Tyson Fury will be without regular cutman Jacob 'Stitch' Duran when he faces Dillian Whyte for the world heavyweight title later this month.
The legendary cornerman will be unable to travel for the fight, and has been replaced with one of Britain's most renowned cutmen Frank Hopkins. The Portsmouth native was put forward as a suggestion for Fury's corner by promoter Frank Warren, who has worked with Hopkins on a number of occasions.
Fury was joined by Duran in the corner for his last two fights with Deontay Wilder after switching up his training camp to join with the Kronk Gym's SugarHill Steward. But he will be without the American for his first bout on UK soil since 2018 when he faces Whyte on April 23.
The 76-year-old is best known for his work in the corner of Tony Oakey, but has also cornered in 36 other world title fights. He has had a presence in the corner of Josh Warrington and Kevin Mitchell during some of their biggest fights, but admits that this will be his biggest assignment to date as 94,000 pack into Wembley.
"It's a massive, massive thing, it's really big, I can't wait to be a part of it," Hopkins told Portsmouth's The News after his involvement was confirmed by team Fury. "This fight is like nothing you've ever seen, I'm really looking forward to it.
"This would be like nothing you can imagine. Can you imagine, I'll be getting into the ring in front of a sell-out Wembley and he's got a cut on his forehead?"
Fury famously received a gruesome cut in his 2019 bout with Otto Wallin that forced back his rematch with Deontay Wilder and almost cost him his undefeated record. Wallin landed a third round right hand that opened Fury up, and he was forced to fight through the gnarly cut for the next nine rounds.
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That night, it wasn't Duran in the corner either, with local Vegas trainer Jorge Capetillo taking on the role of cutman. He somehow managed to keep the fight alive, as a doctor's stoppage would have seen Fury lose for the first time in his career to the relatively unknown Wallin.
Should a similar occasion occur at Wembley, Hopkins promises that he will be able to remain cool under pressure, despite understanding the historic nature of the occasion. "If he gets a cut, when I get through those ropes, it's a good thing that I do stay calm," Hopkins continued. "I don't know why or how.
"Frank Warren and Frank Maloney always used to say, ‘you know why you're a good cutman?’ I said, ‘it's not rocket science,’ but they both said I'm so cool, which I am. When there's a cut I just get my gear ready and go into to do it, whereas other people – especially in front of 94,000 – they'd struggle."
