Pinoy pug ends up in Kobe hospital

Philippine bantamweight boxing champion Alvin Felisilda will never fight again.

Last Nov. 9, he underwent an emergency operation to remove a blood clot in his brain after losing to Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) 118-pound titlist Hozumi Hasegawa on a 10th round stoppage in Kobe, Japan.

Doctors bore a hole in Felisilda’s skull to relieve the pressure in his brain and used a ceramic plate to cover it at the Kobe General Hospital. Felisilda is still under observation and will be confined for at least two more weeks.

Felisilda’s manager Leonil Lazarito was at ringside when tragedy struck. He said Felisilda could hardly see because of blood from a cut obstructing his vision and was under fire when the end came. Lazarito signaled to Swiss referee Franz Marty to stop it as Hasegawa rained blows from all angles.

Lazarito said the match wasn’t one-sided even as Felisilda took a pair of mandatory eight-counts in the third round. He noted that despite the early trips to the canvas, Felisilda was the aggressor as Hasegawa used hit-and-run tactics to pile up points. Felisilda seemed unhurt by the knockdowns, added Lazarito.

Before the fight, Lazarito said Felisilda, in good spirits, confided he had a good feeling that he would beat Hasegawa. Felisilda was declared fit to fight by Games and Amusements Board (GAB) and Japan Boxing Commission doctors. He took a CT-scan and was cleared by GAB doctors before leaving for Japan.

It was during the break between the seventh and eighth rounds that Lazarito suggested to call it quits in Felisilda’s corner because of the nasty cut over his right eye. But Felisilda refused to concede, pleading to let the fight go on.

"Hindi na siya nakakakita ng maayos dahil sa sugat," related Lazarito. "Ayaw niyang sumuko. Tatapusin daw niya ang laban at kaya naman niya ang suntok ni Hasegawa."

When Marty stepped in at 1:20 of the 10th round, Felisilda walked back to his corner and appeared coherent. Then he complained of dizziness. Shortly after, Felisilda collapsed and lost consciousness. He was laid out on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital, about five minutes away, in an ambulance.

Lazarito said a certain Dr. Kobayashi performed the 1 1/2 hour surgery. Dr. Kobayashi said the operation was "500 percent successful" and Felisilda suffered no nerve damage. After three hours, Felisilda woke up and talked to Lazarito who kept vigil by his bedside. Felisilda suffered no loss of memory.

Lazarito said Dr. Kobayashi advised to keep Felisilda in the hospital for 15 to 30 days.

Felisilda turned pro in 1998 and has since compiled a 19-12-2 record, with 10 knockouts. Before losing to Hasegawa, he had won five straight bouts and eight of his last nine. It was his first knockout defeat. Known as a durable warrior, Felisilda once went the distance with World Boxing Council flyweight titleholder Pongsaklek Wongjongkam who won the crown by stopping Filipino Malcolm Tunacao in a single round.

Lazarito left Felisilda in Kobe and arrived here last Sunday. He will go back to Japan on Dec. 14 to check on Felisilda’s condition and arrange for his return home.

OPBF president Frank Quill of Australia said the governing body will donate $1,000 to Felisilda, a bachelor from Mulogan, Misamis Oriental. Quill told referee Bruce McTavish he will also solicit $1,000 from former world champion Jeff Fenech and other donations from Australian boxing sources. The Japan Boxing Union, an association of promoters and managers, is donating $900.

Lazarito said he will go to Misamis Oriental to inform Felisilda’s parents of the accident and assure them the fighter is in good hands.