or... if bare knuckle is too much....... if the bigger gloves allowed were 3, 4 ounces !!! ?? Certain fights would have a different result !
The ATG punchers list would definitely be different, favoring accurate punchers with sharp power over crushing power. On top of that, you can just imagine how different styles would be, I can only see so many fighters keeping similar strategies in the ring.
There is a gentleman named Henry with six wives, missing a few toes/teeth, and he is 123-years-old, with a strange green hue to his epidermis. Or his dermis. He is being held prisoner, o'er the fact that he killed animals, he killed men, and, by God, he even killed children. Henry is known the world over...Henry is a Nile Crocodile. His knuckles are bare, his teeth are fierce. Does any of this make him a man, let alone a gentle one? No. But if you know what's good for you, you don't call him anything but a bare-knuckle icon of a gentleman because that's what he wants.
Completely different sport. I can't say who would win/be great because I don't know who has the hardest skull and hands.
Careers would be much shorter. I bust my hands twice on people's faces bareknuckle. Hit at the wrong angle, hit the skull, hit with the wrong knuckles ... pow, hand broken for 6 months.
The sport probably would've been banned by the 90's/early 2000's as protesting and media exposure/internet shows just how brutal it can be bare knuckle. It would then go underground as a grimy, illegal fringe sport still enjoyed by hardcore fans.
i would imagine all the slicksters we saw over the years like Pep and Whitaker would never have made it at that level. On a power scale of 1-10, you would need at least 7 out of 10 power to compete.
Body shots are the go-to targets for bare knuckle fighters (should be). Is why the low guard, crossgaurd, and long guard are preferred over the high guard.
I'd say that fighters that utilized high volume, combination punching and high guards, wouldn't have been very significant. Or, some of them would have developed different styles. Clinch work and infighting would have played a more prominent role. Ultimately, it takes a certain kind of person to be a top boxer and many greats, would have found a way regardless imo.
I feel like less power works well too because you can slice and dice with the bare knuckle regardless and shooting less power will protect the hands. Defense is at a premium as well as head position. It's an interesting point you make. I think Hopkins and Winky Wright would have been damn good.