Good Sports: Legendary boxing cutman from Planada featured in films, documentary made on him

PLANADA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Inside Merced's El Capitan hotel, a fable is showing his craft.

Jacob Duran, who goes by "Stitch," is simply a cutman.

He's the 1 wrapping a fighter's hands and stitching them up successful the ring.

"I conscionable bash what I do," she said.

Stitch is truthful good, helium was inducted into the National Boxing Hall of Fame.

Before jet-setting astir the globe, Duran draws his roots to Planada. It was successful that Central Valley municipality wherever helium grew up arsenic a workplace idiosyncratic successful a migrant camp.

He would articulation the Air Force, and it was overseas successful Thailand wherever helium archetypal studied martial arts.

"Nobody would teach, truthful I would benignant of beryllium successful the dressing room, get a look and signifier connected myself," Duran said.

While moving with the world's champion fighters, Stitch was fixed the accidental to enactment successful movies.

He has been successful 7 films, including "Rocky Balboa," each 3 "Creed" movies, "Here Comes the Boom" and "Ocean's Eleven."

All the while, Duran ne'er forgot his home.

"I enactment connected sponsors due to the fact that my hands are ever connected TV, and this is simply a premier presumption due to the fact that I'm moving connected you and the cameras are coming astatine me," helium said. "It's not for the satellite to cognize wherever Planada is. It's for the radical of Planada to cognize I'm reasoning astir them."

Which is wherefore a reunion was truthful peculiar to friends and family.

"He's ever been a giver," says Noe Trevino, who went to simple schoolhouse with Duran. "Whatever helium got, helium gives to his friends."

Now, Duran volition prima successful the movie himself.

As a tribute to Cesar Chavez, his enactment walked to the Merced Theatre.

There, they watched a screening of "Stitch: From the Fields to the Garden," a documentary connected his life.

"Despite each the fame, the vulnerability to specified renowned radical and athletes successful the world, contempt each those things, helium stays grounded," says Mark Fox, Chairman of Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.

A fable rooted successful the Valley, with a connection for those wanting to travel successful his footsteps.

"One enactment we're each frightened to cross, you've been there, if you don't transverse it, you'll ne'er get there," helium said.