OLD HABITS NEVER DIE
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 22 Jul 2025
I will never claim that I am a boxing expert even after seeing hundreds of fights since I was a teenager growing up in Manila. And even after seeing more in the US and in some instances even serving as a “cut man” for some fighters including for Hall of Fame awardee and 8 division champion Manny Pacquiao.
But, when it comes to athletic mouthguards, with modesty aside, I can give anyone a run for their money.
Having that said, to this day I can never figure out why many coaches still practice the old tradition of removing fighter’s mouthguards after every round.
Asking some coaches, I found out that it has been a boxing tradition since the early days of boxing when fighters used all sorts of mouth protection including vulcanized rubber.
None of those they had used fit comfortably, including those that came out in the market some years ago called “boil and bite” mouthpieces and those ”one size fits all” sold in sporting goods stores.
Therefore, it was almost mandatory to remove them in between rounds so the fighter can rinse blood from his mouth and have a few seconds of comfort. Mouthpieces are notorious for being improperly made and can cause intra oral damage and bleeding from the mouth. The very act of having to remove a mouthpiece between rounds helped the coaches develop the habit of removing them between rounds, a habit that became hard to overcome.
Incidentally, there is a difference between a “mouthpiece” and a “mouthguard”. The latter is custom designed based on each fighter’s intraoral structures including the teeth and they are custom fitted to determine the correct extend of the borders as well as occlusion.
The author fits Pacquiao's mouthguard.
The mouthguards I made for many fighters, including those for Pacquiao are custom fitted. Pacquiao himself knows that and so does Freddie Roach. There is no need to remove them, and it does not hurt a bit if they stay in from the time they were inserted before the fight to after the final bell. Because they fit so well, the fighter can even talk if he needs too. He can also rinse off if he wants without removing the mouthguard.
Thus, I can’t help but wonder why Roach takes Manny’s mouthguard off when there is really no need to do so except to satisfy the old habit!
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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