. He denied matches to black heavyweights Joe Jeanette (his successor as colored heavyweight champ) and Sam Langford (who beat Jeanette for the colored title) and the young Harry Wills (who was colored heavyweight champ during the last year of Johnson's reign as world's heavyweight champ). Blacks were not given a shot at the title allegedly because such top boxing promoters as Tex Rickard believed that

1100-571: The distinguishing characteristics of modern bare-knuckle boxing is the inclusion of punching in the clinch, also known as "dirty boxing". In BKB, punching in the clinch is prohibited and fights can range from 3 rounds of 3 minutes to 7 rounds of 3 minutes. In October 2021, BKFC Thailand (later renamed BKFC Asia) was established as the officially licensed branch of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) in Asia. It hosted its first event, titled BKFC Thailand 1: The Game Changer on December 18, 2021, at

1144-484: The era were barred from fighting for the heavyweight championship because of racism , Johnson’s refusal to fight African-Americans offended the African-American community, since the opportunity to fight top white boxers was rare. Jeanette criticized Johnson, saying, "Jack forgot about his old friends after he became champion and drew the color line against his own people." The Black Heavyweight Championship

1188-421: The first modern heavyweight champ, who had fought black fighters on his way up to the title but would not defend it against a black man. Succeeding white heavyweight champs James Corbett and James J. Jeffries followed the same pattern. Since the white champs had fought black fighters as equals on their way up, the color bar undeniably was maintained due to racial prejudice. Since black boxers were being denied

1232-503: The foundation for bare-knuckle boxing for much of the 18th and 19th centuries were the London Prize Ring Rules . By the late 19th century, professional boxing moved from bare-knuckle to using boxing gloves . The last major world heavyweight championship held under bare-knuckle boxing rules happened in 1889 and was held by John L. Sullivan . The American National Police Gazette magazine was recognized as sanctioning

1276-502: The longest bare-knuckle fight is listed as 6 hours and 15 minutes for a match between James Kelly and Jonathan Smith, fought near Fiery Creek in Australia on December 3, 1855, when Smith gave in after 17 rounds. The bare-knuckle fighter Jem Mace is listed as having the longest professional career of any fighter in history. He fought for more than 35 years into his 60s, and recorded his last exhibition bout in 1909 at

1320-558: The sport as a respectable athletic endeavor. There were three rules that were adopted during that time until the acceptance of modern gloved boxing. Early fighting had no written rules. There were no weight divisions or round limits and no referee, resulting in very chaotic fights. An early account of boxing was published in Nottingham in 1713 by Sir Thomas Parkyns, 2nd Baronet , a landowner in Bunny, Nottinghamshire , who had practised

1364-427: The techniques he described. The article, a single page in his manual of wrestling and fencing, Progymnasmata: The inn-play, or Cornish-hugg wrestler , described a system of headbutting, punching, eye-gouging, chokes, and hard throws that are not recognised in boxing today. Consequently, there were no round limits to fights. When a man could not come to scratch, he would be declared loser and the fight would be brought to

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1408-600: The title from McVey in a 49-round bout on April 17 of that year in Paris for a purse of $ 6,000 (equivalent to $ 203,000 in 2023). Sam Langford subsequently claimed the title during Jeanette's reign after Johnson refused to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against him. Eighteen months later, Jeanrette lost the title to Langford. Johnson never again fought Jeanette despite numerous challenges and avoided Langford, whom he had fought once while he

1452-471: The use of the left hook and created a technique called the "Harlequin Step" where he would put himself just within reach of his opponent, then avoiding the instinctive punch while simultaneously delivering one himself, basically inventing the boxing feint . Daniel Mendoza would become the inventor of the outboxer -style of boxing. The "Irish stand down" is a type of traditional bare-knuckle fighting where

1496-407: The use of these various techniques are highly regulated to minimize permanent or severe physical damage to each participant though means of organized officiating by a single or multiple referees that can distribute penalties or interrupt the actions of the competitors during the competition. In weapon based sports, the weapons used are made to be non-lethal by means of modifying the striking portions of

1540-551: The weapon and requiring participants to wear protective clothing/armor. In combat sports, victory is obtained from blows, punches or attacks to the head to a point of physical injury that the opponent is unable to continue. Different forms of combat sport have different rules and regulations into the equipment competitors have to wear. In Amateur boxing seen at the Olympics, competitors are permitted to wear head guards and correctly weighted padded gloves, mouth guards are optional and

1584-704: The world championship titles. Bare-knuckle boxing has seen a resurgence in the 21st century with English promoters such as Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB) in Coventry and Ultimate Bare Knuckle Boxing (UBKB) in Warrington , as well as American promoters Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) in Philadelphia and BYB Extreme (BYB) in Miami . The sport as it is known today originated in England . According to

1628-772: Was James Figg , who claimed the title in 1719 and held it until his retirement in 1730. Before Jack Broughton, the first idea of current boxing originated from James Figg, who is viewed as the organizer of cutting edge boxing. In 1719, he set up a 'pugilistic foundation' and charged himself as 'a professional in the Noble Science of Defense' to instruct boxers on the utilization of clench hands, sword, and quarterstaff. Noted champions were Jack Broughton , Elizabeth Wilkinson , Daniel Mendoza , Jem Belcher , Hen Pearce , John Gully , Tom Cribb , Tom Spring , Jem Ward , James Burke , William "Bendigo" Thompson , Ben Caunt , William Perry , Tom Sayers and Jem Mace . The record for

1672-645: Was a title in pretense claimed by Klondike Haynes and later by Frank Childs , a two-time holder of the World Colored Heavyweight title. The World Boxing Council attempted to create a similar championship in 2004 called the All African World Championship, which would be open to boxers of African descent from any country as well as boxers of any race living in Africa. This proposal was met with worldwide criticism, and

1716-435: Was allowed and many favored the use of cross-buttocks throw and suplexes, although grabs below the waist were illegal. Clinching, known as chancery, were also legal and in-use. Fibbing, where a boxer grabs hold of an opponent by the neck or hair and pummels him multiple times, were allowed. The traditional bare-knuckle boxing stance was actually designed to combat against the use of grappling as well as block punching. Kicking

1760-499: Was also allowed in boxing at that time, with William "Bendigo" Thompson being an expert in kicks during his fight with Ben Caunt , and the Lancanshire Navigator using purring kicks in his battle with Tom Cribb . It was during classical pugilism where many famous boxing techniques were invented. Samuel Elias was the first to invent a punch that would later become known as the uppercut . Tom Spring popularized

1804-628: Was developed in the 1920s to 1930s. Sambo was introduced in the Soviet Union . Modern Taekwondo also emerged after the Japanese occupation of Korea and became an Olympic sport in 2000. Sanshou as part of modern wushu was developed in the People's Republic of China since the 1950s. Kickboxing and full contact karate were developed in the 1960s and became popular in Japan and the West during

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1848-455: Was disqualified in the second round of a scheduled six-round fight. Johnson continued to claim the title because of the disqualification. After Johnson became the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World on December 26, 1908, his World Colored Heavyweight Championship was vacated. Jeanette fought Sam McVey for the title in Paris on February 20, 1909, and was beaten, but later took

1892-588: Was sanctioned and governed by the International Sport Kickboxing Association , with Wilson winning by first-round TKO to become the first Scandinavian woman ever to compete professionally in bare-knuckle boxing. In September 2022, it was announced that Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship had acquired the UK organisation Bare Fist Boxing Association (BFBA) to form Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship UK (BKFC UK). The move meant that BKFC would now regularly hold shows throughout

1936-408: Was the colored champ and beaten him very severely on points in a 15-rounder. In August 1914, as Johnson neared the end of his troubled reign, there were reports that Johnson had agreed to fight Langford for the world heavyweight title in Paris, but nothing came of it. After losing his world heavyweight championship, Johnson never again fought for the colored heavyweight crown. Because great boxers of

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