Bare-knuckle boxing vs Kickboxing
Bare-knuckle boxing and Kickboxing side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Bare-knuckle boxing | Kickboxing | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | England | Japan |
| Type | boxing | combat sport and boxing |
| Notable practitioners here | 14 | 408 |
| Top countries of practitioners | United States, United Kingdom and Italy | Japan, Kingdom of the Netherlands and France |
| Equipment and weapons | — | fist and foot |
| Energy use (MET) | — | 7.3 MET (Kickboxing) |
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).
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is an umbrella term for different styles of full-contact hybrid boxing type, combat sports, and martial arts based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in various times in history. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and bare feet to favor the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general fitness, and competition. Some styles of kickboxing include: full contact karate, Muay Thai, Japanese kickboxing, Lethwei, Sanda, and Savate.
From the Wikipedia article Kickboxing (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q1424950, Q178678. 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.