Fighter Undergoes Brain Surgery After Being Stopped in Forum Bout

Chris Schwenke, a boxer who was seriously injured in a bout at the Forum Monday night, remained in critical condition at Daniel Freeman Hospital Tuesday after emergency brain surgery to remove a blood clot, but was reported to be doing well.

A hospital spokeswoman, Christie Plank, said that it was still too early to determine the extent or the reversibility of Schwenke’s injuries but added that doctors were expressing guarded optimism.

“He was responding to verbal commands, that is, he was able to wiggle his toes when he was asked to,” Plank said. “That’s a good sign. And his vital signs were better. We’ll know a lot more after the swelling goes down, and that will be a number of days.”

Schwenke did not lose consciousness until almost 20 minutes after he was stopped by Prince Mohammed in a 10-round light-heavyweight bout.

Schwenke, 28, was staggered by a punch with 17 seconds left in the bout. He fell against the ropes but got up as referee John Thomas stopped the fight.

Jimmy Montoya, Schwenke’s trainer, said: “He seemed all right the whole way. The knockdown wasn’t that bad. His legs were wobbly, but he left the ring on his own. He had some cuts over his eye, and he was joking with me on the way back to the dressing room about how he had guts, anyway. I told him, ‘You won the people.’ It was a hell of a good fight.”

Dr. Bernhart Schwartz, the ring physician, stitched up the cuts after telling Montoya to return to ringside. Blain Skinner, the Forum’s director of public relations for special events, said that Schwenke seemed all right when he signed his check.

But a few minutes later, Marty Denkinger, state boxing commissioner, became concerned about the way Schwenke was slurring his words. When Schwenke complained of a headache, Denkinger summoned Schwartz, and they called paramedics to take Schwenke to the Trauma Center at Daniel Freeman Hospital. Schwenke lost consciousness at 9:50 p.m.

“I’ve never had any of my boys go through anything like it,” Montoya said. “Somebody came out to tell me they were taking him to the hospital, so I went, too. Oh, it was frightening.”

Schwenke was treated for a blood clot on the right side of his head by Dr. Ellen Hollingsworth, the Trauma Center surgeon, and Dr. Avner Feldman, a neurosurgeon. Neither doctor wanted to talk with reporters.

Montoya said: “There was no reason to think he was in trouble during the fight. They checked him a couple of times because of the cuts, but he didn’t want them to stop it. He’s a banger, not a boxer, and he kept thinking that he might get that one big punch in. It would have been a big win for him.”

Mohammed, whose record went to 32-1-2, is ranked No. 2 by the World Boxing Council.

Mohammed’s trainer, Nmadi Moweta, said: “The Prince had the opportunity to take him out, but he didn’t. He (Schwenke) was fighting, too. There’s nobody to blame, the kid came to fight. Prince never wants to hurt nobody.”

Moweta said that Mohammed did not want to talk about the incident, adding: “After the fight, Prince went into dressing room, really scared, and saw he was in bad shape. Prince can’t sleep all night. . . . All the way he have to hold back. The Prince hurt him. But the guy was fighting back.”

Schwenke, who was born in Samoa, is a resident of Salt Lake City but has been in Los Angeles for the last 2 1/2 months to train with Montoya for this fight. Schwenke’s record went to 18-8 with 14 knockouts.

Montoya said: “My kid used to have a hell of a record. He used to knock everybody out, but he hasn’t been the same since his father died. About a year and a half ago he lost a fight one night and then, after the fight, told me that he had to go because his father had died of a heart attack that day. I couldn’t believe he didn’t tell me before the fight. He just wasn’t the same after that.

“But he’s a tough kid. That’s why I think he’s going to come through this.”

Skinner said: “A lot of people who were at the Forum last night are going to be surprised to hear about this. I’ve seen a lot of fights that looked a lot worse. He seemed fine when he acknowledged the fans and left the ring.”