'Bare Fists' is an in-depth look at the astonishing world of bare-knuckle prize-fighting, which flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. It's a strange sub-culture, which has continued almost unnoticed in the shadow the high-profile, structured world of professional gloved boxing.
'Bare Fists' chronicles the championship of England, blending historical anecdote, biographical detail and social analysis, and the result is a powerful rediscovery of a strange, forgotten world. The later part of the book deals with the degeneration of the sport as the Victorian moral code shifted popular thinking. It also looks at the emergence of the sport in the United States and examines the change in bare-knuckle fighting's image.
