Im very unfamiliar with the history & practice of BKB. Was this more like boxing or streetfighting? How good would these men be today against lets say tour average club fighter?
The rule set: The fight continues untill a knockout is scored. A round ends when a knockdown occurs so a round can be 30 seconds or 30 minutes or an hour. A 44 round fight can mean virtualy anything. When a knockdown occurs the fallen fighter has 30 seconds or 38 seconds (depending on the contract) to get up. His cornermen may drag him to his corner and lift him to his stool. A fighter is not alowed to take a dive to avoid punishment but he will not generaly be DQd for doing so. If the fight is on grass then the fighters can wear skiped shoes and will somtimes use them to kick at eachothers legs.
How good were they: I am personaly of the opinion that the bareknuckle champions of the 19th century were the equivalent of the gloved champions of the late 19th and early 20th century as fighters and athletes. They presided over an enormous talent pool and had trainig regimes comparable to modern champions in many cases. These guys were not the early equivalents of the men who write the hard guy biographies today they were the predecesors of the curent champions.
