Is there a practice by cornermen making small cuts with a razor to reduce swelling around the eye area? Thought the worry of the blood flowing from the cut would outweigh the benefits of reducing the swelling but a friend is adamant that this practive takes place in boxing.
From Thomas Myler's 'The Sweet Science Goes Sour', which includes a chapter on Primo Carnera; "One opponent, Riccardo Bertazzolo, a proud and gutsy boxer, refused to take a dive against Carnera in Atlantic City in August despite a guaranteed percentage of the gate on top of his purse, which would have netted him $10,000 overall against Primo's $6,000. Bertazzolo, however, was double-crossed by his own manager Aldo Linz, who slit Riccardo's eyebrow with a razor between the second and third rounds, covering up the cut with Vaseline. With the first blow that landed on Bertazzolo's eyebrow, the blood spurted, and the referee stopped the fight, awarding Carnera a technical knockout."
Ha thought he was speaking rubbish, cheers for clearing it up! He has the annoying habit of been so convinced by his own BS that he sometimes almost convinces me
never understood the criteria on cuts... surely unless it impedes a fighters direct vision it wont matter?
It's standard practice for a trainer to slice open a badly swollen eye. The resulting blood loss causes a reduction of swelling and a return of vision to the eye. Indeed a hanful of alcohol-drenched razor blades are an instrumental part of a cut man's toolbox. Some would argue the razor to be more important than even vaseline or the enswell.
Cuts are the last thing a fighter wants. Scar tissue will build up making it easier to cut in the future. The rule is the more you get cut the more you will get cut. So unless it's Hollywood or decades ago when no one knew better or cared cuts are not made to reduce swelling.
