I Like Bare Knuckle Boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing could be making a comeback! There's a bare-knuckle boxing promotion called [i]Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship[/i] (BKFC) that was founded just last year. Only 6 events have been held by the promotion so far, but it's slowly becoming popular and could very well become mainstream in the near future.
Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about bare-knuckle boxing. Sure, it can be exciting seeing two fighters testing their raw mettle against each other unhindered by gloves, but I think the safety of the fighters is always a major concern in such bouts. I've always loved combat sports, but it's hard for me to enjoy bare-knuckle boxing knowing a fight could yield potentially fatal results at any moment. One hard enough strike on just the right spot can easily lead to broken bones or even death.
Yes, injuries have happened in boxing, MMA and even professional wrestling, but those sports have mandatory safety regulations that protect the combatants from causing serious harm to each other. In boxing and MMA, [i]sometimes[/i] a fighter will get bruised or cut up during a fight, but if it weren't for the gloves, you can bet that the damage would be much worse. In bare-knuckle boxing, it's not a matter of [b]if[/b] either fighter will endure any cuts and bruises, but how badly they will.
Also, I'm aware that the safety between bare-knuckle and gloved combat can be a debatable topic with some arguing that bare-knuckle fighting is actually safer, but one comprehensive study estimated the risk of death from bare-knuckle boxing at 14,000 deaths per million participants. That's 184 times than the death per million participants in modern boxing, which has 76 deaths per million participants. Until any new studies show that bare-knuckle boxing is indeed safer, then there isn't any dispute about it, as far as I'm concerned.
If this BKFC is able to flourish without any of their fighters getting seriously injured, or gawd forbid killed, then good for them. But if it is to become so popular that it ends becoming mainstream, I think one fight turning out disastrously is all it will take to remind everyone why modern combat sports use gloves and will send bare-knuckle boxing plunging back into obscurity.
Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about bare-knuckle boxing. Sure, it can be exciting seeing two fighters testing their raw mettle against each other unhindered by gloves, but I think the safety of the fighters is always a major concern in such bouts. I've always loved combat sports, but it's hard for me to enjoy bare-knuckle boxing knowing a fight could yield potentially fatal results at any moment. One hard enough strike on just the right spot can easily lead to broken bones or even death.
Yes, injuries have happened in boxing, MMA and even professional wrestling, but those sports have mandatory safety regulations that protect the combatants from causing serious harm to each other. In boxing and MMA, [i]sometimes[/i] a fighter will get bruised or cut up during a fight, but if it weren't for the gloves, you can bet that the damage would be much worse. In bare-knuckle boxing, it's not a matter of [b]if[/b] either fighter will endure any cuts and bruises, but how badly they will.
Also, I'm aware that the safety between bare-knuckle and gloved combat can be a debatable topic with some arguing that bare-knuckle fighting is actually safer, but one comprehensive study estimated the risk of death from bare-knuckle boxing at 14,000 deaths per million participants. That's 184 times than the death per million participants in modern boxing, which has 76 deaths per million participants. Until any new studies show that bare-knuckle boxing is indeed safer, then there isn't any dispute about it, as far as I'm concerned.
If this BKFC is able to flourish without any of their fighters getting seriously injured, or gawd forbid killed, then good for them. But if it is to become so popular that it ends becoming mainstream, I think one fight turning out disastrously is all it will take to remind everyone why modern combat sports use gloves and will send bare-knuckle boxing plunging back into obscurity.
