Garcia Doctor Is Cautiously Optimistic

Colombian boxer Jimmy Garcia was squeezing his father’s hand and responding to voices Monday, prompting his doctor to voice cautious optimism about his chances for recovery from a brain injury suffered in Saturday night’s WBC super-featherweight title fight with Gabriel Ruelas.

Garcia remained in critical condition at University Medical Center, but doctors were encouraged by his responsiveness.

“He’s better, so we’re hopeful we’ll get him there,” said Dr. Albert Capanna, the neurosurgeon who operated on Garcia. “But we still have a long way to go.”

Capanna said a CAT scan made Sunday showed that a big shift of Garcia’s brain from one side to the other was substantially reduced, and he could move his left side.

“You talk to him in Spanish and he will move his left arm purposely,” the doctor said. “To his father, he actually tried to open his eyes and squeezed his hand.”