WBN caught up with cutman Jorge Capetillo this week as Tyson Fury continues his recovery from a horror gash suffered during his fight with Otto Wallin.
Capetillo, along with Fury’s own efforts and guile, has been credited with preserving the undefeated record of the recognized lineal heavyweight champion.
Fury’s ailment opened up in the third round. It was quickly apparent the fight could have been stopped at any moment.
With nine rounds to go – and a multi-million dollar rematch with Deontay Wilder in jeopardy, Capetillo was thrown firmly in at the deep end.
Doctors assessed the slice on more than one occasion, but Capetillo’s fast and steady work saved the day.
Capetillo earned himself a tasty bonus for his trouble from Fury, who has since had almost 50 stitches removed.
Tyson Fury cutman Jorge Capetillo
On how he dealt with the cut, Capetillo re-lived the situation exclusively to World Boxing News.
“It was a really dramatic moment because, at the beginning of the round, Tony Weeks came to the corner and said it was an accidental headbutt. So, you know we understand if it doesn’t cross the four rounds, it will be a no contest. And if we cross the four rounds, it will go to the cards,” Capetillo told WBN.
“By the end of the fifth or sixth, Bernardo (Osuna of ESPN) came to the corner. He said Jorge, we got a replay already. The President of the Nevada State Commission said it was a punch.
“From that moment on, everything changed because we understood if the fight stopped, we would lose by TKO, and it was my responsibility.
“But I know about Tyson Fury’s capacity, his will to fight. So it was just a matter of putting in all my effort and experience. Just seeing round by round, which we did.
Asked about Fury’s level of pain, Jorge replied: “Of course, he was controlling the pain.
“The motions and my work is to give him confidence. I have to let him know we got this. We are doing a good job. That we’re going to be fine.
“You got to make sure that he feels the confidence. That we’re taking care of the cuts as he needs to take care of his job.
“But of course, there was a lot of pressure on the cut with the medicine trying to stop the bleeding. You could see on his face that I was putting much pressure on him.
“The thing is, we had to do it to try and stop the bleeding. He’s mentally strong, so he managed it well.”
Using plenty of Vaseline, Capetillo was able to stem the flow for at least part of the rounds.
“What happened was I was putting Vaseline with medicine inside the cut after the pressure,” he explained. “But you can see we were trying to treat the cut.
“So the first thing that came out my mind, I said, ‘I had to seal this and put a lot of Vaseline on; otherwise, it’s going to put stress on it and open it.’
“The referee didn’t really pull me about putting too much on. But I said I got to take the risk. I had to put a lot of Vaseline on to protect the cut, make it slippery, prevent the infection, and open it wider.”
Taking a unanimous points decision, Fury can move on to a return with Wilder in February, provided he heals fast enough.
WILDER
Capetillo concluded by giving WBN his views on the second fight.
“If Wilder wins against Ortiz in Vegas, then I think it will be a great match.
“I believe it will be the biggest fight the world has seen, with two big heavyweights giving a great performance.
“But as I said, I genuinely believe Tyson has already been down; Tyson has already been cut. It’s all making him a better fighter than Wilder. He has more experience and hungriness.
“So believe me, man, I truly believe he’s going to win this fight. Tyson will prepare for twelve hard rounds, but anything can happen in those rounds.”
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