A look at some all time pugilists that we wish we could see without the gloves.
Boxing, the sweet science, the art of hit and don’t get hit, has been part of the sporting landscape for hundreds of years one way or another. But what if gloves were never introduced under the Queensberry ruleset and the boxing history we know today was all fought bare knuckle. With that in mind let's take a look back at some of the all time greats (and a few current ones too) that we wish we could’ve seen fight bare knuckle.
Mike Tyson
This is the most obvious answer but there’s a reason for that, not only did “Iron Mike” hold ungodly power in both hands but his fundamental understanding of boxing made him a nightmare, his peek-a-boo style would force misses and create opening for his devastating power. Take the gloves off mike and give him a shorter time limit where he doesn’t have to worry about stamina and fatigue. Just 10 minutes of fury trying to take someone’s head off. He’s scary enough with gloves on, imagine without.
Roberto Duran
The guy's nickname is "Hands of Stone", enough said. One of the Four Kings back in the 1980s Duran took the fight to his opponents no matter what and while there was varying degrees of success for all of the four kings, Duran was violent, aggressive and was always on the pressure. One of the hardest punchers of his generation mixed with his aggressive style would make him not just a great bare knuckler but maybe the best ever.
Deontay Wilder
Possibly the hardest puncher in the history of boxing, Deontay Wilder knocked out 42 of his first 43 opponents and if not for a supernatural moment from Tyson Fury, would’ve made it 43 of 44. What he lacks in technical prowess he more than makes up for with other worldly power and if you look at bare knuckle fighting, raw power is the ultimate equalizer. I have sympathy for whoever had to match up with him, even in fantasy land.
Artur Beterbiev
A former sparring partner of Beterbiev once said “Fighting Beterbiev is like a car crash” this guy does damage all without changing expression or his pace, a steady wave of ferocious power and unwavering stamina he is the only active world champion with a 100% KO ratio. And in bare knuckle you don’t always see a one shot KO, you usually see an accumulation of damage resulting in the stoppage, that is right up Beterbiev’s alley. Let this guy lose the gloves, someone is going home in a heap.
Jack Dempsey
This one reaches back very far into the history books of boxing, but look at the style of fighting bare knuckle takes on today, you don't see a lot of super technical boxing at least in North America but you do see success behind 2-3 punch combinations thrown with real conviction, that is why someone like Jack Dempsey would be perfect. He hit like a truck and was undersized for his time at heavyweight, so he would actually be facing guys his size, meaning all kinds of trouble for anyone in his way.
Photo Courtesy of Groupe Yvon Michel
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