What hits harder, a gloved fist or a bare one?

[Cloud]

A gloved fist.

Ive had a few scuffles in the streets with people. Trust me, a bare knuckle sandwich is nothing compared to a boxing glove hitting you. IMO.

Ive been hit in the face with a wooden plank and that made my eyes water. Ive sparred with boxing gloves and that hurt more.

[fitefanSHO]

A gloved fist.

Ive had a few scuffles in the streets with people. Trust me, a bare knuckle sandwich is nothing compared to a boxing glove hitting you. IMO.

Agree totally.

Gloves protect hands, not faces.

[T-97]

I've been hit with 12 oz Boxing gloves and 4 oz MMA gloves, I can safely say the punches from the 4 oz gloves felt a hell of a lot harder. So, by process of elimination, a bare fist will do more damage...

[The Surgeon]

Cant get down with that. Ive had a bunch of Amateur Boxing matches, countless spars and the best part of a hundred street fights and i can say with some certainty that a bare fist to the face is far worse! Knuckles boys knuckles. Bony ass knuckles hurts and they bust u up....
Also when ur in a streetfight u dont for one second "worry" about throwing as hard as u can for fear of hand damage - u try to Knock the ****er out with ur best every time

[them_apples]

Or another way to ask the question is, which type of fighter delivers the more damaging blow, a boxer with traditional boxing gloves or a bare knuckle fighter/MMA fighter with very small to no gloves at all?

IMO, gloves protect the puncher, not as much the person being punched.

My contention is that a boxer is able to hit harder because he has the gloves (and the wrap) to protect his hands and can put all his weight and energy into his punches without having to worry (too much) about breaking or hurting his hand, and that an MMA guy with the tiny glove has to take something off his punch and cannot possibly punch as hard with his bare fist as a boxer because of this..AND..I believe that a gloved fist spreads the punch impact over a greater surface area and has a MUCH more concussive effect than a bare/slightly gloved fist. Plus a boxer's only weapon is his fists and boxers have the most highly developed striking/punching in all of combat sports.

I have been hit with both, would take the bare fist any day of the week.

So that is why I think boxers hit harder than anyone in the world, even with the gloves which some people think make the shot less effective and think that being punched with a bare fist is worse, it's not, a gloved fist is.

I'd have to agree with you here, however there are 2 factors.

The person hitting me with a bare fist didn't know how to punch like some of my spar mates.

also, the bare fists hurts more, it just didn't make me dizzy or come close to knocking me out. It did feel like a rock hit my face though. A good shot from a boxer can wobble you or make you dizzy though.

so it's hard to say.

[gatorDelux]

bare fist is harder but a gloved fist gets more force.....

i think most ko's dont come froom sheer power but someone makes a mistake and gets hit with a counter they didnt see.

[JAB5239]

I've been hit with 12 oz Boxing gloves and 4 oz MMA gloves, I can safely say the punches from the 4 oz gloves felt a hell of a lot harder. So, by process of elimination, a bare fist will do more damage...

I've seen both sides of that same coin and agree.

[gatorDelux]

just tested this on my head....

the gloved punch had more force and shook my head more....

but the bare one hurt like a mother****er.

[GJC]

Gloves protect the fist not the other persons head. There is a school of thought that bare knuckle fighting is safer in that one hit from each fist and your hands are broken hence a wrestling match from then on

[GoogleMe]

Omfg A GLOVE IS NEVER HARDER THAN A REAL PUNCH - maybe if you load it up with the same **** Margarito or risto did, it might hurt the same.

The impact is way more centered in a punch from a knuckle, where the gloves impact is on a bigger area = lesser impact. Let a knuckle connect to your chin and you'reut just like you' be with the glove.