Expert: Lian Shoemake - 8/6/2009

Question
Hi. I have a question about boxing injury tools. You may have not seen these fights, but I was and still am a huge fan of the late Arturo Gatti. And during his fights, his eyes would easily swell up as you may know, and he would get open cuts under his eyes. During the break before the next round, I see the trainers and doctors come over with a small tool, it looks like a stamp almost, a square-type tool with a handle on the top, and he would scrape, or rub the tool under his eye and some of the blood would be gone. I'd really like to know, what is this tool called? What is it ued for exactly? What does it do? Or prevent? I'm sorry my question was so long, but It was just hard for me to explain what it was through words.
Here, is the link of a video of one of his fights that the tool is used in, if it makes this question any easier to answer. : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMgbggd_Q_M&feature=channel_page

Thank you.

Answer
Hi Gaby,
Even without looking at the video, I can tell that you're referring to an "Enswell."
Here's a link to a description of it: http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php/Endswell

In a nutshell, it's a cold piece of metal, used to apply direct pressure in order to reduce swelling.

I hope this helps, Gaby.
Thank again for writing!

Regards,
Lian