Bare-Knuckle Boxing Returns?

It was of course a typo, but I’m glad I made that mistake and saw that clip!

[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:
My impression though was that there is a culture of bareknuckle fighting, as semi-sport/semi dispute settling. [/quote]

Yeah this is true. The travellers have a long tradition of settling disputes between families by organised bare knuckle boxing matches. Massive betting goes on at these things too. Some might be over small things like someone stealing someone elses bicycle. Others will almost be like tradition, ie the fathers fought, the sons will fight, their sons will fight etc…They are very clannish people and disputes between families been going on for years. These things usually flare up at weddings or funerals when all out war can break out. There are small towns in Ireland where all the pubs will close on the day of a traveler funeral cause of all the trouble thats caused.

Some of them are well trained boxers, others are just scrappers. But they are all tough nuts! We have had a few travellers fight for Ireland in the Olympics. Francis Barrett was probably the most well known.

Full report on the fight:

shit I wish someone could put the fight up somewhere

ya anybody got a link to the fight?

Wow, fascinating, i’m impressing after seeing those videos. It really is a gentleman’s way of settling things over.

This might interest you guys, an documentary about Irish bareknuckle boxers.


Certainly looks like a good time!

[quote]redstar144 wrote:

This might interest you guys, an documentary about Irish bareknuckle boxers.[/quote]

now this is a documentary i would gladly pay to see.

Did anyone find a video!?!?!

The world is finally becoming right again.

[quote]Alex Good wrote:
The world is finally becoming right again.[/quote]

what?

[quote]kaisermetal wrote:

[quote]redstar144 wrote:

This might interest you guys, an documentary about Irish bareknuckle boxers.[/quote]

now this is a documentary i would gladly pay to see.[/quote]

Watched it last night.

Not a bad documentary, but there was no real point to it except to expose the decades-old blood feuds between Irish traveling clans to the general public. There was no real build-up or conclusion reached. Perhaps that was the point though - just to expose the daily exploits of these pug-ugly brawlers.

Some good action to be had, without a doubt. Some of these bareknuckle guys are tough as shit. You’ll notice that there are very few knockouts though - I think they’re pretty judicious with their punches as bone-on-bone contact can shatter a man’s hand.

Here’s the torrent link for anyone interested

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/6605141/Knuckle_2011_VODRip_XViD-DTRG

Damn

Hey boys, found an update here on this guy.

http://www.northjersey.com/community/135637628_An_underground_legend_holds_court_in_the_street.html?c=y&page=3

An underground legend holds court in the street

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2011 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY DECEMBER 15, 2011, 1:59 AM

BY STEVE JANOSKI

When the World Heavyweight Bareknuckle Boxing Championship bout takes place, it does so with none of the fanfare typical of regular boxing matches.

The event is invitation only, and the final location is disclosed just hours before the fight takes place. In the end, it’s in the ghetto of one of America?s meanest cities that the collection of involved characters will be gathered to witness the spectacle… and what a collection it is.

The audience is made up of all males, nearly all of whom belong to or are descended from a nomadic tribe of Irish gypsies known in America as “Irish Travelers.”

Some, wearing wool overcoats and scally caps, have thick brogues straight from the shores of the Old Country, while others, clad in hooded sweatshirts and jeans, have the dying blue-collar New York accent that uses the letter “r” merely as a placeholder.

Professional boxers mix with working men and wiseguys from the Irish underworld, and to a man they are cordial and welcoming, all great lovers of conversation, a good laugh, or an off-color joke.

When their champ arrives, they greet him like a long lost brother, and cheers and backslaps erupt through the street-lit city night as they welcome the Canadian-born fighter who has become Rochelle Park’s own: Bobby Gunn.

Standing at just over 5 foot 10 inches and likely hovering around 200 pounds, he is nearly as wide as he is tall, and his dark hair and thoroughly Celtic face belie his Irish and Scottish roots.

Although Gunn, 37, is a seven-time cruiserweight champ with a ring record of 21-4-1, perhaps more impressive is his record when the gloves are off; at 66-0, he is creating his own legend on the underground boxing circuit.

And that circuit (Gunn’s last match, held in public on an Arizona Indian reservation, not withstanding) is still very underground.

After being led through a door that opens only from the inside, the crowd of around 150 is brought to a warehouse with deep blue painted floors and fluorescent lights, where a makeshift ring - a square area between the building’s support poles - lies.

Rumors abound about his opponent, Ernest Jackson - he’s 6 foot 5 inches tall, weighs nearly 300 lbs, was allegedly a bodyguard for Jay-Z - but Gunn, dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt, is calm as the day is long and walks around in his typically affable way text messaging, smiling, and laughing.

As his opponent is introduced, however, and the fight draws near, a different Bobby Gunn emerges. As his trainer, Dominick Scibetta, smears Vaseline on his face, his Irish eyes scorch with their own blue light and he paces to and fro, a caged lion eyeing a child at the zoo.

He has turned into, as he says, “the Bobby Gunn that nobody likes.”

Jackson, a lean but muscular black man, turns out to be tall, but not 6 foot 5, and nowhere near 300 pounds. He is not intimidated, though, and it is immediately clear what his game plan is: keep moving, keep pumping the jab into Gunn?s face, and don?t let the shorter, stockier champ catch him.

Unfortunately, it’s nothing that Gunn hasn?t seen, and his professional experience shows through even as a cut opens up under his left eye courtesy of Jackson’s left hand. He stays loose, and gradually begins to close the gap between himself and his rangy opponent.

Three minutes in, he lands a sharp jab to Jackson’s face, then another, and the crowd grows excited.

More shots land, and fists hitting face create the sound of slabs of meat being slapped on concrete.

Jackson slowly tires, and Gunn walks him down, finding his range and landing devastating punches to the challenger?s gut. With no gloves to spread the impact, he may as well be using a baseball bat.

Somewhere in the crowd, Gunn?s 15-year-old son - baby-faced but a boxer himself - watches.

Jackson begins to fall into the champ’s heavier shots, brutal overhand rights and left hooks that stagger him and send him careening backwards before he bravely comes back in for more.

As the fight nears its savage crescendo, Gunn connects with a right hand to the temple that drops Jackson, who quickly pops back up as the now-screaming crowd begins to close in, eager with anticipation, chanting “Bob-by, Bob-by!”

Jackson tries to work Gunn?s body, but he doesn’t hit hard enough and now he’s playing the champ’s game. A minute later, Gunn connects with shattering left hooks that send Jackson to the ground, crawling on all fours in a noble but ultimately futile attempt to rise as the referee waves the bout off.

There were no pacts between lions and men here tonight.

Just minutes later, a rumor will sweep the crowd - cops, cops! - and the warehouse is emptied as quickly as it was filled. Quietly, however, the champ will walk out, his title still intact.

Here’s the fight too:

Bare knuckle boxing would be fine but bare knuckle mma would be EPIC. Especially with Vovchanchyn. (Shame that he retired)

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Here’s the fight too:

That was pretty fucking cool. It’s nice to finally see a bareknuckle match where the combatants have some skill/finesse.

The black dude had obviously done some boxing before, but you could easily see the difference in experience levels early off. He had a nice, crisp jab, but he wasn’t committing with it and therefore missing a lot, when he could’ve easily not have been.

[quote]QuadasarusFlex wrote:

Bare knuckle boxing would be fine but bare knuckle mma would be EPIC. Especially with Vovchanchyn. (Shame that he retired)[/quote]

It would not. MMA sucks. Shut up. Start your own thread.

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:

[quote]QuadasarusFlex wrote:

Bare knuckle boxing would be fine but bare knuckle mma would be EPIC. Especially with Vovchanchyn. (Shame that he retired)[/quote]

It would not. MMA sucks. Shut up. Start your own thread.[/quote]

snicker.

Just to stir something up.

That wasn’t a “real” London prize ring fight. They “broke” the clinches instead of letting them work throws. So, one could argue MMA is just as close to “bare knuckle boxing” as that fight was.

Still, thank you for posting it. Enjoyed the video.

Regards,

Robert A