by James Slater – At this time, world-ranked bantamweight Z Gorres of The Philippines is in critical condition as a result of his winning fight with Luis Melemdez last night in Las Vegas. The 27-year-old who goes by the nickname of “The Dream” won the fight unanimously on points, but in the 10th and final round he was dropped heavily by a big left hand shot by Melendez. Carried from the ring on a stretcher, the classy southpaw who held Vic Darchinyan to a draw down at super-flyweight back in February of 2008 remains in a coma as we speak..
Obviously, it goes without saying how our thoughts and prayers are with Gorres, and fans and experts everywhere are hoping he makes a full recovery. A superb fighter who has only ever been beaten twice, and been stopped only once, the 27-year-old had a promising career still ahead of him. Set to fight Fernando Montiel in a rematch next year, for the WBO 118-pound belt held by the Mexican, Gorres had been on a roll.
Winner of his last four bouts (including last night’s tragic contest), Gorres had beaten some good men: Cruz Carbajal, for one example, Carbajal being retired on his stool after six rounds back in September. Any comment about how Z’s promising boxing career has come to an end are inappropriate now, however. The main thing is Gorres recovering and being able to lead a normal and healthy life from now on.
Surgery has been performed on Gorres, with doctors trying to reduce swelling on his brain. Gorres will be kept in the medically induced coma for the coming days.
Doctor Allan Recto, who performed the surgery on the Filipino, says that because Gorres is a well conditioned athlete his chances of recovery are far greater than that of an average person.
“If an ordinary person, like you or me, were in Gorres’ condition the chances of survival would be very slim,” Recto is quoted as saying by Inside Sports. “Only because Gorres is an athlete does he have more of a chance to survive.”
Reportedly, Gorres suddenly collapsed moments after his unanimous decision victory had been made official. Initially exhaustion was thought to have been the reason for Z’s collapse, but the horrible truth was much worse unfortunately.
Our thoughts go out to the fallen warrior’s family and friends.