Manny Pacquiao finishes off his hand wraps with WAR Tape earlier than his 2014 rematch with Tim Bradley as assistant coach Marvin Somodio watches on. Picture by Chris Farina/High Rank
Little or no has modified concerning the apply of hand wrapping within the century since gauze and tape turned the usual for safeguarding fighters’ arms. Rolled gauze goes across the wrist and thumb, with a pad set in place over the knuckles, all of that are held in place by tape.
What has modified is how the wraps look, which might be attributed to the proliferation of tape manufacturers like WAR Tape.
From Manny Pacquiao to Canelo Alvarez to the Charlo brothers and extra, lots of the high boxers of latest occasions have had the California-based firm’s pink, black and white adhesives on their arms when the cameras have been on. Every time the corporate spots their product on tv, they’ll hardly include their pleasure.
“We’re the Forrest Gump of the boxing world. Each loopy second, we’re there by some means,” mentioned William Vittore, who co-founded the corporate in 2008 together with his brother, Kai Vittore.
The Eureka second got here because the brothers, who had a t-shirt manufacturing firm, have been watching an Final Combating Championship struggle. Because the cameras zoomed in on a fist crunching down on their opponent’s head, the brothers puzzled why there wasn’t a emblem on the masking tape that coated the hand.
The brothers got down to design a product that may not simply be the primary to market, however could be tough to high by these getting into the market. They added a serrated edge which made it simpler to tear, whereas the corporate examined a number of totally different glues to make sure the adhesive was dependable. The presence of the phrase “WAR” over the arms provides a psychological edge, although William, a Buddhist, insists that the phrase warfare refers back to the ever-present inner battle and isn’t an endorsement of wanton violence.
The “Nice Recession” of 2008 price the Vittores a lot of their high t-shirt purchasers, however their tape was rocketing in recognition. The corporate was solely lacking another piece, an trade insider who might get the tape within the arms of the game’s most influential figures.
That’s when Mike Rodriguez entered the image.
Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol each had WAR Tape on their gloves throughout their 2022 gentle heavyweight title conflict. Picture by Ed Mulholland/Matchroom
The 57-year-old Los Angeles Sheriff’s Division murder detective had be a coach after boxing within the Air Pressure, the place he gained the heavyweight title on the 1988 San Francisco Golden Gloves. He transitioned to a cutman as a result of the lengthy hours of his day job made it more durable to decide to full-time teaching, which meant working with many alternative camps. Rodriguez started working cuts for opponents with shedding information in preliminary bouts, however shortly rose to the principle occasion scene, working with over 20 world champions, together with Pacquiao, Errol Spence Jr., Dmitry Bivol and Shawn Porter.
Rodriguez proved he was among the many finest at what he does in 2016, when he was tasked with stopping the blood when Francisco Vargas was reduce in three totally different locations in his HBO-televised bout towards Orlando Salido. The ring was coated in blood, however Vargas’ eyes remained clear as he and Salido fought to a attract The Ring’s Combat of the 12 months.
Rodriguez admits that he initially thought that each one tape was the identical earlier than he was launched to the Vittore brothers. He quickly realized that the Vittores had made a product superior to all others, and have become a associate within the enterprise in 2011. From there, he started utilizing his connections to construct the corporate’s model.
“Freddie Roach was actually the primary large time coach who trusted our tape as a result of loads of the previous boxing guys had the identical thought course of that I first had, that each one tape is identical,” mentioned Rodriguez. The tape has now been utilized by lots of the sport’s high trainers, like Robert Garcia, Derrick James, Joel Diaz, Ronnie Shields, Manny Robles, Stephen “Breadman” Edwards and Aureliano Sosa, plus different reduce males like Danny Milano and Mike Bazzell.
“It’s truly simpler for us to let you know the trainers who don’t use our product,” mentioned Rodriguez.
The tape has continued to be standard within the combined martial arts world as effectively, with Bellator MMA adopting the model as its official tape in 2016, and the Singapore based mostly promotion One Championship partnering with WAR for its personal branded line of tape. The UFC has change into certainly one of many manufacturers to to come back out with their very own tape, however maybe their biggest star ever endorsed WAR Tape over the UFC’s model previous to his historic victory over Ciryl Gane to win the heavyweight championship at UFC 285. Jones, who tapes his toes to guard them from damage, mentioned he would have most popular to make use of WAR tape due to its extra dependable adhesiveness, and complained afterwards that the UFC’s personal tape started to slide when he began sweating.
Over a decade after they first launched, the corporate nonetheless will get excited once they see WAR Tape on TV. Vittore recollects the unusual seems to be he acquired as he shouted on his prepare experience from Merced station to Sacramento whereas watching Andy Ruiz Jr., whose arms have been wrapped with WAR Tape, upset Anthony Joshua in 2019 to win the IBF/WBO/WBA heavyweight championship belts. These rolls of tape got here from William’s personal workplace and have been despatched to coach Manny Robles particularly for that struggle.
With the success of WAR Tape, the corporate has branched out, partnering with the WBC for a branded tape line. The corporate now additionally markets gauze and cotton swabs, and is trying into providing different merchandise via their web site and Amazon retailer. The corporate additionally not too long ago finalized contracts with two NFL groups to begin supplying tape to them, and have been in touch with hockey groups for comparable partnerships as effectively. They’ve additionally change into the official tape for the KRONK Gymnasium in Detroit.
“There are a bunch of branded tape firms now. However like my shirt says, we’re the unique,” mentioned Rodriguez.
“Now I really feel like in spite of everything these years it’s lastly taking place. We put within the work, put within the time and persons are lastly beginning to acknowledge our product,” added Vittore. “The fighters could come and go however the longevity is admittedly constructing relationships with these trainers, these reduce males and simply changing into an actual a part of the trade.”
Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, the New York Day by day Information, Rappler and The Guardian, and is a part of the Craig Newmark Graduate College of Journalism Class of 2020. He might be reached at [email protected].
