The Art of the Boxing Cutter

After each round, the boxers would go back to their corners and rest for a minute to ease the physical and mental punishment of the ring.

They sit on their stools, take a deep breath and place their careers in the hands of their editors – key members of the corner team whose job it is to repair the wounds and keep their guys fighting.

If they do a good job, boxers have a chance to win fights and gain untold fame and fortune. But if they fail, they are often blamed — fairly or not — making the boxer’s job one of the toughest in the sport.

Angelo Hyde served as a medic in the Australian Army for four years before he began boxing training. He never thought of becoming a boxer, but instead learned boxing techniques from Australian boxing master Brian Wilmot.

Wilmot would carefully tend to his fighter’s wounds between rounds, like a chief surgeon calmly instructing a trainee, explaining to the veteran exactly what he was doing, how much pressure to apply, and what tools to use. Hyde was an expert at getting up to speed quickly, honing his skills over thousands of rounds against all types of fighters, treating all types of wounds.

“I would fight and take on everybody,” Hyde said. “I learned a lot from a Russian opponent the other day. He had an arterial bleed — blood was gushing out of his head.

“I had to practice three rounds until I learned how to stop it with the pressure I could apply. With every wound you treat, you learn more and more.”

In the military, Hyde learned the importance of keeping soldiers calm when dealing with gunshot wounds. His ability to work quickly under tremendous pressure is a skill he brings to combat competitions. With only a minute to spare, Hyde wants his fighters to relax and convince them that they can win the fight as long as he is by their side.

“You just try to keep them calm, you say, ‘Just breathe, I’ve got it under control, just relax,’ ” Hyde said. “A lot of times they push me away because I’m applying so much direct pressure to those wounds.

“When a guy has a bad wound, the wound care guy needs to take over. The coach has to get out of your way, and when the bell rings (ends the round), I’m like a greyhound, running through those ropes.”

Head has since worked with some of Australia’s greatest boxers, including Danny Green. He currently trains world champions Jason and Andrew Moloney at his boxing gym in Kingscliff, northern New South Wales.

In a match in Perth, playing for Green in front of a large local crowd, Argentinian opponent Jorge Sclarandi suffered a serious cut in the first round that nearly ended the match. Sclarandi came to Australia without a cutter, so after consulting with Green, Haider rushed to treat his opponent and allowed him to continue the match.

“I think it was the second pay-per-view fight we’ve had in Perth,” Head said. “The referee was covered in blood. To his credit, he knew it wouldn’t hurt the guy and he wasn’t going to stop the fight in the first round because (the fans) would have trashed the stadium.”

“He kept him on until I could come over from the corner and stop the bleeding. He tried to do it himself but he was too strong. I jumped in and treated him right away and kept him going until Danny stopped him in the fifth round.”

“Trust is everything in boxing”

Legendary trainer Johnny Lewis, who began learning his craft as an 18-year-old at PCYC Newtown, quickly studied the fighters throughout the fight, knowing exactly when they needed a calming word in the ear and strong pressure on a tricky wound that was having trouble stopping the bleeding.

The intricate relationship between fighter and boxer begins long before the fight. Lewis, who has coached Australian world champions Jeff Fenech, Kostya Tszyu and Jeff Harding, understands that trust is built slowly over time, initially in the gym. The relationship becomes almost telepathic, so boxers can instantly recognize if their boxer is in danger through subtle gestures such as eye contact between rounds.

Lewis said: “It’s a loving relationship that comes from a love and respect for boxers, and in boxing trust is everything.”

“You have to remember first of all that you are in control of the fight as well, and some fighters like to be yelled at, but for me, I always want them to absolutely not panic so they can keep fighting for the next round, and the next round after that.”

Lewis had suffered injuries big and small during his career, but few thought of the significance of the injury to Jeff Harding’s right eye. In 1989, Harding was a replacement for WBC light heavyweight champion Dennis Andries. Harding traveled from Sydney to the palatial Trump Plaza convention center in Atlantic City, and few thought he had a chance of winning the title.

Harding’s wound opened up at the end of the first round, and Lewis knew he had to not only keep his opponent calm but also control the wound, otherwise the fight would likely be stopped. Lewis sealed the wound, and Harding stopped Andries in the final round, creating one of the most memorable moments in Australian boxing history.

“It was a bad cut and it happened early, but we always knew we could fix it,” Lewis said. “Jeff was in complete control, even though his eyes were open at the end of the fight. That’s down to experience, dedication and, most importantly, always knowing the key thing: The fighter is always the most important person in the equation.”

“I’ve never seen that feeling before”

In his 100 fights before becoming a boxer, Mark Gambin never sought the spotlight. He always wore a black hat with victory photos of boxers he had looked after hung on the back – including his most famous client, Tim Tszyu, who worked with him on his previous 24 wins.

Gambin understands that his job is to be invisible, but when called upon to fight, he will be there to keep his fighters fighting. Sebastian Fundola in Las Vegas in Marchafter an easy start, Tszyu was hit by an elbow, which had a great impact on his career and also changed the career of Gambin.

Two months after the match, the injury has not fully healed, forcing Tszyu Withdrew from his comeback match against Virgil Ortiz Jnr. On August 4, Gambin retired from fighting in Los Angeles for health reasons. Shortly after his loss to Fundora, Gambin spoke about the severity of the injury and his challenges dealing with it.

“I’ve never worried about getting cut, except for last weekend against Fundora, but this is unbelievable, and I’m frustrated that I can’t stop it,” Gambin said. “I’ve tried everything over the years. Tim got cut twice in Minnesota (against Terrell Gausha), and I stopped them both.

“Everybody came out and criticized me harshly after that fight, but in this fight (against Fundora), I was the worst person in the world. I guess it’s a results-oriented sport, you live or die by the sword, but this kind of cut is like nothing I’ve ever seen in boxing.”

Gambin is meticulous about the tools he uses to treat wounds, including but not limited to petroleum jelly, epinephrine swabs, gauze, ice packs and a flat rectangular metal tool called an enswell, which he uses to reduce swelling around the eyes.

With Tszyu in control for much of the second round against Fundora in Las Vegas, Gambin began packing his medical bag, confident his opponent would be knocked out soon.

“After the win, everyone was jumping up and down and I didn’t want to lose my stuff,” Gambin said. “I thought Thiem had him completely under control. He was hitting clean shots and Fundora didn’t want to be there anymore.

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“I could see it, I could hear him whimpering, and then he (Tim) just ducked into it, and it was like a razor, and I think it changed everything.”

Tszyu returned to his corner covered in blood and Gambin soon realised that the wound on the top of his opponent’s head was something he had never encountered before, either in boxing or while playing rugby league for the Cronulla Sharks. The wound was so deep that Gambin described it as being like a “water pipe” and no matter how much pressure he applied, it would not stop bleeding.

“I did everything I needed to do, like I played 24 matches for Thiem, but I think it was just a wound that was not going to heal,” Gambin said. “And the other thing was, he had 12 stitches (after the match) and was bleeding at the press conference.”

Rarely do cutters get credit for their skills at stopping deep cuts. The credit rightfully goes to the boxer. However, when cutters are unable to control cuts, their actions become the focus of attention. After his loss to Fundora, Tszyu’s opponent was criticized for not asking the referee to stop the fight. But Gambin is clear that the referee had the responsibility to make that decision.

“My job was to (stop) the bleeding and assist Thiem as much as I could. The referee had the final say,” he said. “They had to make the decision and they didn’t make it.

“So, you know, we were a little frustrated about it (the decision not to stop the fight), myself and Igor (Golubev) both, but it was ultimately up to the officials to decide. They had to take a good look for themselves. They could see that Thiem had problems with his vision.”

Gambin admitted that Tszyu’s first defeat affected him personally, given his love for the sport and the fighters he takes pride in caring for.

“I was really upset and I was really disappointed with myself, to be honest, I was really frustrated,” Gambin said. “I took it personally, it’s my job, I’ve always been proud of it, I used to really enjoy it when someone got made redundant, it was like, ‘OK, something to do.’

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“I kept stopping them but this time I got beat, I’ve never been beat by a cut before so I was exhausted, felt awful and then had to fly home (to Sydney) for 14 hours.

“There were boxing pages and everyone was handing it off to the corner, to me personally, and my family had to see a bit of it, so I wasn’t on Facebook for a few days and I had to get mad at me because there weren’t that many experts out there.

“I struggle with it, and I still have days where I want to go back to that moment and try it again. You know, I did everything I could for Timmy. You know what I mean? To have him imagine that for a minute or so, that would be awesome.”

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