FORMER world title challenger Vincent Astrolabio underwent surgery for appendicitis a few days following his failed attempt to wrest the WBC bantamweight crown against undefeated Japanese champion Junto Nakatani.
Astrolabio was rushed to the St. John of the Cross Hospital in Davao City last Friday to remove his ruptured appendix, according to his head trainer and manager Nonoy Neri.
The 27-year-old fighter lost to Nakatani in the opening round of their title fight at the Ryoguko Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan last July 20 after getting hit by a well-placed body shot courtesy of Nakatani.
Astrolabio grimaced in pain and had a hard time breathing while down on the canvas, prompting the referee to stop the fight at the 2:37 mark of the first round.
Apparently, the Cotabato Del Sur native was already bothered by his health issue, but kept it from his team for fear the title fight might get postponed.
“Vincent (Astrolabio) didn’t tell us about it when we were preparing for the fight before we went to Japan. Maybe he just ignored it because it wasn’t painful yet at that time, and he really didn’t want the fight against Nakatani to be postponed,” Neri said in a statement.
“Even when we arrived in Davao last week from Tokyo, he didn’t tell us anything about it. He kept it.”
Photo: Wendell Alinea
But with the pain already unbearable, Astrolabio finally relented to go to the hospital.
“We rushed him to the hospital for operation because he could no longer bear the pain,” said Neri. “The pain already bothered him sometimes before the fight in Tokyo. But he doesn’t regret anything and doesn’t want to make any excuses after he lost the fight.”
There was no clear indication though about Nakatani’s body shot aggravating Astrolabio’s situation, although MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons credited the Filipino for going on with the bout and fighting through the pain.
“It’s a warrior mentality by Vincent. He didn’t complain anything while they were preparing in Davao and then in Tokyo,” said Gibbons, who was shocked upon being informed of the news about Astrolabio.
“He really fought with a big fighting heart despite feeling that there’s something wrong in his body. He’s not making any excuses out of it,” Gibbons said.
Neri said Astrolabio is now recovering and could be discharged from the hospital in the coming days.
“He will undergo light training after two months and everything will be in normal after his third month of rest,” he added.
Gibbons and MP Promotions are planning to send Astrolabio (19-5 win-loss record with 14 knockouts) at the Knuckles boxing gym in Las Vegas for training later this year.
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