RP pug declared out of danger

Sammy Boco of Cebu is out of danger after collapsing in a bout against Pan Asia Boxing Association (PABA) minimumweight champion Pornsawan Kratingdaeng-gym in the Cambodian border town of Poipet but will remain in a Bangkok hospital for a week before returning home, his manager Terry Carter told The STAR yesterday.

Boco, 22, surrendered in the fifth round of a brawl and was rushed to a nearby hospital. It was initially reported that he suffered a blood clot in the brain and had lost consciousness.

But Carter, a Vietnam War veteran and an ex-U.S. Marine who has lived in Cebu since 1995, said he was assured by Boco’s trainer Jojo Cayson, a former Oriental featherweight champion, that the fighter is walking, talking, and in stable condition.

"Sammy’s a tough boy, very aggressive, with a big heart," said Carter who is in Manila to watch his two prized talents Noel Tunacao and Rodel Mayol go up against separate opponents at the Cantada Sports Complex in Bicutan tonight. "He wanted to make it a war against Pornsawan. I was told he gave it all he had from the first round, trying to score a knockout."

Carter’s wife Lorna Brazil of Cabanatuan said she also spoke to Cayson. She said Boco could have been a victim of a heat stroke. "He was exhausted," explained Brazil from the Carter gym in Lilo-an, Cebu, on a cellphone. "The fight was held in the afternoon, under the hot sun, in an open-air arena. He didn’t even get hit by a hard blow. He just collapsed."

Carter, 56, said Thai boxing officials are still running tests on Boco to make sure there is no brain damage. "He’ll be confined for a week before he comes home," said Carter. "Once he’s here, I’ll take him to our doctors in Cebu for another check-up."

Carter said when news of Boco’s collapse reached him in Cebu, he felt helpless. The fight was held in a frontier town and Thai doctors spoke little English. Boco was accompanied by Cayson who, noted Carter, also speaks little English.

"There was a problem of communication," said Carter. "I could only contact the Thai matchmaker Narong on the phone and I was assured Boco would be cared for. I had tears in my eyes, knowing Sammy’s a good boy and still so young. I thank God that he’s all right."

Carter and his wife manage two boxing stables—the Stonewall stable, named after their son Thomas Stonewall—and the TL Chopper stable, named after their daughter Carolina whose nicknamed is TL Chopper. They opened a gym in Lilo-an a few years ago.