STITCH DURAN SAVED THE DAY FOR ANDRE WARD
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 18 May 2009
One of the most commonly overlooked part of boxing is the performance of the cutman, the person responsible for among other things, the management of cuts and swellings a boxer may suffer during a fight. A cutman?s job could easily make or break a fight.
Last night, at the Oracle Center in Oakland, California the performance of one cutman reign supreme during the main event between Andre Ward and Edison Miranda.
Edison Miranda ( 32-4-0, 28KO), accidentally head butted former Olympic (2004) gold medal winner Andre Ward (19-0-0, 12KO)in the very first round of their 12 round fight.
A nasty cut opened on the left eyebrow of the undefeated super middleweight. The cut was located in an area that could have easily been a target for Miranda as the bout went on.
But immediately after the bell ended the first round, the cut became a none issue.
Only because Stitch Duran, the famed cutman of many boxing and MMA fights was at the corner of Ward.
Duran managed the cut with the precision of a trauma doctor in an ER so much so that not a drop of blood can be seen after he worked on it. He did that all through out the 12 round fight.
And indeed, Duran kept on giving Ward ?one more round?.
I was fortunate to have met this famed cutman last May 1st at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. In fact, we had a short animated conversation while gathering ice for our respective fighters. Duran was the cutman for Ramon Montano who was fighting Mark Jason Melligen of the ALA Boxing Gym in Cebu.
I was the cutman of Melligen. Incidentally, Melligen won the fight via an 8 round UD. But everyone know that by now.
Duran was very nice and accommodating. He answered most of the questions I asked him and we parted ways after exchanging business cards and promises to call each other and talk boxing.
Going back to the Ward-Miranda fight, no one expected such a dominating performance from Ward.
?He is just a good amateur?, said Miranda in one of his interviews. But as the fight progressed, he found out that Ward as a good pro too.
And with his victory tonight, Ward has served notice that he belongs amongst the mix of good super middleweights in the world.
Miranda looked good at the beginning of the fight. He landed several good shots particularly in the second round when Ward was fighting up close. He kept on stalking Ward and scored good shots.
From round three however, Ward decided to switch tactics. He started to fight from a distance and resorted to heavy counter shots effectively nailing Miranda almost at will. ?He schooled him? said one pundit. The scores were 116-112,119,109, 119-109.
Ward?s win was a tribute to the basic skills he learned as an Olympian. He knew how to change tactics when needed. And he is young and very strong.
But, where not for the brilliant job of Stich Duran, who knows he could have lost the fight because of a cut.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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