When we think of the people who get fighters into the ring, the coach comes first to mind. But we don't always think of the cutman - the man or woman who keeps a fighter's skin together. In Ireland Joseph Clifford is dragging this ancient art kicking and screaming into the modern day ....
The bell goes to pause the fight, and one boxer slumps in
the corner, blood flowing. His cutman carefully applies what looks like Vaseline
to the open cut. But as the fighter winces and the blood stops, it’s clear
there’s something else in there.
Joseph Clifford’s journey to cutman training started when he
realised that mixture was as likely to be Superglue as adrenaline. Now running Ireland’s only course, he’s set to gain European
recognition in June when the first Europe-wide conference takes place in Belfast.
The role of the cutman is swathed in mystery but Clifford
says it just comes down to hygiene and medication plus a good understanding of
common injuries like concussion.
“When people come to the course, they think it’s just about
cuts. And you do get individuals who think the Holy Water and a “how’s your
father” will get the fighter back in the ring.
“But really it’s about hygiene, stopping
cross-contamination,” he says.
With the sun beating down on a glorious day in Wicklow, his
stories of the damage an ill-prepared cutman can do put a cloud on the day.
He has seen the infamous Superglue fix-up, but also bloody
swabs tucked behind an ear and then rubbed over the cut again, bare hands
holding bloody mouth-guards before shoving it into someone’s mouth. He also
mentions bloody ice-buckets shared between fighters, and cotton swabs casually
hanging from baseball caps as people go about their work.
He’s been running the course since 2008, and has even
graduated 12 female cutmen (the language hasn’t moved on, get over it) to add
to his stable.
“Promoters have been very positive in general, although
there are those who see it as an added expense. But if the fighter gets cut at a
title fight and the cutman keeps him in the fight, then that’s the proof,”
Clifford says.
He explained paramedics and doctors are there for serious
injuries, they have no sporting interest in the fight. But cutmen tend to be
coaches or former fighters – people who understand that when it’s medically
safe to do so, all fighters just want to box on.
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| Irish Fighter magazine |
“It’s not to keep the fight going at all costs. We are not
going to lift some guy off the stool and throw him back in again. If he is all
over the place, then that’s it,” he says.
WHICH DRUGS ARE IN THE CORNER
Clifford’s own background in health science led him to
understand keeping fighters going is as much about science as stopping blood.
He says there are different dosages of allowable drugs
depending on the relevant Commission, but many untrained people just aren’t sure
how to administer them.
Adrenaline is the drug which first comes to most people’s
minds – the quick shock to the system that temporarily stops bleeding. But how
much do you use?
Clifford says students on the course learn what and when to
administer, and what other drugs can be just as useful. Correct dosage is also
a pretty vital skill.
So what about that superglue? He laughs, says it’s hard to
believe but logical in some perverse way.
“Superglue in Vaseline, that’s one I’ve seen. Monsel’s Solution,
that stuff is lethal. It causes cauterisation so the scar tissue is very thin
and it doesn’t heal. You have to get the cut re-opened and re-sealed
afterwards.”
Monsel’s Solution by the way was banned internationally in
the 1940s but that doesn’t seem to have reached everyone’s ears.
Clifford says at the end of the day, cutmen want to stop
bleeding but some injuries only show up after the fight so they need these
extra skills.
Many boxers only show serious signs of concussion or even paraplegia
hours after the fight. There may or may not be a doctor around but the cutman
is right there or at least at the end of a phone.
It’s this dedication to detail which caught the eye of
Frederico Catizone, head of the International Cutman’s Association. He is travelling
to Belfast on
June 16th to see a course in action, and assess it to set a new
European standard.
When a cutman is a woman ...
One of the changes Clifford is bringing in is including
women on his training panel – not something that’s really been seen before in Ireland.
“It is one thing to do the cuts as a man, but as a female
demanding the respect is harder. People have never refused a female cutsman but
let’s say there has been reluctant participation at times.
“Men will jump on the first mistake women make so I say to
the girls: ‘don’t ask for respect, demand it’ and they’re fine,” Clifford says.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A CUTMAN?
So what does it take to be cutsman? It’s all about the
personality apparently – firm, friendly and fair.
And just a few other things as well; Clifford lists his Four
P’s – preparation, professionalism, personality and punctuality.
The atmosphere in a ring or cage is charged, tempers are
tight and can easily snap. So the cutman has to stay calm, this is especially important
on MMA shows where the cutman works with all the fighters in one corner.
Things can get tense.
Clifford says: “If you jump in the ring and have too much intensity,
that makes people uncomfortable. And also if you see a bad cut and show by your
reaction that you’re scared, it’s not good.
“You have to be dead-pan, be calm.”
This article first appeared in the June 2013 edition of Irish Fighter.
The next Cutman course is in the Balmoral Hotel, Belfast on Sunday June 16th.
