Wounded man Seppo Finnilä is a boxing legend

In the 2017 match, Seppo Finnilä matched Mathias Eklund’s vek so well that the boxer avoided injury. At the weekend, Finnilä will travel to Tallinn, where we will have professional boxing matches. IL-TV will show Tallinn’s professional boxing night for free from 18:00. Pro Boxing Team Finland

of Robert Helenius the hand was broken, but something had to be invented.

Seppo Finnilä, one of the most famous Finnish wound men, rolled several layers of gauze and tape on the heavyweight’s hand. Then we tried hitting again.

It still hurt.

– We took a break, and then we tried again. In total, 150 meters of tape were used on one of Helenius’ hands before the right binding was found. “Robbella” also had pretty good nerves, Finnilä recalls the situation years ago with a laugh.

Finnilä, 70, literally does invisible work. Spectators never see what’s under the boxer’s gloves. This is by no means an easy task.

Born in Ryttylä and still living in Ryttylä, Finnilä learned to tie hands at a young age. At the age of 20, he went to Riihimäki Kehäkettutu’s gym for the first time.

Boxing played a significant part in the fact that the musician, who spent wild teenage years, kept the bottle cap closed.

– On the side of boxing, the band work came into shape. My competitive career ended there, and I took my last matches in 1976.

– When I sobered up, the boxing training started.

With experience and experimentation

Finnilä already practiced tying on competition trips. Acquaintances asked him to bind his hands if they had injuries.

– Risto Meronen gave a lot of advice on that. I just started experimenting. When my bandages took away the pain, I noticed that I was improving in my work.

Sometimes the boxers have wanted to bring X-rays to Finnilä to see before tying their hands.

– I don’t understand anything about them!

However, he trusts the “I’m not a doctor, but I can look” idea.

– I ask exactly where the pain point is. Just try it and it will work.

First, the hand is massaged and the pain points are looked for. Then the knuckles, thumb and wrist are supported with gauze. Professional boxing has exact rules regarding taping.

– The tape must not be on the knuckles, but the tape must go 10 millimeters behind the knuckles. Finally, I put the knuckle pads on and the last taping.

“A cold man from the North”

Finnilä’s professionalism made such a big impression that the former heavyweight World Championship title challenger Johann Duhaupas wanted a Finnish corner.

What makes the situation special is that the two do not have a common language. Of course, the Finn will say a few words in English, but most of the time they communicate with the help of a translator on the phone.

– Sometimes there has been an interpreter on match trips. My work is such that you don’t even need to talk much. Duhaupas knows what I do and trusts me.

Once, Finnilä’s fame even spread to the French media, so much so that he was wanted on a TV broadcast to talk about his work after the Duhaupas match.

The lights came on, and the interviewer already held out the microphone towards Finnila, who was stunned.

– Johann noticed and came with the interpreter and said that the interpreter can translate the questions. I said no need. I pulled in my own style.

– Duhaupas told the reporter that Seppo is a cold and quiet man from the North. He joked that the last time he heard me speak was in August.

The French Duhaupas, 41, is unlikely to fight much longer. However, his manager has assured that Finnilä has enough work with the new up-and-comer.

Cutman

A wounded man, that is cutman, place the contestants’ bumps between sets. Finn learned that skill by doing as well.

The most important tools are adrenaline, cotton swabs, cold iron and ice packs.

The wounded man has to watch the match without getting emotional. During the one-minute break, the hand must not shake.

– I numb the wounds with adrenaline, which I mix with saline solution. If only adrenaline was applied to the wound, it would stop the bleeding, but at the same time burn the edges of the wound so that the wound could open again more easily.

A cold iron is pressed on the swollen areas of the face and head. Finnilä almost always presses an ice pack on the contestant’s upper body.

At the weekend, Finnilä will travel to Tallinn, where we will have professional boxing matches.

On Saturday night, we will see, among other things, the Norwegian heavyweight Thomas Narmo. Finnilä has never worked with Narmo, but it is likely that the right kind of tying technique will be found in the hands of the Norwegian skier.

IL-TV will show Tallinn’s professional boxing night for free from 18:00.