by Dave Tenny, Contributing Writer - BOXING.COM
from TheCutman.com

Boxers are warriors; more so than any other athlete. Only in professional boxing, can you sustain a deep cut, have no choice but to continue or lose and have the iron clad guarantee that your opponent is going to hit that cut as hard and as often as he can to open it further. This week, Boxing.com talks with one of the finest young cutmen in the business; Dave Tenny. We thought we'd let Dave speak to you directly, in the words of a cutman.

Al Gavin

Starting Out:
I've been in boxing now for about 22 years; starting as a fighter, then as a trainer, and finally about 7 years ago, I got the itch to learn cuts. Becoming a cutman wasn't easy, and the work itself is both stressful and difficult, but I have to say it's been a long, but gratifying journey. I take a lot of pride in what I do, especially when I stop a bad cut and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to learn the trade from one of the best in the business, Al Gavin. Al has been in the boxing business for approximately 40 years. He started just like I did; as a fighter, a trainer, and finally he became a cutman in 1970. Today, almost 20 years later, Al still works as a cutmanóthat's a lot of cuts. Al presently works for Lennox Lewis, among many other top fighters. If you saw the Roy Jones-Lou Del Valle fight--Al was Del Valle's cutman. Anyways, back to me... when I started out, I made a conscious decision to learn from Al and it has really paid off. Just before the end of one particular fight I worked a while back, I remember that the ring doctor said to me "Man, you work just like Al Gavin."--that was when I knew for sure that I had learned my trade well.

32 Minutes of Stress (and Glory):
One of the worst cuts I ever had to work on was during a Jose Rivera bout (Rivera is the current IBO Welterweight Belt holder). It was on a Friday night in the Fall of '96 in Staten Island, New York. Jose was fighting an eight-rounder against a guy named Arturo Nina. A minute into the 1st round, Nina head-butted Jose over his left eye. It was an unbelievable gash of a cut. "Here we go" I thought to myself. Right as the round ended, I jumped into the ring and began working the cut. I began applying pressure over the cut, grabbing it between my palm and fingers. After I had applied my coagulant, the ringside physician was in our face and wanted to look at the cut. I had to let him do so (blocking the physician's view doesn't go over too well these days). He said to me "It's pretty bad, but I'll give you another round to control the bleeding. If not, I'm going to have to stop the fight." The bleeding started to slow down in between the 2nd and the 3rd round, and by the beginning of the 4th round, I had the cut completely under complete control. Jose was deeply grateful, as he was able to go on and win the fight. He ended up receiving over 40 stitches after the fight. For me, it was a very rough 32 minutes of extreme stress--but was well worth it. I was even commended by the New York State Athletic Commission doctors; pretty cool.

It may sound like I saved the day on that night and certainly the cutman can make a big difference, but he can't do it alone. The fighter has to do his part; in that fight mentioned above, Jose definitely helped himself by remembering to keep his left up, using defense, and protecting his eye. This is something that goes unsaid between me and the fighter. The fighter must protect himself and his cut. In fact, I usually don't talk to a fighter (like say "don't worry about the cut") unless I really know the fighter. If I need the fighter to do something, such as move their head a certain way or to close their eyes, I will, of course talk to them.

Cutman's Worst Nightmare:
Not all fighters are capable of doing their part; some fighters just have a brawling style and when they get cut, you know that the cut will get worse as the bout goes on. There can be no worse moment for a cutman that when his fighter is stopped on cuts; this is much worse if he loses his title on cuts. Neither of these losses has happened to me so far and I will do everything in my power to make sure it never happens to the fighter I work for. I have trained and learned well and am confident that that will never happen to me. That said, it can and does happen--we can think about champions like Arturo Gatti and Raul Marquez. These type of high profile fighters can be a cutman's dream and nightmare at the same time. They are a dream because these guys are nationally televised and always get cut, so it can give the cutman the spotlight and glory if he saves the day. They can also be a nightmare as both of these guys tend to brawl even more than they normally do when they get cut; and both of them actually lost their titles on cuts; that is a nightmare for a cutman.

How Not To Stop A Fight:
Obviously, I have a pretty strong opinion on when a referee or a ring side doctor should stop the fight on cuts. A ringside doctor should stop the fight when the bleeding is uncontrollable, as long as the cutman has had a chance to stop the bleeding, I feel that it's important for the fighter's sake that his cutman be allowed time to work on the cut; possibly 1 to 3 rounds depending on the severity of the cut.

Editor's note:
As an illustration of not allowing a cutman to work, we take you back to the IBF Junior Welterweight Championship bout between champion Vince Phillips and challenger Mickey Ward IBF on August 9, 1997. In a bout that was shaping up to be a dandy, Ward suffered a bad cut over the eye in the 3rd round from a Phillips' right hand. Within seconds of getting cut, Ward lands his hard left hook to the champion's body. Phillips, fights back lands a hard combination that knocks Ward back. Just as the action has heated up and within a minute of being cut, the referee halts the action to have ringside doctor, Dr. Patty Yoffe, look over the cut. Yoffe, who obviously doesn't know what she is doing, examines the cut for almost 40 seconds--far too longóshaking her head back and forth the entire time. While Ward's corner protests, Yoffe calls a stop to the bout which sends the fans, 98% of which were Ward's, into a near riot. Cups, ice and whatever else wasn't nailed down began to shower the Phillips camp. Mickey Ward, himself, puts a stop to the melee by breaking away from his cutman who was attending his wound and putting himself between the unruly fans and Phillips. The debris stops almost immediately. After the bout, Promoter Bob Arum is highly critical of the early stoppage saying "This wouldn't have happened in Nevada! The doctor would have given the fighter at least another round, give the corner at least a chance to work! and I really have to question whether we should have women doctors at ringside." All sexism aside, the point was well made; the physician should have given the cutman a chance to work.

Dave Tenny

My Weapons--Tools and Skill:
When it comes right down to it, it is my skill against the fighter's flesh. I can remember another tough job I had was with a fighter named James Hughes out of Yonkers, NY. in November of 1997. He fought an eight-rounder in Stamford, CT. In the 3rd round he received an awesome gash over his left eye. This cut was so bad, that it went in two different directions; across his eyebrow and down the side. It was so bad that I had to pinch it with both hands, as he literally had two flaps of skin hanging. I had to use a heavy duty coagulant called Avitene, which is a white foamy substance. Actually, for fighting cuts and swelling, my arsenal is Avitene, Enswell, Adrenaline Hydrochloride, Thrombine, lots of gauze pads, Q-tips, cotton, and I always wear latex gloves. These and my skill are my weapons in the corner. Anyways, back to the fight. I had to push the Avitene in the openings of James' cut. By the 5th round I had it under control. Hughes ended up winning the fight--there is no finer moment for a cutman when you have kept your guy in the bout and he wins.

...And Gals Too:
As we all know, the ladies have jumped into the sport with both fists. Although cuts in ladies bouts are less common than in men's bouts, they do occur. I just recently work a fight in Atlantic City, It was a night of ladies boxing and I was in world champion Kathy Collins' corner that night. Kathy went through a tough 10 rounds of fighting. Around the 5th or 6th round Kathy had gotten hit with a shoulder blade right in the left eye. The eye began to swell up quickly. When she came back to the corner I went right to work on it. I used that famous cold piece of steel that is shaped to form around the eye socket, known as Enswell, which, by the way, is kept on ice during the fight. With the medium pressure I applied and the coldness of the Enswell, I was able to keep the eye from closing and Kathy won the fight by a unanimous decision. Controlling the swelling of a fighters eye is difficult, but crucial for the fighter to be able to see his opponent's punches. That was another job I felt really good about.

Have Cut Will Travel:
I live in Westchester County, New York, but rather than working regionally, my philosophy is "have cut will travel." I used to be associated with Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, NY, but I now work out of my home and currently work approximately 3 to 4 dozen fights a year.

Reach Dave Tenny at: cutsrusdt@aol.com
or you can visit his webpage: TheCutman.com