DREAM INTERRUPTED
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 20 Nov 2009
"Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse"
- from Bruce Springsteen's THE RIVER
Z “The Dream” Gorres will never fight again.
But he is alive and that is what is important. That is what is important to his wife and four children.
Gorres gave us another proud moment when he waved the Filipino flag after outpointing Luis Melendez of Colombia at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. But what happened minutes after the verdict was announced reminded us of the inherent dangers of boxing.
Gorres was clearly winning that fight. Thirty seconds before the tenth and final round ended, he was knocked down but managed to beat the ten count and finish the fight.
Gorres collapsed in his corner and had to undergo emergency neurosurgery. Regular updates from Vegas are optimistic. After being in a medically induced coma, Gorres has been responding to verbal and pain stimuli. Michael Aldeguer, the President of ALA Promotions that manages Gorres, has been sending regular e-mails about his status. Mr. Aldeguer informed that Dr. Michael Casey, the attending Trauma surgeon, said that " Z has dramatically improved, I am happy with his development"
Dr. Casey also said “Z has a good chance to live a functional life not necessarily yet a normal life for now because he may need to rehabilitate his left side which may need time, he is not critical anymore but still in a serious situation. However, in the next 48 hours they may get him off the ventilator. He has also reacted to certain commands though not yet consistent.”
According to Dr. Casey the progress of Gorres is remarkable and is normally seen in two weeks but because Z is young and in great health he responded well in only 5 days.
His tragic fight happened one day before the Philippines’ greatest warrior won his seventh world title. The entire country exulted but we also knew one of our own was still fighting for his life.
We are looking forward to seeing Gorres again. We will applaud him knowing that he beat the toughest opponent of all – the grim reaper. Death is eternally senseless; be it inside a boxing ring, at the height of a typhoon or in the middle of a fire fight in Mindanao. Death is non-discriminatory. We continue to pray that this time around, the reaper made a mistake and will look the other way.
Gorres’ family will try to find some sense or meaning in this misfortune. His wife said on television that she would have preferred that her husband lost that fight and went home healthy.
We will miss Gorres the boxer; his bobbing and weaving, his footwork and his counterpunching. He was looking forward meet his old nemesis, Fernando Montiel of Mexico next year. Montiel won a disputed split decision in a 2007 WBO superflyweight title fight held in Cebu City. A couple of months ago, Gorres and stable mate Donnie Nietes celebrated a rare twin victory on Mexican soil. Winning the WBO bantamweight belt from Montiel would have been the culmination of Gorres’ dream.
But it was not meant to be. What is important now is that he will recover. The people close to him won’t mind if he goes back to being plain ZC Oliveros Gorres – husband, father, relative and friend.
There will be more young men like Gorres from Mandaue City and elsewhere who will put on a pair of gloves. Our boxers, through their courage and effort, have shown the world that we are no longer the sick man of Asia nor are we a nation of servants. We are Filipinos; we exist, we matter, we fight.
WE DREAM.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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