PART THREE:
Boxing through the eyes of a cutman!

April 29, 2004

By Trinidad Guzman

Photo: Roger Williams

Jacob “Stitch” Duran is one of the most prominent cutmen, not only in boxing, but also in the mixed martial arts “UFC” competitions as well as Japan's widely popular sport of K1 kickboxing. Most people would be exhausted by that amount of time consuming work but Duran does not stop there, he is also a representative for the non-profit organization “Retired Boxers Foundation” and once a week co-hosts with his partner Nick Ward a local Las Vegas radio program “The Thirteenth Round” dedicated to the sweet science.

If that was not enough, the fifty-two-year old Duran is also credited with being the pioneer of the widely talked about documentary “A Boxers Nightmare” which features some of the biggest players within the sport of boxing conversing about the changes that they feel are needed to thrust boxing into the twenty first century and protect its most prized possessions… the fighters! Fightnews was able to sit down one-on-one with “Stitch” and in this four part in-depth series get his take on everything from his groundbreaking film to the secrets of becoming a quality cutman in the cutthroat boxing industry.

You have provided some great information about your views on the sport of boxing and also the documentary “A Boxers Nightmare”, but I have to ask you, with so much valuable content in your film and with many people that are directly involved with boxing consistently calling for a new law to be put in place or the need for a new fighters organization to be formed to help protect boxers, why is it that after nearly four years of having this documentary put together, a major network, promoter or senator has not pushed this information into the mainstream so that we can start to clean up the sport of boxing?
That is a great question, we are not going to pull any punches right?

No, don’t pull any punches.
I spent some of my retirement money to go and complete this film, it cost me money but it’s a passion of mine, I wanted to do it. Once I completed it I was very, very proud of it and I sent it to some of the websites out there and received great responses and reviews from it. In fact, one boxing historian called it one of the best boxing documentaries he has ever seen, so the reviews were excellent, my next step was to take it to some of the networks, HBO is a good example, I will tell you what happened with HBO. I went and met with Kerry Davis and told him what I put together and he told me to send him a copy and he would look at it. I followed up with a phone call to see if he looked and it and he said that he watched it and thought it was a good film and that he had sent it down to production. Later I asked him where we were at and he said he had not heard back from production. I had the opportunity to speak with some of the production crew and NOBODY had ever seen this film!

Is production the department that can give the go ahead to play the film?
It’s the next step in the process when it comes to putting anything together, but they knew nothing about it. The bottom line is, they blew me off. If I was some big name and had a large group of supporters behind me I think they would have watched it and been interested in it.

What about Showtime?
Jay Larkin, I went and spoke with him man-to-man, eye-to-eye and he was man enough to say that they do everything in-house, I don’t think they realized what I had put together and if they would have given this film some time and effort it would have benefited whoever put it on the air, to show that they are doing something to improve the sport of boxing.

Do you believe that you are being shot down because you are Jacob “Stitch” Duran the little guy, or that the major networks do not really want to help clean up the sport?
I think as I am knocking on the doors it is because I am Jacob” Stitch” Duran the little guy, without a doubt! Listen, I am a cutman, trainer, a little guy in the sport, the nuts and bolts of boxing, I put the film together that they couldn’t put together. I know that they get a lot of people coming to them with different projects and stuff, but if they would have given me the time of day and really wanted to help improve the sport of boxing they would have said, what do we have to do to work together on this. I have seen other films that deal with boxing but they deal with individuals, this film is the only film that deals with the sport of boxing.

I sense that you have some feelings that most of the big time players in the sport of boxing don’t really want clean it up.
Everybody has mentioned insurance, pension plans, everything that people like Senator McCain has talked about, we addressed these issues. If they had followed the format that this film lays out, at this point right now, the Federal Government would not be involved. The big boys in boxing, promoters, networks, associations, they are making all of this money but they are not putting any of it back into the system. The system is the farm league, any good sport has to have a farm league and they’re not putting it back.

By farm league, are you referring to the amateur program?
No, the pro program, the professionals. Can you get a pension plan for these fighters? That is going to be hard to do. Can you get insurance for fighters? Yeah, you can probably do that. One thing you can do that’s very simple is getting a medical program for these fighters. You need a fund where if a fighter is in training, breaks his hand, he can get medical attention for that injury.

Where would the money for that type of fund come from?
The money that is generated from all of these Pay-Per-Views could pay for that. That is a simple thing to do, it is a necessity but nobody has ever done it.

You hear a lot of people talking about helping the sport, but in your opinion is that talk just bravado to get their names out in the media? And when the time comes to really help out they turn away?
One hundred percent correct!! I hear so many people say that we have to do this or that, but nobody has ever done anything but me, I feel like David vs. Goliath. Why would they want to clean up the sport? Their attitude is, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I recall an interview that Bernard Hopkins did where he said, if you look at the promoters, if you look at the networks, if you look at the mangers, the associations, all of these people live in mansions, but look at the fighters how do they live? That is a great point, all of those guys do live in mansions and drive nice cars, but they’re not putting back into the system and you have to put back into the system to make the program work.

Even though you are having a very difficult time getting your documentary out to those who need it, do you plan on continuing to fight to gain exposure for this film?
I definitely haven’t given up on it, people have been very supportive and that has given me the courage to keep going. I am still knocking on doors, somebody will have to listen and open the door. Whoever picks this up and wants to work with me on it is going to benefit from this, by saying we are the leaders in the sport we are going to change the sport and here’s how were going to do it.

When your documentary finally takes off, is it going to open everyone’s eyes to what really goes on within the sport of boxing?
One hundred percent, without a doubt!! I have seen the film a hundred and fifty times and every time I hear some of these interviews I still get chills, because even after all this time nothing has ever changed. It will open up some eyes.

What do you think the typical boxing fans reaction to this film would be?
Boxing fans out there do not really know what goes on behind the scenes, when I say behind the scenes, I am talking about the little guys in the sport that eventually build up into the big guys of the sport. When they see these things they are going to know that it’s a cold business and something has to be done. If the networks and the promoters and also the associations, because they are making a ton of money, if they see this film and decide to put their minds together on a voluntary basis, they can make something work.

Is there currently any programs in place that are designed to help these fighters tackle some of these issues?
I am a representative for the “Retired Boxers Foundation”, an organization that was put together by Alex Ramos and Jack Lynn Richardson. You have Jerry Cooney with F.I.S.T. and Teddy Atlas with the Atlas Foundation. There are non-profit organizations out there that are trying to do something for boxing, but they just don’t have the funds to do it.

You mentioned some of the organizations that are designed to help fighters, I have heard about them and I am sure boxing fans have heard of them, but what is it going to take to make these foundations mainstream so every fighter knows that there is some place they can go to get help?
Well, it all starts with education. We need to let fighters know that these types of organizations are available to them. The media has to be involved; the media is really a big key to all of this. If they would go out there and let the boxing fans and the fighters know that these programs are available and talk to these organizations and ask them what they can offer to help the sport of boxing. Then these foundations can let the media know what they hope to accomplish and the funds that are needed to reach those goals. Marc Ratner has already suggested that the monies these programs need could come from Pay Per View. Even if it was only twenty-five cents a ticket from each Pay Per View, that money could be funneled into a program to help these fighters.

It seems so simple to take a portion of ticket sales or Pay Per View buys and place it in a fund to help the participants of the sport, why hasn’t something like this been implemented already?
(Laughs) Everyone says they want to do it and everyone says they’re going to do it, nobody has done anything but me. The white-collar workers, the associations, the networks, the promoters, they need to get together and recognize that my film makes a whole lot of sense and is a blueprint to help make boxing better.

Over the past four years it does not seem that the “white-collar” industry has been very eager to put the ideas that are in your film to use. Do you feel it is going to take serious pressure from the media, the boxers and fight fans to get the networks to take notice?
Yeah, I think it will take all of the above! To ignite that first match you have to show this film on a network. This film will set everything out on the table and once it is out on the table, the only way to do it, is to do it right.

How does it make you feel that after all of the time, energy and money that you have put into this film, the people who claim to want to clean up the sport of boxing have done nothing but shoot it down?
It was something that I expected. I knew going in that I would be in the trenches and that it would be a hard program to sell, only because it is going to cost people some money. The people that are going to have to forfeit some of their profits don’t want the sport to change!

Is it shocking to you that after all of these years that there is still the perception that boxing is lagging behind other sports, that it has not evolved since the days of bare fisted bouts and that fighters are still ending their long careers broke?
Fighters are still penniless, still broke, still retiring punch-drunk, still retiring with injuries that they cannot afford to get fixed, because they have no money. Nothing has changed; nothing has change in the game but the price of a ticket.

Speaking of the price of a ticket, I think you would agree that most fight fans are outraged that every major fight is now on Pay Per View and ringside seats to a fight cost a thousand bucks, yet you still have fighters that are ending up broke. Is the way the boxing business is set-up corrupt?
I wouldn’t say corrupt, it is just that this type of system was designed by these people to run this way; it has always run this way. From a business perspective, it makes great sense for them to run it like this. When you look at corporate America they are looking at dollars and cents and that’s what these people are, they are part of corporate America. When I see associations, promoters and networks I see solid corporate companies, but just like in anything, you have to put back into the system and they have to realize that.

How would fight fans or anyone else go about getting a hold of a copy of your documentary “A Fighters Nightmare”?
Well, if you don’t see it on a network, not because I didn’t want it to be shown on a network, then my last alternative is to put it out for DVD and VHS sales. That is not something that I really wish to do, because I feel it devalues the worth of the film. This documentary was designed to reach the masses, for it to address the issues that are going on in boxing.

Are you currently undecided if you’re going to put the film on DVD and VHS?
My first choice is to put it on the screen. My best scenario would be to have HBO, Showtime, ESPN, or Fox Sports put it on their network, but you know what would also be great? If during a major Pay Per View event, if it is Don King, Bob Arum whoever it is, show this film an hour before or an hour after the telecast. This would allow the fight fans that are getting together to watch the fights and enjoying their food and drinks to see it.

Also See: Part I | Part 2

Questions? Comments? Please e-mail Trinidad Guzman