I agree hitmandonny. I guess I am thinkin of this Q from the point of view of self defence. If someone is trying to kill you you're not going to be able to say "hang on a second, don't stab me just yet I have to put my gloves on"

If someone tries to kill me and the worst that happens to me is I get a broken knuckle I might have a whinge but ultimately will feel pretty lucky. You do want to avoid the situation if it's at all possible first though!

I really don't see any need to go around KOing anyone outside of a competitive boxing bout except in extreme situations of self defence.

I think it's often smaller people who need self defence skills more so than bigger people because we look like easier targets.