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Boxer Pedro Alcazar dies
This has sort of been lost in all of the media coverage of the higher profile deaths over the past few days (Jack Buck, Darryl Kile, Ann Landers) but I wanted to make mention of it. Alcazar fought on the Barrera/Morales undercard and died 36 hours later. It was sort of strange (as the article below notes) because usually if boxers have serious problems following a fight they become apparent quickly.
JRM
THE PROPHET
(From the LV Review Journal)
Pedro Alcazar, a Panamanian fighter who lost his junior bantamweight title Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden, collapsed Monday morning in his hotel room and died in the afternoon at Desert Springs Hospital.
Dr. Flip Homansky, the vice chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said Alcazar, 26, died from significant swelling of the brain.
The previously undefeated boxer from Panama City was stopped by Fernando Montiel of Mexico at 1:16 of the sixth round for the World Boxing Organization junior bantamweight championship. The fight was on the pay-per-view undercard of the Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales main event.
There were no knockdowns in the fight, and most of the punches that hurt Alcazar were to the body.
Homansky said he could not tell if Alcazar's death was directly related to the fight.
"He obviously was in a professional boxing match Saturday," Homansky said. "He obviously took punches that could have caused this damage. The blow that stopped the fight was a body punch."
Alcazar went sightseeing Sunday, was downstairs at the MGM until about 11 p.m. and watched television until about 2 a.m. Monday, his promoter, John Jackson of Forum Boxing, said he was told by Alcazar's trainers.
"He was fine all day Sunday," Homansky said. "They spent the day sightseeing. He had a little headache about 6 p.m. and took one Tylenol and it went away. He was fine when he woke up this morning. He collapsed in the shower, preparing to go back to Panama."
Alcazar (25-1-1 in a near seven-year professional career) fought Saturday in the United States for the first time. He was making the second defense of his WBO 115-pound belt.
"We are all grieved by what happened," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said, "and there is a sense of shock because the fighter after the fight proceeded with his normal activity, not showing any ill effects from the fight, so we are all stunned."
Referee Kenny Bayless said Alcazar spent most of the first half of the sixth round against the ropes, bobbing and weaving, taking some punches and slipping some punches, but not returning punches.
"At that point in time, I figured he had enough and I stopped it," Bayless said. "He was never down in the whole fight. He was trying to slip punches at the time I stopped it. After it was over and they announced Montiel the winner, I went back over to see how he (Alcazar) was doing. He was fine, and he was conscious the whole time. One of the cornermen said I did a good job."
Marc Ratner, the commission's executive director, said: "Kenny Bayless did a fine, fine job. When he (Alcazar) started taking punches, Kenny stopped the fight appropriately. The guy was never knocked down. He was champion of the world. I am very stunned by this turn of events."
Homansky said an autopsy would be done but that the results would not be known for at least two weeks.
"In my experience, there has never been a period of 36 hours with essentially no problems," Homansky said. "And the neurosurgeon (Monday) who was going to (operate) said he had never seen that, either. We were going to operate, but an arteriogram showed that there would be no benefit from the surgery."
Alcazar, a single parent of two, was involved in an automobile accident in December but did not sustain a head injury at the time, Jackson said he was told by the fighter's camp.
JRM
THE PROPHET
(From the LV Review Journal)
Pedro Alcazar, a Panamanian fighter who lost his junior bantamweight title Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden, collapsed Monday morning in his hotel room and died in the afternoon at Desert Springs Hospital.
Dr. Flip Homansky, the vice chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said Alcazar, 26, died from significant swelling of the brain.
The previously undefeated boxer from Panama City was stopped by Fernando Montiel of Mexico at 1:16 of the sixth round for the World Boxing Organization junior bantamweight championship. The fight was on the pay-per-view undercard of the Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales main event.
There were no knockdowns in the fight, and most of the punches that hurt Alcazar were to the body.
Homansky said he could not tell if Alcazar's death was directly related to the fight.
"He obviously was in a professional boxing match Saturday," Homansky said. "He obviously took punches that could have caused this damage. The blow that stopped the fight was a body punch."
Alcazar went sightseeing Sunday, was downstairs at the MGM until about 11 p.m. and watched television until about 2 a.m. Monday, his promoter, John Jackson of Forum Boxing, said he was told by Alcazar's trainers.
"He was fine all day Sunday," Homansky said. "They spent the day sightseeing. He had a little headache about 6 p.m. and took one Tylenol and it went away. He was fine when he woke up this morning. He collapsed in the shower, preparing to go back to Panama."
Alcazar (25-1-1 in a near seven-year professional career) fought Saturday in the United States for the first time. He was making the second defense of his WBO 115-pound belt.
"We are all grieved by what happened," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said, "and there is a sense of shock because the fighter after the fight proceeded with his normal activity, not showing any ill effects from the fight, so we are all stunned."
Referee Kenny Bayless said Alcazar spent most of the first half of the sixth round against the ropes, bobbing and weaving, taking some punches and slipping some punches, but not returning punches.
"At that point in time, I figured he had enough and I stopped it," Bayless said. "He was never down in the whole fight. He was trying to slip punches at the time I stopped it. After it was over and they announced Montiel the winner, I went back over to see how he (Alcazar) was doing. He was fine, and he was conscious the whole time. One of the cornermen said I did a good job."
Marc Ratner, the commission's executive director, said: "Kenny Bayless did a fine, fine job. When he (Alcazar) started taking punches, Kenny stopped the fight appropriately. The guy was never knocked down. He was champion of the world. I am very stunned by this turn of events."
Homansky said an autopsy would be done but that the results would not be known for at least two weeks.
"In my experience, there has never been a period of 36 hours with essentially no problems," Homansky said. "And the neurosurgeon (Monday) who was going to (operate) said he had never seen that, either. We were going to operate, but an arteriogram showed that there would be no benefit from the surgery."
Alcazar, a single parent of two, was involved in an automobile accident in December but did not sustain a head injury at the time, Jackson said he was told by the fighter's camp.