bare-knuckle fight

1. Literally, a fistfight in which the combatants are not wearing protective gloves. He had too much to drink and got into a bare-knuckle fight with a guy who insulted his jacket. She earned money competing in illegal bare-knuckle fights on the outskirts of town. I walked into the bar just as a bare-knuckle fight was breaking out, so I turned around and left!

2. An aggressive confrontation without reservations or restraints. The debate turned into a bare-knuckle fight between the two political candidates, as they began exchanging nastier and nastier accusations. We always knew it would be a bare-knuckle fight to get this legislation approved, so we're prepared to do whatever it takes. I'm not looking forward to going to salary arbitration with my team—I've heard those hearings can turn into bare-knuckle fights.