There were hair-raising scenes in the world of boxing overnight as Austin DeAnda was forced to have a mid-fight trim during his win over DeAundre Pettus.
DeAnda was announced the victor after a gruelling eight-round bout at Virginia’s Norfolk Scope, but the main talking point came between the third and fourth rounds.
While trading a flurry of jabs and hooks with middleweight rival Pettus, DeAnda’s braids came loose and the 21-year-old was clearly struggling as his wet hair kept getting in his face, blocking his vision.
‘Cut it,’ a stony-faced DeAnda could be heard telling his team while being treated in his corner.
DeAnda’s cutman initially hesitated, shaking his head at the young fighter, yelling, ‘I’m a cutman, not a barber!’, before grabbing his scissors.
ESPN’s ringside commentators let out a few audible giggles as DeAnda proceeded to have his locks lopped off, giving ‘The Native Nightmare’ a completely new look for the remaining rounds.
The impromptu makeover obviously worked, though, as DeAnda wobbled Pettus with several dangerous combinations in the late rounds to secure a convincing victory.
However, DeAnda covered up his new do with a black cap while celebrating his triumph, perhaps not too impressed with his fresh trim.
DeAnda remains unbeaten in his career after extending his winning streak to 16-0 with the victory.
It is not the first time a boxer has had to chop off their hair in the middle of the fight, with Paulie Malignaggi forced to do the same during his split-decision win over Lovemore N’dou in 2008.
Malignaggi, who had previously beaten Ricky Hatton, was hampered by his braided hair throughout the rounds and made the executive decision to get rid before edging his opponent.
‘I didn’t want to cut it at first, because it took six hours to do that hair. I wanted to rock it for a little bit, man,’ Malignaggi later explained.
‘Besides the braids, which could have cost me the fight, there’s never been a look where I’ve said, “That was too ridiculous”, that was the whole point.
‘What’s the point in doing stuff like that if you’re not going to gain the attention? And you can’t always expect it to be positive attention – matter of fact, it’s probably negative a lot of times.’
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