Towel Throwing and what makes a good cornerman or not

toasty

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Heard an interesting interview with John Hackleman was in the Chuck lidell one on "the Lyte's out podcast which is now called MMA History podcast I think).

Hackleman talked about hating to be a cornerman. Guy is a world class trainer of perhaps the biggest icon in the sport and a second world champion in Glover but said he was a bad corner because he would throw in the towel too early when one of his fighters was hurt.

He knew he was taking his fighter's chance away from winning and that killed him. He knew from their hard training they were durable guy's, aware of the risks, wanted every chance he could give them to win, etc. but his love of his fighters would overcome him and he'd rather throw it in too soon then regret seeming them take unnecessary damage.

Talked about other corners throwing the towel into the crowd as a show of bravado, and how stupid that is.

He said the early UFC refs knew he had a tendency to stop fights before they went too far and would encourage the other corner's to be willing to do it like Hackleman.

Told a pretty funny story about being at a regional kickboxing bout where some kid was getting crushed...he got so emotional he screamed "Stop the Fight" and the ref did, which lead to great confusion because the kid wasn't his fighter, and eventually they figured out they shouldn't have stopped it, started it back up, and the kid he was trying to protect came back and won.

Later in his career he would only corner guys like Glover if they begged him to do it and would warn them that he might stop the fight too early.

Cliffs-
Cornering is hard as fuck if you care about your fighters.
Being a great trainer who has also fought full contact contests doesn't automatically make you a great cornerman.
Toasty would have wanted Hackleman in his corner when he got the shit beat out of him in 5th grade gym class, that lopsided fight went on way too long in my humble opinion

Edit-
I guess I'd be really interested in hearing from fighters here what kind of cornerman they'd want?

and/or if they've ever been in a match that should have been stopped by either their corner or the other guy's

and/or If they've had a corner throw in the towel, how that effected their training relationship going forward.

Or if anyone has cornered people and had to make this choice live in the heat of the battle?

@DoctorTaco you want to come and hit me with the paddles to save my dying thread?

Etc.
 
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I think it's a corners job to weigh the damage versus chances. Deontay wilder fired his corner after they threw the towel in. It was the right decision since he was getting fucked up and wasn't coming back. I think you only get 1 if your lucky as a corner per fighter and you have to use it wisely and even then your out a job. But it is your job to protect them if the ref and Dr isn't
 
That regional fighter should appeal that loss. Talk about interference when they had a fight won
 
good cornerman:
-telling jokes
-playing games on his phone during the fight
-tells to be more active, head movement

bad cornerman:
-distracting with constant fight advices
-covering fighter from cameraman
-wasting fighters corner rest-time with plans on the next round
 
Preferred a corner guy willing to throw it in early. I had a tendency to be to tough for my own good. Was always frustrated in the moment, but knowing you can fight again eventually overcame the annoyance.

I have long believed if the pay system was different, fights would be stopped safer, and quicker. Fighters might make more money in the long run if they did not have to try and tough it out in an effort to get the win bonus
 
I'd imagine it's tougher in MMA with so many ways to win even if you are outclassed in 1 area. Boxing you can pretty much tell when someone is not gonna win unless scoring a Hail Mary KO. MMA you can be getting your ass whipped in the stand up but secure a takedown and stall or catch a quick sub. But in boxing you can take a knee which isn't an option in MMA....well maybe throw an eye poke or nut shot since you get like 5 warnings before points come off anyway.
 
I listened to that, too. Hackleman was funny and very humble.

I'm no fighter, but I'd imagine, to be a fighter I. The first place, you probably lean more towards "Stop this fight, and I'll kill ya!".

As a corner, I'd probably be like Hackkeman, in a bit of a rush to stop things, compared to most.

As a fan, however, my favorite type of fight is the Comeback....
 
You need a cornerman that is feeling the pulse of the fight to stop it when the referee is failing. The fight with Chuck and Rampage in Pride comes to mind. Chuck was being crushed by elbows to the body from the ground by Page and was down for a long time once the towel was thrown in and the fight was stopped.
 
We see in mma though guys getting the shit kicked out of them, only to either catch the guy last second because his defense is down with a counter or literally homer simpsoning them and the guy wasted all his energy for a finish. Towels should only be thrown when it's clear the opponent has the gas tank and there has been multiple rounds to give their own a chance.

Also don't think towels should be thrown in championship fights, unless exceptional circumstances because it could be the fighter's last chance to be champ.
 
One of my favorite moments in MMA history is Nick Diaz throwing the towel to save Nate vs Josh Thomson.



Not because Nate lost, I like Nate... but because in that one moment, Nick Diaz, one of the toughest fighters ever was just a big brother doing the one thing he could do to try to protect his little brother from harm.
 
One of my favorite moments in MMA history is Nick Diaz throwing the towel to save Nate vs Josh Thomson.



Not because Nate lost, I like Nate... but because in that one moment, Nick Diaz, one of the toughest fighters ever was just a big brother doing the one thing he could do to try to protect his little brother from harm.


I was there that night, had 5th row seats sitting right behind all the fighters, and it was crazy to see and hear Josh Thomson get boo'd outta the building in his own hometown LoL
 
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I'll take it too early rather than too late and getting beaten into a living death.

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One of my all time favorite corner stoppages - Pacquaio vs Barrera 1 - Barrera's brother waves it off in round 11 - you can see him crying. Barrera was taking a life altering beating.



That was such a great era of fights and fighters, Barrera, Erik Morales, Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Kostya Tsyzu, Zab Judah, really fun time to be a fan
 
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