Jacob “Stitch” Duran is the most famous cutman in combat sports and has also starred in numerous Hollywood films. BOXSPORT author Andreas Selak met the icon on the sidelines of the Canelo vs. Crawford mega-fight in Las Vegas for an interview!
Hello “Stitch”, German boxing fans know you mainly from the time when you were a cutman in Wladimir Klitschko’s ring corner. How do you remember that?
I love Germany! And I always tell people: no matter where I’ve been in the world – when it comes to business, Germany and Japan are at the top of my list. Working with Wladimir Klitschko was a pleasure for me. But before I even started working with him, I was already working with Derrick Harmon when he fought Dariusz Michalczewski (2003 in Hamburg; editor’s note). That was my first experience in Germany. Since then I’ve probably been there forty or fifty times – in every big city. And people remember me, that’s a really nice feeling.
How did you become a cutman?
I have to go back a long way. I actually wanted to play baseball in college. But that was nine miles away from my small hometown and I didn’t have a car. So I was always hitchhiking or traveling with friends. At some point, that just wasn’t feasible anymore and I decided to join the Air Force in 1972. I was then stationed in Thailand. When I saw my first Thai boxing match there, I was immediately hooked. However, there was Korean Taekwondo on our base, so I started with that. Later, when the Koreans left the base, the Thais took over the training and introduced their system. So we founded the ASK kickboxing school – and that’s when I also started as a cutman. Before I became a cutman, I was a trainer. Especially in Thai boxing, with all the elbows and knees, you’re constantly dealing with cuts. That’s where I learned how to treat injuries and tap hands. I’ll never forget one story from that time: …
You can read the full interview with Jacob “Stitch” Duran in the new issue of BOXSPORT – now available in the BOXSPORT app! Click here to subscribe!
Interview by Andreas Selak