A boxer sat in his corner between rounds while his cutman pressed a cold metal tool against a swelling under his eye. The fighter's expression was somewhere between deep meditation and a man who had forgotten where he was for a moment. His eyes drifted past the cutman's hand, staring into a middle distance that contained no boxing strategy whatsoever.
Corner work in boxing requires focus. The cutman has 60 seconds to close cuts, reduce swelling, and deliver water. The fighter is supposed to listen to the trainer's instructions and breathe. This fighter appeared to be doing none of those things. His body sat in the corner. His mind had clocked out and gone somewhere quieter. The cutman kept working on a patient who had mentally left the building. The trainer kept delivering tactics to an empty chair with a pulse.
