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| Jack ‘Cast Iron’ Casey |
The sight of UFC star Conor McGregor’s deformed left ear on the cover of the 20 July issue of Boxing News got me thinking about cauliflower ears in boxing. There was a time when a cauliflower ear was the hallmark of a seasoned pro boxer. But today, you’re far more likely to see one on an MMA fighter or rugby player.
So why this modern lack of cauliflowers among the boxing brigade? I was once told by a London Ex-Boxers Association founder-member — now in his 90s — that it’s because ‘they don’t have enough fights now and they aren’t taught how to slip punches’, the theory being that cauliflowers were often caused by slipped shots cuffing the ear.
No doubt a fair few modern trainers would dispute the last part of his statement. The first part, though, is hard to deny. Today, a prospect will fight, say, five or six times a year, an established top-liner perhaps two or three times. But in the inter-war years, particularly in Britain, it wasn’t unusual for a pro to make 20 to 30 ring appearances a year. Career records of 200-plus pro bouts were common and these were not just journeymen; many were star performers.
