Shoulder surgery set for Cuello

Three titanium screws will be implanted in boxer Denver Cuello’s right shoulder to repair a torn rotator cuff as Dr. Agripino Beng Javier performs the surgery on July 15 at the Makati Medical Center. The expectation is Cuello will undergo rehab for seven months to recover from the operation but a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) procedure may cut short the period by about four weeks.

Cuello was examined by Dr. Javier last week and surgery was scheduled in 10 days so his body is well-rested from the beating he took in losing a majority 12-round decision to WBC minimumweight champion Xiong Zhao Zhong of China at the World Trade Center in Dubai last June 28.  Cuello returned home with four ugly cuts in his face – one on his right temple, two in both corners of his eyes and one over the bridge of his nose. The fight should’ve been stopped in the ninth round after a cut inflicted by a butt spewed crimson from his right temple but Panamanian referee Hector Aful disregarded the ringside physician’s advice to end the contest. If Aful halted it, Cuello would’ve won by a technical decision as he led in the scorecards at that point.

Twice, Cuello’s manager Aljoe Jaro popped in his dislodged right shoulder during the fight. But when the shoulder was out of place, Cuello said he endured the injury whose degree of pain was 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Despite the hurt, Cuello refused to surrender and left it all in the ring. Only twice was Cuello tagged squarely by Zhong as the fighter from Iloilo held his ground with one arm.

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“I was never groggy,” said Cuello in Pilipino at his Binangonan home yesterday. “I was off-balance when he hit me in the fourth and ninth rounds so it looked like I was staggered. Zhong kept stepping on my foot so I couldn’t do side-to-side and I think he was warned 10 times by the referee for butting. There should have been more than just a one-point deduction. Zhong was desperate to win. I knocked him down in the first round and in the fourth, I thought he would quit because of my body shots. I heard if he lost, something bad would happen to him because of the money backing him up by Chinese businessmen. That’s why he fought like his life depended on winning.”

Cuello said Mexican impresario Eddy Reynoso of Canelo Promotions e-mailed offering to foot the bill for a shoulder operation and rehab in Mexico. “Eddy treats me like a brother,” said Cuello. “He saw my fight against Zhong in the internet and told me I was robbed, that I did enough to win. I thought I won at least two more rounds than Zhong. Eddy wants to promote the rematch in Mexico or Las Vegas.”

Cuello said Jaro negotiated a three-fight deal with Zhong regardless of the outcome of their first encounter. “I’ll get another chance to beat Zhong for sure,” said Cuello. “Dr. Beng told me after my operation and rehab, my right will be even stronger than my left. If I fight Zhong with two hands, there’s no way he’ll last more than five rounds.” Cuello said the return bout could take place in March next year but that depends on whether Zhong is still the champion.

Cuello said he didn’t take it against Filipino Lito Jalnaiz for advising Zhong to target his right shoulder. Jalnaiz was one of Zhong’s cornermen in the fight. “That’s his job,” said Cuello. “I would’ve done the same if I worked Zhong’s corner. After the fight, I went up to Zhong, his manager Lu Gang and Lito to congratulate them. That’s respect. Even if I felt I should’ve won, I accepted the decision.”

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Cuello mentioned that the organizing KO Promotions gave him $2,500 of his $24,000 purse before returning home from Dubai. The balance will be paid in $2,500 installments every other day starting last Monday until July 27. The purse was originally $40,000 but it was cut because of poor ticket sales. KO Promotions announced the cancellation of the fight four hours before the first bout in the undercard was scheduled to start but a Chinese investor coughed up a reported $60,000 to save the show. The investor supposedly had a stake in the live coverage of the fight on Chinese TV where millions of viewers were tuned in.

“The rest will give me a chance to be with my family,” said Cuello whose wife Rowena is due to give birth to their second child in late August or early September. “I would’ve liked to welcome our baby as a world champion but I promise someday, I will win a world title for our country.”

Cuello said Jaro wanted to throw in the towel when the pain in his right shoulder became unbearable and he couldn’t pop it back in the socket. “I begged him not to stop it,” said Cuello. “I felt I could win the fight even with one arm. After the 10th round, my shoulder was popped back in so I was able to win the last two rounds. I thought I did enough to win.”

In the undercard, Filipino flyweight Lionel Legada lost by split decision to China’s Xinhua Wang in a six-rounder. Legada, 23, outboxed Wang, 28, in at least four rounds but couldn’t convince two of the three judges of his superiority. Ring announcer Jeff Price didn’t bother to mention how the judges scored the bout.