A guy I had known was famous for wrestling Victor the beat at a McCormick Place show. He (the guy) was huge and notoriously strong.
He said Victor was crazy strong but worse than that was his killer bad breath! Yes, he lost the match.
I had read that the bear’s teeth and claws were removed.
http://www.remembertheaba.com/onlyintheabamaterial/onlyintheaba/WrestlingBear/WrestlingBear.html
Yes, bear wrestling, the sport of kings. The only problem is that you need a bear that grew up with a twin so that it learned early that biting and being bitten is painful. Otherwise, you do need a toothless, clawless bear with gingivitis to be your sparring partner.