Bare-knuckle boxing vs Fencing
Bare-knuckle boxing and Fencing side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Bare-knuckle boxing | Fencing | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | England | — |
| Type | boxing | combat sport and Olympic sport |
| Competition at the Olympics | — | Yes – 108 Olympic events recorded |
| Notable practitioners here | 14 | 3202 |
| Top countries of practitioners | United States, United Kingdom and Italy | France, Italy and United States |
| Equipment and weapons | — | foil, épée and saber |
| Energy use (MET) | — | 6.0 MET (Fencing, general) |
Bare-knuckle boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing (also known as bare-knuckle or bare-knuckle fighting) is a full-contact combat sport in which participants box without any form of padding on the hands. The sport, as it is known today, originated in 17th-century England and, although similar, it differs from street fighting as it follows an accepted set of rules.
From the Wikipedia article Bare-knuckle boxing (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: foil, épée, and sabre (also spelled saber), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fencers specialise in one of these disciplines. The modern sport gained prominence near the end of the 19th century, evolving from historical European swordsmanship. The Italian school altered the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refined that system. Scoring points in a fencing competition is done by making contact with the opponent with one's sword.
From the Wikipedia article Fencing (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q1424950, Q12100. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.