LAS VEGAS—At 620 Shadow Lane, a mere 10 minutes away from this city’s famous Strip, Czar Amonsot lies in a hospital bed.
He is alert, and is in good spirits. And while the extent of his injuries is yet to be determined, Czar is getting the best medical care possible in the state of Nevada.
In a naked display of raw courage atop the Mandalay Bay Events Center ring, Amonsot gave everything he could to seize the WBO lightweight belt.
Unfortunately, he got hit in the head hard. Quite often.
In the aftermath of those violent head blows, something showed up in the routine CT scan conducted on Czar at the Valley Hospital. The suspicion is that it may be a small subdural hematoma, or bleeding in the brain.
“We don’t want to conjecture and cause unnecessary stress on Czar’s family, “Michael Aldeguer, Czar’s manager, told me late last night, shortly before this column was put to bed.
Neurologists have ordered an MRI on Czar’s brain. That medical test will reveal more definitive results. Until then, it’s best to hold judgment.
‘It’s definitely not a blood clot, otherwise Czar would have already lapsed into a coma,” international promoter Sammy Gello-ani said.
Having said that, it would be insensitive, if not cruel, to speculate on the future of Czar’s ring career.
In the days leading to his championship quest, I’ve found Amonsot to be easy to like. He is engaging, funny, and heartbreakingly polite. We’ve talked fairly often on the phone, and just yesterday, I watched him have breakfast, talking notes intently while chatting up.
What happened to Czar is a painful reminder that boxing isn’t child’s play. It’s an aspect in the sport we wish we don’t have to go through. But it is what it is, and we cope.
The last image I had of Amonsot still lingers. He was strapped in a gurney and placed in an ambulance that sat idly outside the fight venue. A thick, white blanket covered his body from the shoulder down.
But if I know Czar well enough, he will be just fine. He will survive this nightmare with the same poise and class that he manifested in the boxing arena. And he will go on with the rest of his life like any 21-year-old kid should.
P.S. As expected, the Bernard Hopkins-Winky Wright light heavyweight duel was a dullfest. There was too much hugging and clinging. And the nasty cut, which impaired Winky early, was inflicted by an accidental head butt, not a legitimate punch.
The Michael Katsidis-Czar Amonsot saved the day. Both pugs traded bombs from start to finish, from pillar to post. Katsidis’s left eye was shut close, and he was bleeding like a walking clinic.
Czar didn’t have cuts, but his left forehead was blazing red.
Both lightweights got a rousing ovation when they exited the ring.
