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Sports

Underground Bare Knuckle Boxing in the UK

As the UK prepares to play host to the first US vs UK bare knuckle title fight in 150 years, Clive Martin tries to find out if violence is a cause or effect for the angry young men who take part in this bloodsport

Once regarded as something that happens exclusively in Guy Ritchie films and on gypsy sites, bare knuckle boxing is fast becoming a thriving scene in the UK – the ultimate British bloodsport.

When Clive Martin embeds with the bare knuckle boxing elite, what he discovers is not dissimilar to Fight Club; IT technicians, builders, lifestyle coaches and even a solicitor, all throwing their unprotected fists into each other's faces. It's a subculture of honour, pride and violence.

As the UK prepares to play host to the first US vs UK bare knuckle title fight in 150 years – the biggest event the scene has known since it went underground in the 19th Century – Clive tries to find out if violence is a cause or effect for these angry young men.