Gorres wins but in critical condition

MANILA, Philippines - The man who would be king is fighting for his life in a Las Vegas hospital and from all indications, WBO No. 3 bantamweight Z Gorres’ boxing career is over.

Once touted to be a future world champion, Gorres scored a unanimous 10-round decision over rugged Colombian knockout artist Luis Melendez at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Friday night (yesterday morning, Manila) but after he was declared the winner, collapsed in the ring and was brought to the dressing room in a stretcher. He was rushed to the University Medical Center in an ambulance.

At presstime, Gorres was undergoing surgery to relieve pressure in the brain due to a blood clot. Gorres’ manager Michael Aldeguer accompanied the fighter to the hospital.

“I just can’t believe it,” said Aldeguer in an overseas telephone interview. “Gorres dominated the fight. Melendez couldn’t touch him. Fans at ringside were laughing because Gorres toyed with Melendez. Then came that one big punch, a left straight to the jaw.”

Aldeguer said Gorres even apologized for letting his guard down in the final seconds.

“We talked in the ring right after the last bell,” related Aldeguer. “He told me he got overconfident and that was when he got hit. It didn’t seem as if he was hurt. After the decision was announced, we were about to leave the ring when Gorres suddenly couldn’t move. He couldn’t lift his legs, fell to the canvas and lost consciousness. We brought him out in a stretcher and took him immediately to the hospital. In the ambulance, I kept repeating his name to wake him up but he wouldn’t respond. His eyes were closed.”

Gorres was admitted into the emergency unit of the trauma section of the hospital and doctors confirmed a subdural hematoma condition after a series of CT-scans. Aldeguer said because of imminent danger to the brain, doctors decided to operate within an hour of Gorres’ arrival.

“They had to operate fast or else the hemorrhage would penetrate the outer layer of the brain,” said Aldeguer. “We’re praying for his recovery.”

 Operation took two hours by Dr. Michael E. Seiff. He is under observation and the critical period is the next 24 hours. Operation was done to surgically drain the blood clot from the skull outside the brain layer to relieve pressure.

Aldeguer’s father Tony, who owns the fabled ALA Boxing Gym, monitored Gorres’ condition from his home in Cebu City and was as distraught as his son.

“It’s painful,” said Tony. “Gorres has been with me since he was nine years old as an amateur fighter. I never expected this to happen. First, it was (Czar) Amonsot. Now, it’s Gorres. I can’t take this anymore. Maybe, it’s time to quit boxing.”

Amonsot suffered bleeding outside the brain after losing a unanimous 12-round decision to Michael Katsidis in Las Vegas in 2007. No surgery was performed but Amonsot was sidelined for 1 1/2 years to recover from the injury before he was cleared by doctors to resume fighting. Amonsot has won three in a row since his comeback.

Depending on how Gorres responds to treatment, Aldeguer said he may stay in the US for a month. Aldeguer described Gorres as the fighter closest to the family.

Gorres, 27, was in total control of the fight when with about 20 seconds left in the 10th and final round, he was dropped by a powerful left from Melendez. He got up on rubbery legs and managed to survive the assault.

There was no doubt as to who won the fight despite Melendez’ late rally. The judges saw it 98-90, 98-90, 97-91, all for Gorres. In two of the three scorecards, Melendez took only the last round.

Gorres seized the initiative from the start, popping jabs to frustrate Melendez. An uppercut rocked the Colombian near the end of the second round and in the third, a left sent Melendez down for an eight-count. Gorres was brilliant in teaching Melendez a neat boxing lesson, operating from the center of the ring where he could use space to move around. Gorres’ speed, skills and smarts were evident as Melendez just couldn’t get untracked until late in the fight.

Behind on points, Melendez desperately tried to save the fight by attacking furiously in the final round. He struck Gorres with a low blow but wasn’t slapped a deduction. Then, as time ran out, Melendez landed a vicious left straight that sent Gorres down hard.

Gorres’ condition will cancel his rematch with WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel at the Las Vegas Hilton on Feb. 13. Gerry Peñalosa is booked to face Eric Morel in the undercard but may move up to challenge Montiel as Gorres’ replacement.

The win over Melendez raised Gorres’ record to 31-2-2, with 17 KOs, since he turned pro in 2001. Melendez’ mark fell to 26-4-1, with 21 KOs. Both Gorres and Melendez weighed in at 118 1/2 pounds for the match.

In another fight at the House of Blues, Bacolod City welterweight Mark Jason Melligen lost a split 10-round decision to Mexico’s Michel Rosales in what writer Ace Freeman described as a “barn burner.”

It was a close fight with both Melligen and Rosales enjoying their moments. Melligen could’ve pulled it off by throwing more leather in the last two rounds but ran out of steam, allowing Rosales to finish with a flourish.

Aldeguer said Melligen should’ve stayed busy down the stretch to seal the win but didn’t do enough to stave off Rosales.

Judges Paul Smith and Eric Cheek had it 96-94, both for Rosales, while judge Burt Clements saw it a wide 98-92 for Melligen. Clements was the same judge who admitted making a mistake in scoring 10-8 instead of 10-7 in the opening round of Manny Pacquiao’s first fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004. Clements scored it 113-all but should’ve had it 113-112 for Pacquiao. The fight was declared a split draw when Pacquiao should’ve won by split decision if only Clements was on the ball.

The loss dropped Melligen’s record to 16-2, with 12 KOs. Rosales improved to 25-3, with 21 KOs.

In another bout on the card, Mexico’s Juan Alberto Rosas pounded out a unanimous 12-round decision over Zamboanga del Norte’s Federico Catubay in an IBF superflyweight title eliminator. The judges scorecards read 116-112, 117-111 and 117-111 for Rosas who was outpointed by A. J. Banal two years ago.