Oscar Diaz, a San Antonio-based welterweight, collapsed in his corner during a fight against Delvin Rodriguez and was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery early this morning. Doctors hoped to relieve swelling on the brain and there were reports that he's on a ventilator. Diaz took quite a beating from Rodriguez in the fight, televised on ESPN2, and just before the 11th round began, he swayed and fell to the ground in his corner. That came moments after it appeared that Diaz could not respond to questions from the referee.
"When he left the ring, he was completely stationary and he didn't look good," said Star Boxing chief Joe DeGuardia. "They couldn't get him to respond. They cleared a path right away and took him to the hospital."Diaz has been on the receiving end of serious punishment before. An 11th round TKO at the hands of Golden Johnson in 2006 was brutal and was mentioned by analyst Teddy Atlas during last night's telecast. Hopefully Diaz makes a full and speedy recovery from his injuries and never gets anywhere near a boxing ring again.
(Note: The photo above right is not of Diaz but of Audley Harrison. There aren't any photos from last night's fight available at present.)
