Boxer Has Seizure, Then Brain Surgery

A 32-year-old Mexican fighter was in critical condition Saturday night after suffering brain damage in a fight at Staples Center. Flyweight Ruben Contreras underwent surgery at California Hospital Medical Center to relieve pressure from bleeding on the brain after he collapsed following his fight against Brian Viloria.

Contreras, from Ciudad Juarez, was fighting on the undercard of the Julio Cesar Chavez-Ivan Robinson bout. He suffered a seizure moments after his match against Viloria was stopped in the sixth round, with the unbeaten Viloria awarded a victory by technical knockout.

“He is in stable condition,” hospital spokeswoman Katreena Salgado said after the surgery. “Doctors will reevaluate after 72 hours, but they are encouraged.”

Said ringside physician Paul Wallace: “Nothing significant happened in the fight, nothing you would think would cause an injury like that.

“But with anything cranial, it’s a serious matter. Family members should be called to be on hand.”

No family members attended the fight.

Contreras stopped fighting and walked to his corner 55 seconds into the sixth round of a scheduled eight-rounder because of a deep laceration in his mouth. He was also bleeding from the nose.

Contreras then indicated to Wallace, who had come over to examine the fighter, that he did not wish to continue.

Contreras does not speak English, but he used hand signals to let Wallace know he could not go on.

While being treated in his corner, Contreras began complaining of a headache, according to Wallace. After exiting through the ropes, Contreras told his trainer, Luis Anaya, “I feel like I’m going to pass out.”

Contreras then suffered the seizure.

“I hit him with a couple of uppercuts in the fifth round and the guy was bleeding out of his nose,” said Viloria, from Hawaii, who was unaware of the severity of Contreras’ injuries immediately after the fight. “I think I broke his nose and he couldn’t breathe after that.

“I hit him some more in the sixth round and he gave up.”

The last boxer to die in Los Angeles was Kiko Bejines, who lost to Alberto Davila at the Olympic Auditorium in 1983.

Contreras took the fight on only three days’ notice when the previously scheduled opponent for Viloria was forced to drop out.

Contreras is a journeyman who was matched against a 24-year-old rising star. Contreras’ record fell to 9-17-3 with four knockouts. Viloria is 17-0 with 11 knockouts.

Yet Dean Lohuis, chief inspector of the California State Athletic Commission, defended his approval of Contreras as a substitute.

“He’s a good fighter, a solid fighter,” Lohuis said. “He made the weight limit fairly easily by three pounds.”

In the last year, Contreras had a knockout victory, a draw and two losses by close decisions.

Few in the eventual announced crowd of 17,692, lured by the chance to see a farewell appearance by Mexican legend Chavez, saw the Contreras-Viloria fight. It was the second match on a 10-fight card, occurring in the late afternoon.