The bare-knuckled fist-fighters of South Africa

Fist-fighters battle it out during the annual venda fist-fighting tournament in gaba village limpopo province South Africa. The tournament run by community leaders attracts hundreds of men who engaged in several weeks of bare-knuckled amateur fights in front of screaming audiences in the area. The sport which began three centuries ago among young bored farmhands of the venda tribe attracts scores of spectators who often walk miles to cheer their favourites under the searing summer sun. Click on furthet to see more dramatic images from this brutal sport.