'I was actually worried he'd lose a portion of his eyelid'

Frank Greaves, coach and cutman, talks Alex Pattle through his trade secrets and why he proved a handful for Jake Paul

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“There’s nothing I haven’t seen in a corner,” Frank Greaves says. And it’s hard not to believe the coach, cutman and handwrapper, as he reels off an hour’s worth of anecdotes on torn eyelids, conspiracy theories, and the most audacious interaction with Jake Paul.

At The Ring, a historic gym in Southwark, the 47-year-old east Londoner is not only sharing more than a quarter-century’s experience in fighting; he’s also giving The Independent a lesson in hand-wrapping, plus a lesson in boxing. Thankfully, we don’t end up needing a lesson in treating cuts.

As a coach, Greaves has worked with the likes of David Adeleye and Gary Corcoran. As a cutman and hand-wrapper, he has worked with boxers, mixed martial artists and bare-knuckle fighters worldwide. Now working with a journalist, he (mercifully) abstains from his usual hand-wrapping icebreaker: descending his groin onto the hand of his subject... Jake Paul, however, was not spared.

“I literally dropped my nuts into his hand,” Greaves says, recalling his first meeting with the YouTuber-turned boxer, ahead of Paul’s bout with Tommy Fury in 2023. Thankfully, it is a liberal use of “literally”; Greaves always remains fully clothed during the tradition.

“There was about 20 people in the room – his parents, brother, training team, social media crew. The entire time I’m wrapping the first hand, I’m thinking, ‘Do I do it?’ I know his social media persona can be a bit precious, and I’m getting paid very nice. In the end, I’m like: ‘Just do it, it’s part of what you do.’ So, ‘wahey!’ I drop my bollocks into his hand, and there’s complete silence.

“He looks up at me, ‘Dude, what the fuck you doing?’ and starts laughing. And with that, everyone else joined. I jokingly said, ‘Well, Jake, now we’re close. There’s nothing between us, no secrets.’ If anything goes wrong on fight night, don’t worry; there’s a trust bond.’ He took it really well, was good as gold.”