“Stitch” Duran Explains How He Closed Klitschko’s Cut

July 17th, 2008

By Scoop Malinowski

It’s round two in Hamburg and suddenly the WBO/IBF Heavyweight champion of the world Wladimir Klitschko has a cut over the corner of his right eye from a headbutt, in the midst of a rough and tough fight with Tony Thompson. Panic time?

“Vitali says, SHIT! Vitali and Emanuel (Steward) both look at me at the same time. I was ready. I saw the cut. They’re dangerous if you pop the veins, then they’ll continue to bleed,” says Jacob “Stitch” Duran, Klitschko’s cornerman and renowned expert at closing cuts.

After round two, Duran stepped into the ring to take care of business. “I got to Wladimir as soon as I could. I squeezed the cut first and foremost, sitting him down at the same time. The more time you have to work on the cut, the better it is for the medication to work. After squeezing the cut and the veins – which lets the blood coagulate and helps close it up itself – I applied adrenaline. Then covered it with a mixture of adrenaline and vaseline.”

To have a better angle for working on the cut, Duran and Steward exchanged positions. “With a great trainer like Emanuel Steward, I worked face to face with Wladimir to work on the cut. Emanuel stayed on the outside of the ring giving instructions. We did that for three or four rounds. Then Emanuel went back in there to give Wladimir instructions, keeping that eye to eye contact.”

After the second round the cut was not a factor. Duran was once again masterful at his craft. “I was quite amazed myself,” he said this week by phone in Los Angeles where he was on the way to a light gym workout with his man Josh Barnett who will take on Pedro Rizzo on the big Affliction Banned Show on July 19. “I was glad I was able to get on it right away. There was a little blood in the eighth or ninth rounds, it bled a little, it got bigger. But it never became a problem for Wladimir.”

It was a busy night for Duran who has not had to work a serious cut on Klitschko since the DaVarryl Williamson fight in 2002. Actually, earlier in the night in Hamburg, Duran was working the corner of a K2-promoted middleweight who endured a similarly situated but larger cut than Klitschko’s. Duran plugged up that cut and his fighter got the win.

Klitschko conquered the determined Thompson in round 11 with the blockbuster right hand. Duran saw the punch at a different angle than the TV angles showed us home viewers. “It was the same right hand that Mike Tyson threw on Francois Botha. No more than 12 inches, right on the button. Tony Thompson was not going to beat the count.”

Regarding the overall performance by Klitschko, Duran says, “I think he could have done a little better. Fighting a southpaw made it a little hard. It wasn’t a great performance but he dominated him anyway. I’ll give him a B. Wladimir said he was quite awkward, it took him a while to get his rhythm.”

For all the questioning of Klitschko’s stamina for the last several years, the fact he still carried his KO power into the eleventh round against the heavier man is an impressive yet overlooked highlight. “In the 10th round Wladimir wasn’t breathing hard at all. He can go 12 rounds with anybody.”

One down one to go for Duran. Klitschko is still world champ, now Barnett seeks revenge on Pedro Rizzo this weekend. Rizzo stopped Barnett in a UFC clash seven years ago.

“I’m the happiest guy in the game,” says Duran with a chuckle. “I work with the two toughest whiteboys in the game – Wladimir Klitschko and Josh Barnett.”

Two cuts in one night, Duran closed them both.