Striking matches in MMA is better than boxing, but I hate MMA because over half are about grounding your opponent, and the commentaries are longer than the matches.
I'm more of a "sit and watch for hours, hoping for action" guy. I don't watch boxing so much, though, because there's no real technique or tactics. Thai boxing is better, IMHO.
Glove also massively increased the death rate, before gloves you hit you opponent mainly on the chest, after they were introduced and you could as you say pummel the others head there was a much high chance you'd kill them.
I'm pretty sure that hitting the chest is just as fatal as hitting the head. Sure, you've got the brain up there, but down there, you've got the lungs, heart, liver, spleen, stomach, etc. Brain has a thick skull + fluids for protection, you just have a bunch of ribs down in the chest. But the head is a prime target because of KOs. You'd actually get more deaths and less KOs by attacking them in the chest.
I think someone on TV showed that a professional boxer with gloves on did as much damage as one without any, because of the added weight. Those MMA wrap thingies do a little less. But with gloves, hitting the skull is more logical because it doesn't hurt so damn much as when your knuckles slam into someone's skull.