I suspect (admittedly cynically) that the main reason they switched to gloved fists is that a bare knuckle fight tends not to last long enough to give the fans their money's worth. What they should do, I think, is go back to bare fists but allow the antagonists, at a strategic moment, to pick up a club or a shovel or an iron bar and bring the contest into a new dimension!

Before I get accused of all kinds of new age, pc thinking, I have to admit I grew up in a boxing family, boxed my brothers from age 7-12 or so, and have always enjoyed the quick reflexes it takes.