It is quite a simple concept: boxing without gloves.

And yet, the questions surrounding safety and welfare have meant that there is some deal of controversy around the sport of bare-knuckle boxing.

At licensed bare-knuckle events, fighters go toe-to-toe on surfaces half the size of a professional gloved boxing ring – which means there is nowhere to hide.

There are more cuts, bruises and knockouts, which is exactly the appeal for some fans.

There seems to be a natural progression from boxing to mixed martial arts (MMA) to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to bare-knuckle boxing as fans and participants alike search for a more extreme version of combat sport.

To clear up a couple of myths about the sport, yes, fighters do still have some protection on their hands during fights.

They use hand wraps to prevent any more serious injuries than the lacerations that are often seen at BKB bouts.

Rounds are also shorter than regular boxing rounds at two minutes each, and most organising bodies only hold fights that last between three to five rounds.

Bare-knuckle is the oldest form of boxing but became associated with unlicensed fights on wastelands after The Marquess of Queensberry rules were introduced in 1867, which insisted on gloves.

However, in the past decade, licensed events have grown. As per data from BoxRec, there were only 21 licensed bare-knuckle bouts in 2015. Last year, the figure was more than 1,000 across 21 countries.

Rees fights under the banner of Bare-Knuckle Boxing (BKB) promotions, one of two major international promotions who host licensed bouts, alongside US-based Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).

Attendances at BKB venues are capped at 2,000 and the organisation’s president David Tetreault says they generally sell out.

Broadcast in more than 60 countries, BKB has partnerships with the likes of VICE TV and TalkSport.

Wales has its own up-and-coming BKB star in Swansea’s Liam Rees.

Rees, 31, took up the sport in 2023, going on to become a two-time light-middleweight world champion in BKB.

After overcoming substance-abuse issues, Rees was introduced to the emerging combat sport by a trainer in his boxing gym.

The Welshman juggles his day job as a carpenter with the demands of a sport so visibly brutal it has stayed in the shadows of combat sports for much of its existence.

During camp, Rees trains three times a day, five days a week, forgoing seeing his two children on weekdays.

He does not earn enough from the sport to quit his carpentry business, but his goal is to leave a “legacy, just to prove to the city I’ve done something for [his] kids.”

 

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