Denis Kolesnik: “Few things can relieve stress like a punch”

It is possible and necessary to change approaches in the mechanisms of a large industry, especially if obvious shortcomings are visible. And if you are a professional who strives to make “the world a better place,” it doesn’t matter how old you are or how many supporters you have.

Cutman and young coach Denis Kolesnik talks on why one man counts, how to break the “do it for free" system and what interesting things there are in boxing besides entering the ring.

About Me. Together with my wife, I am raising a little daughter, but almost my entire life is built around my favorite sport. Now I’m creating my own product - quick pro-style handwraps, collecting retro boxing magazines (if my wife finds out how much they cost, she’ll kick me out of the house), collecting boxing gloves and fighter figurines. There are already so many collections that I dream of building my own small museum.

About experience. When I was ten years old, I tried to sign up for a basketball club. To do this I had to go to neighboring Chekhov. I go to the ticket office of the Sports Palace, ask where basketball is, and they tell me that it’s not here! But the ticket office employee seemed to take pity on me, said that there was a boxing section across the road and offered to sign up there. Of course, she had no idea that this would radically change my life.

I have never understood the slogans that are now trying to motivate young people, all these “Conquer yourself”, “Your main enemy is yourself.” I always really liked boxing, I regularly went to training, tried not to miss it, and quickly began to show results. Won the championship of the region, the federal district, and was a prize-winner of the Russian championship.

I tried to quit sports and devote myself to a military career. While studying at the Moscow Cadet School and the University of the Prosecutor's Office, I interrupted boxing. During this period, I treated boxing as a warm-up and part-time job (I trained a little). But as soon as I received my diploma, and my relatives hung a photograph on the wall of me in my graduation uniform standing with my grandfather, a colonel, I returned to my favorite element. Yes, after university I had the courage to decide to do what I loved.

Boxing for me is a teacher. My nickname is cutman227. Few people understand what we are talking about, but this is a reference to order #227 “Not a step back”; we will not go into historical details about its meaning and role, but for me this is a personal motto. Boxing taught me not to give up under any circumstances. This sport forces you to take responsibility and be independent. After all, in fact, it depends only on me whether I achieve something significant in life.

Boxing training is a version of psychotherapy: few things can relieve stress like a punch. And there is little that can focus you on the current moment like sparring: there is only you and the person opposite. During an active workout, it's hard to think about anything else. You need to focus on the little things: keep your hands near your head, watch your feet.

About sports philosophy. Boxing is an intellectual sport with its own culture. This is exactly what I want to convey to others. It is very important for a person involved in the industry to understand what he is doing and to receive adequate payment for his work.

Unfortunately, all over the world, including here, the work of cutmen is not regulated in any way. Now there is talk about some kind of basic training, similar to the training of a nurse, but, alas, these are just words for now. My work does not concern providing medical assistance, moreover, it is strictly prohibited. But at the same time, I must protect the fighter from injury before the fight by taping his hands.

Boxing gear. For me, good gear is about safety and ritual. Sometimes there is a mood to take one pair of pads, sometimes another. For me, this choice of day is a kind of action. Or... a parallel hobby! I can spend the whole day taking care of my pads and gloves. I can talk about the things that I have for hours, like a botanist about herbs. Boxers really need knowledge about gloves and padding, but there is little of it in the public domain.

About hobby. As I already said, my whole life and hobbies are built around boxing. In my free time from training, I figure out how fighter ratings are built. For example, there is a portal boxrec.com , which keeps records of all official fights, boxers have their own rating there, and the most interesting thing is how it changes. Here we have the thirtieth number defeating the fifteenth, but this does not mean that they will move to each other’s positions, most likely, both will rise. How does this work? There are formulas for this. I like to dig into such things. Study boxing in all its manifestations not superficially, but in depth.

About motivation. I force myself to move on. When I feel like giving up, I remind myself that in other similar situations I didn’t give up and now I can’t. The desire to be the best is a great motivator. I am greedy for work and want to be the most active, the most in demand.

About disappointment. The unprofessional approach and consumer attitude towards experts in their field is upsetting. You improve yourself, constantly improve, improve your qualifications, and people often just need to check a box on the list and pay less.

About influence. Still, I set a high standard of work and am dedicated to my work. I hope that by doing this I set an example for others. I managed to make sure that I am surrounded by people who value my work and are not able to offer me to do something for free.

About role models. I don’t create idols for myself, but there are examples to follow. One of them is Bernard Hopkins, who at the age of 50 was a world champion and gave a head start to the young. Another example is Jacob Durant, one of the most famous cutmen in the world; he once radically changed his life by moving to Vegas. In addition to abilities, a person must understand whether he is in the right place.