Amanda Serrano, the gruesome cut, and why the fight was not stopped

ORLANDO, Florida – When Amanda Serrano’s cut gaped at its widest in the eighth round of her rematch with Katie Taylor, many observers believed the fight had to be stopped. As grim as any boxing wound in recent memory, the skin peeled from her right eyelid to expose red, unprotected flesh.

While the commentators speculated on the consequences of an imminent stoppage, the ringside doctor inspected the injury then indicated the contest could continue. Serrano would hear the final bell, unfortunate to lose via unanimous verdict after 10 punishing rounds. 

Louis Durkin MD, present at the WBA convention in his role as president of the Association of Ringside Physicians, revealed the decision to not halt the bout was correct. 

Durkin, while explaining the complex role of a physician, discussed the process from pre-fight, when physical, psychological, and neurological tests are carried out, through to post-fight, when the boxer’s condition is examined carefully. Yet it is during the fight itself when the doctor’s performance is at its most visible.

“For sure, there would have been a lot of people saying it was an ugly cut, the fight has to be stopped. It [the cut] certainly had the ugly factor,” Durkin, who has been involved in boxing for more than 20 years, said about the Serrano injury.

“When reviewing it, you have to go back to the start,” he continued. “I think it opened in the fourth round, and it was kind of small, close together, then there were multiple headbutts and it was getting wider and wider – and the skin was just hanging down. When a cut is hanging like that, you’ve got to play close attention.”

There is more to consider than just the size or appearance of the cut, however. The overall wellbeing of the boxer, and their position in the fight, provide the bottom lines in the decision-making process. In essence, if they are fit to fight and not at risk of serious injury, a doctor will not advise a referee to terminate a contest.

“If you’re the ringside doc, and wondering should this go or not go, you have to understand what happens if we stop this bout or you let it go on, in terms of that cut,” Durkin explained. “Is it affecting the vision? Is it likely to have a long lasting, permanent effect on vision, eyelid movement? Is it near any important structures? 

“In this case, in my opinion, definitely let that go. That’s a 20-minute stitch job. It looks terrible but they come together like nothing. It’s not near any important structures and it’s not getting down into the eye – and Mike Bazzel, the cut man, was doing a great job; there was hardly any blood; certainly, her vision was intact.

“It’s not just about the cut; you need the whole picture. How is that fighter doing? Is it a competitive fight? Are they still in it? If they’re not defending themselves and there’s the cut, you’re more prone to stopping it. Trying to make that decision in a vacuum is tough – which is why I tell any doctors I work with, have your eyes on the fight the entire time. You have to take the whole picture.

“I think, also, you could be forgiven for thinking Serrano was winning that fight. Certainly, it was competitive, that wasn’t the issue. The cut opened from headbutts – or clashes of heads. But it illustrates knowing the full picture of what you’re dealing with and whether you should stop that fight or not.”

On Friday night, Serrano voiced her desire for a third fight with Taylor. “I fought with one eye, she [Taylor] kept headbutting me, she kept holding me,” Serrano reflected. “No excuses, I showed my heart, I showed grit in there and I’m willing and able to do a third fight with her.” As she spoke, four weeks to the day since the fight, evidence of the injury was barely noticeable. 

“Five years ago, that would absolutely have been stopped,” Durkin concluded. “But we’ve been evolving in our knowledge and our threshold to stop a bout just based on a cut.”