Since Bobby Gunn secured the linear bare-knuckle heavyweight championship, a title last held by John L. Sullivan, offers have been pouring in. But while many self-proclaimed tough guys seem ready and willing to jump in the ring and cash in against Gunn, he is not looking to fight just anybody.
“I’m not going to go fight Joe Buck from Wisconsin in the back yard of his house,” Gunn said. “I’m not interested. I’m only here to fight names. I’m getting a lot of calls for a lot of fights that make no sense. I’m not going to just fight anybody. I want to defend my title against guys with established names.”
And a fight that does make sense is now on the table.
“It looks like I’m going to be fighting James Quinn in Ireland. He’s very famous in Europe. They offered me a fight in Ireland for a very huge purse. I’m going to be defending my title against him in a bare-knuckle championship fight. It’s probably going to happen in November.”
James Quinn McDonagh is an Irish Traveler, highly regarded as one of the greatest bare-knuckle fighters in the world. He once fought for a solid two and a half hours in what he called the “…biggest fight of my life”. McDonagh has never suffered a loss. Much of his underground career was recently chronicled in the documentary film entitled Knuckle. Producer Ian Palmer spent 12 years filming the stories of McDonagh and other members of the Irish Traveler community. The film was released on August 5 of this year.
Gunn, who remains undefeated in his estimated 60-70 underground bare-knuckle fights, has his sights on seeing bare-knuckle boxing become accepted as a professionally organized sport, sans the corruption that he associates with modern boxing.
“Boxing is corrupt,” said Gunn. “I’ve seen things in boxing behind closed doors and in the open that would make the hair on your neck stand up. One thing about bare-knuckle boxing; I want it to be a clean sport. There’s not going to be any dirty commissioners, dirty promoters, or dirty matchmakers. It’s going to be a clean organization.”
The truth about bare-knuckle boxing isn’t as harsh as the criticisms that often accompany it. Richard Stewart, the professional boxer who fought Gunn for the vacant heavyweight title, voiced his opinion of the sport.
“Professional boxing, with the gloves on, averages six deaths a year,” Stewart said. “With bare knuckles, believe me, you’re not going to load up the way you would with a 10 ounce glove on, and be able to repeatedly do it round after round. You’ve got to really pick your punches.”
MMA fighters are allowed to use knees and elbows. They can cut off the air of their opponent and choke them to unconsciousness. What makes MMA acceptable while bare-knuckle boxing is being called barbaric; the thin leather gloves that are used to protect their hands?
In spite of a fair amount of negative criticism, the vast majority of fight fans have rallied behind Bobby Gunn’s efforts to bring back the bygone era of fisticuffs.
Michael Mayo of Springdale: “If people could see it as a real sport, I believe it would take off. With certain rules and guidelines, I think critics will come to accept it.”
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