Former boxing champion Guillermo Rigondeaux suffered severe eye injuries Thursday in an accident involving a pressure cooker. The Cuba native reportedly burned both his corneas after a pressure cooker exploded in his Miami home, splashing boiling water into his eyes and chest.
Alex Boronte, Rigondeaux’s manager, said the accident – which began with Rigondeaux cooking Cuban black beans – resulted in the loss of about 80% of his vision. Rigondeaux was then transported to Kendall Regional Medical Center, where his eyes were injected with anesthesia and bandaged, and was released Friday afternoon.
Rigondeaux can reportedly see sunlight and shadows, a positive sign for his recovery. Corneas usually begin regenerating within 72 hours but sometimes take up to two weeks.
“The next week to 10 days is really going to define his fighting career and his future because that’s when the cornea needs to regenerate itself and he can see or not,” Boronte said. “But gathering from the last 24 hours, he’s doing really good.”
A two-time Olympic gold medalist and former 122-pound champion, Rigondeaux (20-3, 13 KOs) has enjoyed a more than respectable career but has faded of late. Rigondeaux lost his last two fights, including a shocking defeat via unanimous decision to Vincent Astrolabio last Saturday in Dubai.
Rigondeaux was scheduled to fight again in August, but it’s unclear whether he’ll be fit to do so. One thing that is clear, at least to Boronte, is that Rigondeaux’s boxing days aren’t over quite yet.
“He wants to fight again, I’m sure,” Boronte said. “Fight one more time and see where he stands.”
–cbssports.com
