The Cornerman - one of the most invaluable allies/assets a Boxer has in a fight.  They are part General/Strategist, part Physician, part Psychologist, part Nutritionist, 100% inspiration, and all respect.

Before the fight, a Cornerman's job is to mentally prepare the boxer for battle, shielding their mental state from any fear, anxiety, doubt with positive statements & reinforcements.  And they also temper their brawler's enthusiasm, if they see any signs of over-confidence/ego.

In addition, the Cornerman must prepare the Boxer's body for the beating about to ensue, making sure he doesn’t go into the match cold, as dominance is best established quickly in the first round. Thus, the Cornerman will ensure his fighter is properly warmed up, primed/ready.  Warm, not hot. Tempered.

Before the bell, as the fighters enter the ring, the Cornerman will immediately size up the opponent, building a quick initial strategy based on size/differential/posture/style. That fast, accurate, glance assessment comes from keen intuition based on years of observing carnage in the ring.  No text book/Ivy League/Rhodes Scholar/Stephen A. Smith advice wanted here whatsoever.  Only the Cornerman's.

And when the bell rings, as the crowd roars & roots for their chosen ringster, the Corner Man's job is to assess both fighter's strength/strategy/dexterity/endurance/weaknesses.  Though the temptation will be to take his bruiser's side, he must remain objective/non-prejudiced/truthful.  And while doing so, he must build an effective strategy to influence his boxer toward victory.

And in between rounds, during the precious sanctuary minute, this is where the Corner Man really gleams.  He's only got one minute to assess the integrity of his fighter - determine whether or not the fight shall continue, and if so, with what battle plan. And within that same 60 seconds, they've got to get their fighter to rest/recover, stop any bleeding/swelling, cleanup, oxygenate, cool down, dictate clear/quick/effective strategy & any information  gleaned on the opponent's weaknesses, & then empower/invigorate that same fist pounded mutt before sending them back on their merry way to withstand the next salvo of bloody cruise missile punches.  Who said warfare ain't fast and pretty?

Shout out to some of the greatest Cornermen in boxing history…Ray Arcel (Frazier/Duran/Holmes), Chuck Bodack (Ali/Marciano/Chavez/Holyfield/De La Hoya), Rafael Garcia (Vargas/Mayweather), the legendary Cus D'Amato (Ali/Patterson/Tyson), & the incomparable Freddie Roach (Pacquiao).  Though boxing is an intensely individual sport, it can be strongly argued that none of those bruisers would've ever stood a chance without their trusted Cornerman at their side.

So Warrior, do you have someone who trains you to eat lightnin' and crap thunder? Someone who brutally tells you like it is, and not how it should be?  And who stitches you back together in between rounds and inspires you full force to get back in the fight?

Who do you have in your corner?

"𝙄𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪." ~  𝙁𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝

“𝘼 𝙗𝙤𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩. 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚. 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚. 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙯𝙚.” ~ 𝘾𝙪𝙨 𝘿'𝘼𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙤

"𝘾𝙪𝙨 𝘿'𝘼𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙚, '𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣.' 𝙄'𝙢 𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜." ~ 𝙈𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙏𝙮𝙨𝙤𝙣

𝙇𝙄𝙆𝙀 if you are a fiercely loyal Warrior who never tells friends or family to get over it…𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞𝙩!

𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘 this to the ones you love…because in their corner is where you will always be. And 𝙉𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙧!!! 🔥👊🔥

𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 for Daily Inspirational Wisdom and Strategies from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War".