When I was real young, 9 or 10 years old, my friend and I were always "boxing." By that I mean, we'd wrap our hands in shop rags and fight. Good clean fun, and it entertained the hell out of his grandfather. His grandfather's pal, honest to God everybody called him Old Bill, told us he had been a fighter when he was young. That would have been sometime in the early 1920s, if not sooner, because I think he was 76 in 1974. Anyway, his nose was flat and he explained that he had had it smashed in a fight due to a backhand from his opponent. He showed us how easy it is to land a very damaging blow, in close where it is hidden with the back of the hand. I don't know how well it would work today, given that he fought with 4 ounce gloves and today they fight with bigger gloves than he sparred with.
