Guillermo Rigondeaux reportedly only has 20 percent of his vision after a pressure cooker exploded in his face at home in Miami, according to El Nuevo Herald.
The 41-year-old fighter “underwent several tests,” manager Alex Bornote said, with early hopes that it’s just a retina injury, and that the tissue will regenerate and Rigondeaux will be able to make a full recovery.
But as we know, eye injuries are bad news in boxing, even if they wouldn’t be considered terribly severe for the average person. If you’re lucky, you can come back, as we’ve seen Errol Spence Jr do. Sometimes, it’s the thing that retires a boxer; in recent years, Antonio Margarito was eventually forced to hang up the gloves largely due to eye issues, Abner Mares hasn’t fought in four years and seems unlikely to do so again, and Israel Vazquez eventually lost his eye after it put him into retirement.
Rigondeaux just fought on Feb. 26 in Dubai, losing a narrow decision to Vincent Astrolabio, coming up one point short on all three cards after being knocked down in round eight. He had vowed to go on with his boxing career, which is now in doubt because of something completely unexpected and nothing to do with what happens in the ring.