I can easily imagine a whole range of pugilist ideas (and I assume someone who actually knows something about fistfights or boxing can thing of a lot more). You have (easier) ability to knock someone out cold or prone with a punch. You can render someone briefly blind, deaf, or stunned by punching them in the head. You could even through in some throws and holds if you want to expand the idea into wrestling/judo
People would be suprised at what techniques boxers knew prior to Queensbury Rules becoming the dominant rules.
During the early 18th century, prizefighting was intended for the streets and ring. Prizefighters (a.k.a bare-knuckled boxers) were trained in boxing, wrestling, throws, groundfighting. Weapons such as swords, cudgel (and staff?) were also common. There were no rules so chokes, eye gouges, fish-hooking, head-butts, head control (similar to muay thai clinch) and hair grasping, elbows and forearm strikes, kicking, biting, scratching foot stomping (called purring when done with spiked boots), and hard throws were all legal. James Figg, the 18th century boxer and champions, fought a match where one round was sword & buckler, another round was bare-knuckle, and a third round was with a cudgel.
Later, in the 18th century, John "Jack" Broughton, a former student of Figg, introduced Brougton's rules after killing a competitior. Under his rules, weapons, eye-gouging, ground fighting, low blows, and certain throws (those involving clinching below the waste such 1 and 2 leg lift throws) were prohibited as was striking a downed opponent. He also introduced true rounds and the 30 second knockdown rule.
In the 19th Century, London Prize Ring Rules were built upon Broughton's Rules. New prohibitions included headbutting, biting, flesh tearing, kicking, and striking with a hard object in hand. Holds and Throws were still legal as were spiked shoes (with certain limitations).
Eventurally, Queensbury rules , the basis for modern boxing rules, replaced the London Prize Ring Rules. New prohibitions included wresting, the use of spiked footwear, and striking with anything other than the hand (presumably, prior to Queensbury, elbows, forearms, and shoulders were still legal)
(I am still trying to find out exactly when striking both the back of the head (rabbit punch) and the kidneys became illegal).
Today some elements of pre-Queensbury boxing are still incorporated by modern boxers (whom often use body positioning to hide the techniques from the referee). These illegal techniques include:
- elbows and forearm smashes
- foot stomps (a.k.a foot stepping, "toe pinning") to prevent opponent's from moving,
- grappling: hold/clinch, head control (similar to muay thai head clinch)
- head-butts
- push/shove
- tripping
- vital striking: thumb gouging the eye, groin punch, kidney punch, rabbit punch (note: surprisingly, while the kidney punch is illegal in modern boxing, the liver punch remains legal).
Note: Some modern "Western" boxers may have been introduced to techniques similar to those in use prior to the Queensbury Rule via Philippine boxers or trainer. Western boxing was introduced to the Philipines around the time of the Spanish-American War and some claim that Filipino boxers incorporated techniques from Suntukan (Philippine Boxing (a.k.a Dirty Boxing)) into their boxing while others may have introduced it into boxing for MMA (e.g there has been some claims that boxer Muhammed Ali had incorpated some techniques into his boxing)
