Cutman “Stitch” Duran invaluable for Klitschko
The impact of a cut man on a fighter is something that shouldn't be underrated.
After Wladimir Klitschko was TKO’d by Lamon Brewster in 2004, he hired Jacob “Stitch” Duran. He was put to work immediately in Klitschko’s following fight, against DaVarryl Williamson, when Klitschko was cut in the first round. Duran was able to close it, but the race had just begun. In round four, despite winning the fight, Klitschko suffered a flash knockdown. Struggling for a moment, he clashed heads with his opponent, which opened a gash above his right eye. Duran was forced to make second-splitting calculations about the cut and the state of the fight. He knew he could control it, but that it would still hamper Klitschko and affect his performance. He also knew (presumed) his fighter was ahead on the scorecards.
“I work on cuts like that all the time in the UFC, so I knew that I could control it,” Duran remembered. “But at that point, it was more than just controlling it, so I made the right move.”
That move was to inform ringside doctor Margaret Goodman that the cut was too bad for Klitschko to continue. It took some guts to make the call, with Wladimir’s brother Vitali and Emmanuel Steward in the corner, but Duran knew it was the right one.
Duran spoke about the complicated situation with Vitali. “He’s still the big brother,” said Duran of Vitali. “He was so concerned and focused on the cut and him getting dropped that both the brothers didn’t comprehend what I was doing. Everything was going so fast, and he’s not a cutman – he doesn’t look at things as a cutman, so he’s not even looking at who’s winning the fight – it’s more like ‘how’s my little brother?’”
As a cut man, however, Duran brings an original perspective to every fight and treats fighters as if they were his own children. That night with Wladimir, it wasn’t about making sure the fans got their money’s worth, or that the fight went on just because others thought it should. It was about protecting Klitschko.
So the scorecards were read, and while everyone froze as a split decision was announced, there was a sigh of relief by all when it came down on Klitschko’s side.
But it gets better.
After examining the cut, Dr. Goodman determined that it was so deep and close to a nerve, Klitschko could have risked optical damage if he continued.
After that night, it was pretty much settled. Klitschko and “Stitch” would be rooting for each other in the same corner. Since then Duran and Klitschko have increasingly become close, with the heavyweight titlist respecting Duran for his ‘call them like it is’ approach and his medical mastery with human wounds.
Indeed, Duran has ‘called it like it is’ once or twice and Klitschko didn’t like it. But that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Klitschko criticized his former cut man, Joe Souza heavily for his 2004 bout with Brewster, but Duran will have none of that, and told his fighter too. He’s also adamant about maintaining friendships with friends and fighters across the ring, even if they happen to be Friday’s opponent. One example is Samuel Peter, who Klitschko is set to face again tomorrow night.
“I’ve known Samuel, I’ve wrapped his hands, I’ve done pads for him, and we’re gym friends,” Duran testified. “We were in the lobby and I’m talking to Samuel and (Cornelius) Boza-Edwards and Pops Anderson and Kenny Crooms, and they’re friends, guys from Las Vegas. And Wladimir and the group were walking by and he looks like at me. And in his eyes, it was like ‘what are you doing talking to the opponent?’” Duran continued. “But I’m not gonna change my personality. These are my friends and I’m not gonna avoid them because we’re opponents. And with me, if you want the truth, I’m gonna give you the truth. I think that circled the bond around us, knowing that I’m there to protect him and always give him 150 per cent and I think it’s built our friendship outside of just being his cutman.”
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