Cutman Sid Brumbach Interview
Posted: Tuesday, July 27, 2004
by WithinTheRing
Question: What do you get when you combine a former Junior World Power Lifting Champion, a Registered Nurse who is Boarded in Emergency Trauma Nursing and Invasive Cardiology, and an aspiring novelist? Answer: One of the most skilled cutmen in professional boxing. Blending his educational and ring experiences, 41 year old Sid Brumbach, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has been afforded the opportunity to work a whopping 659 professional fights - including 35 World Title bouts. WithinTheRing.com spoke with Brumbach after he returned from Houston where he was working the corner for NABF and WBO Interim Welterweight Titleholder, Kermit Cintron.
LR:How did you get your start working corners as a cutman?
SB:I used to be a competitive lifter. I was sponsored by the Teamsters and part of that sponsorship agreement included a clause stating that I had to retain part-time employment - so I worked 3 days a week at a local health club that supported boxing. At the time, I didn't have an appreciation for the sport and actually thought it was the stupidest thing in the world. I thought it was something you watched when you went to sleep. When the National Golden Gloves came around in 1981, however, I was volunteered to help work the corners. I ended up doing this from 1982 through 1985. In 1985, I started working the corner for pro fighters. The more time that I spent in the sport, the more appreciation and respect I gained for boxing. The fighters as a whole gained my respect and I have been a rabid fan ever since.
LR:Would you say that the catalyst of your transformation from cynic to admirer of the sweet science was the Golden Gloves tournaments you mentioned?
SB:That's when I really got to follow the fighters through - watching how hard they trained. Their dedication won me over and I learned that there was a science and art to boxing. It wasn't two guys trying to pound away at each other. I learned that like medicine, as in boxing, you practice and never really get either of them always right, but you try to get them right a majority of time.
LR:Who do you feel is the best cutman in the business?
SB:Joe Souza is the best. I'll always take a step back to him, but no one else. Souza has worked with many known fighters. As recent as last Saturday (July 17), he worked the HBO card in the corners of Rocky Juarez and Juan Diaz. He has also worked the corners of Arturo Gatti, Andrew Golata, the Klitschko brothers, and many more.
LR:When you work the corner, do you have to separate your concern for your fighter with the task at hand, i.e. closing a cut, reducing swelling, etc. to make sure you can get them back in the ring for the next round?
SB:You have to separate yourself emotionally or you can't do your job. That being said, my concern for the fighters as individuals does not leave me.
LR:Have you ever worked a corner where you felt the fighter should not go back into the ring to start the next round and if so, how did you handle that?
SB:I had that happen only on 3 or 4 occasions, because believe it or not, most trainers are pretty good about saying, "my kid's had enough." On each one of those occasions I said to the trainer that you may want to consider pulling the plug on this because the only way the kid is going to win is by knockout, and he's not in the physical condition to do that. Two times they took my advice and two times they didn't. The times they did, I think the trainers knew it was time to stop the fight but they were waiting to hear it from someone else to validate what they already knew. The two times where my advice was not welcomed were by trainers who grasp at straws and hope for miracles - which doesn't work.
LR:Who are some of the top fighters you have worked with?
SB:Charles Brewer, Reggie Green, Mark Johnson, Julian Letterlough, Tim Witherspoon, Corrie Sanders, Kermit Cintron.
LR:From a medical position, what changes or reforms would you like to see in professional boxing?
SB:I think that coaches should have some type of certification. That being said, even if they don't, the Cutmen definitely should have some type of certification and training. As we've seen plenty of times on TV, being a good cutman is much more then picking up a bottle of water and a towel and saying you're a cutman. It's pretty scary when you see what happens in corners.
LR:What has been the highlight of your career as a cutman?
SB:I have a couple. One of the best was the Andrew Golata-Corrie Sanders fight on USA network. It was in Atlantic City. Joe Souza was in Golata's corner and I was working the corner for Sanders. Corrie got cut in the 2nd round and Golata got his first cut in the 3rd round and he got his second cut over his other eye two or three rounds later. The cut that Corrie Sanders had over his eye was 3.5 inches long - it was a giant! It was the first time that Larry Hazzard gave me a compliment. He jumped in the ring and said this guy (Brumbach) is worth a billion bucks. He saved your fight and your fighter. I couldn't have felt any better because it was the first time that Larry actually gave me a compliment. Another one was when I was working for Charles Brewer at Madison Square Garden on the undercard of one of Roy Jones' fights. Charles had about a 2 inch cut from a headbutt over his eye. The cut happened early in a 10 round fight and I kept him together and got him through that. Going back to the Sanders-Golata fight - if Joe Souza wasn't with Golata, the fight would have been stopped and if I wasn't with Corrie Sanders, the fight would have been stopped. It was a great duel, it was a great fight and in the end you had two fighters who were able to go out and give it their best and put on a great show.
LR:What is your position on headgear in professional boxing? Other then conceivably the end of the sport from the fan's perspective, what positive things physiologically would it do?
SB:Boxing headgear is about as beneficial as headgear is in the NFL, meaning that it has very limited ability. If the blow is hard enough, the fighter will end up concussed with head trauma and brain injury. In my opinion, headgear is overrated for protection. I use the example of professional football. How many times have we had quarterbacks concussed to the point where they had to get out of the game? How many times have we had other athletes in football who had concussions, amnesia problems, short term memory problems? I would be willing to bet that linemen that get hit in the helmet every play, that if we CAT Scanned their heads 10 years after they finished playing pro ball, you would find very similar brain changes as you would in boxers. The medical term is "Boxer's encephalopathy." I think the headgear would offer a given level of protection but it's probably not worth it.
LR:How many more years do you want to work as a cutman?
SB:Probably until I'm dead. I enjoy it that much - I'm not making any money on it. I set 4 Junior World records in weightlifting which I'm very proud of. I set two in 1981 and two in 1982. The very last World record I set was a National and World record. I lifted 677 in Squat, while I weighed 198 pounds. Being involved in boxing is a second highlight, as is my education. My other highlight is my daughter, Bailey. She is one step away from being an Elite gymnast and we hope to see her in Bejing in the 2008 Olympics.
WithinTheRing.com would like to thank Sid Brumbach for his time and taking our readers into the corner.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Very interesting. There is also other great cutmen such as Bazooka out of Gleasons Gym.
Ya!!1 That's true. Bazooka from Bay Shore The articulate, professional i show him 1/31. Consider himself the 21st Centery cut man because he uses other medication other than run of the mill coagulates. He wears a navy officers hat. Highly intellengent, Thinks himself an Admiral of cut man.
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