World renowned cutman, Joe Clifford, joins us in the studio for episode #094 of Paddy Holohan’s No Shame Podcast. Joe is one of the very best in the fight game & one of the few cutmen in the world to make a full time living from his trade. Clifford has a successful background cornering in Pro Boxing & currently works for some of the biggest promotions in MMA including the UFC. Joe also runs a hugely successful Cutman Course across the globe which is sanctioned by AIBA, BUI, IMMAF & UFC.
Joe was born in the late 60’s & grew up in Crumlin. Living in Inner City Dublin in the 80’s certainly wasn’t easy for a kid. The City was engulfed by a heroine epidemic, there was no treatment for Aids or HIV at the time & people were literally dying on the streets. It was a rough area & fights were part & parcel of the culture. Joe’s father enrolled him into boxing so that his son could at the very least learn to defend himself.
Joe proved to be an extremely disciplined boxer, training twice a day & although not the most skilled, the attitude he developed from applying himself to combat sport, enabled the mindset that helped him to become a top corner man.
Joe talks to Paddy about different body types in MMA/boxing & the styles they produce as a result. Clifford recalls Paddy’s own unorthodox/ unconventional fighting style which made him so unique & impossible to predict. Joe compares Paddy's style to that of Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett.
Clifford discusses exactly how & why he became a cutman, the fundamentals of the role, along with examining the influence of the cutmen that came before, such as the great Jacob Duran. Joe also talks to Paddy about the significance of never cornering people that you know as it can affect you from carrying out your role to the best of your ability.
Listen to / download episode #094 of Paddy Holohan's No Shame Podcast below :
Joe recalls a particular occasion, the only time, when he cornered Albert Selimov, a fighter he’d been living with in Russia at the time. Clifford feels he didn’t perform his role to the best of his ability that day, trying out a new technique on a world championship fight, which in return meant Selimov was unable to continue after obtaining a cut that couldn’t be stopped. If you’ve met Joe before you’ll know how much of Professional he Is and seeing how disappointed he still is over this isolated incident is testament to high standards he demands of himself. Ultimately it is about the safety of the fighter
Joe spends over 40 weeks of the year on the road travelling with work, despite this he still makes time to run road races/ Marathon’s together with his Younger brother Ciaran, who needs 24/7 care & suffers from Autism. Ciaran needs the use of a chair to race & Joe tells the story of wheeling him through a Marathon in Berlin, surrounded by 40,000 Germans, one man of which was dressed in a beer bottle outfit. Ciaran was so impressed by the beer bottle that he grabbed on with force & after the runner broke free, Joe would spend the rest of the race weaving, ducking & diving to ensure history did not repeat itself, by his own admission, it was the fastest Marathon that Joe ever ran.
This is an incredibly unique episode with never before seen or heard insights into the life of cutman. Joe is an encyclopaedia of knowledge when it comes to the fight game, he's seen it all & it's an absolute pleasure to listen to his stories. The full episode #094 of Paddy Holohan’s No Shame Podcast is available now across all the usual platforms including, iTunes, Spotify & Youtube. Make sure you check this one out, it's something you've never heard before.
