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Giuriceo down with detached retina, but not yet out
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Trainers attend to boxer Jake Giuriceo between rounds of his win against James Hope. The Campbell boxer’s career is on hold after undergoing surgery to repair a detached retina in right eye, which he injured during his Dec. 1 bout with Kenyan boxer Peter Olouch.
Boxer Jake Giuriceo suffered a detached retina on Dec. 1.
YOUNGSTOWN
Jake Giuriceo wasn’t saved by the bell. Nor was he blinded by the light.
The Campbell boxer was damaged, dinged and defeated by decision.
On Dec. 1, Giuriceo fought Kenyan boxer Peter Olouch. A lesser-known and lesser-concerned opponent, Giuriceo felt confident entering the ring and exiting.
“In his mind, my mind and the minds of the television announcers,” manager Joe Covino said, “Jake won that fight.”
As the buzzer sounded to end the fifth round at their bout at Mountaineer Resort, Giuriceo and Olouch butted heads accidentally.
The fight was called as Giuriceo received the bulk of the blow.
“He still wanted to keep going, though,” Covino said. “But blood was flying and he had an inch-and-a-half gash. It was pretty bad and for safety reasons, the fight just had to end.”
It occurred in Giuriceo’s corner and the referee, Dave Johnson, didn’t actually see the incidental contact happen. As soon as he sat down to await the results, Covino said Giuriceo could barely see out of his right eye. The results came in: 49-46, 47-48, 48-47 — in favor of Olouch.
There was shock, then blurriness.
“A doctor was actually in the crowd while we were watching the next fight,” Covino said. “He checked him out for a concussion; luckily that wasn’t the case, but there was some serious eye trouble.”
Giuriceo had a detached retina. He underwent surgery on Dec. 10 and has been resting ever since.
Giuriceo began jogging on Christmas and will wait two weeks for a surgeon’s follow up to determine his future in the ring.
“Jake’s a pretty positive kid,” Covino said. “He’s worked so hard for his boxing career, but that’s the way it is with this sport; these are the things you have to deal with.
“A loss is one thing, but this injury can set him back further. We’ll have to see what happens because we don’t want to cause further damage to his eye.”
Covino has never trained a boxer with such problems. Most infamously, Sugar Ray Leonard suffered a detached retina while training for a 1982 fight with Roger Stafford. Shortly after, Leonard announced his retirement. However, in the late-80s he ignored doctor’s recommendations and returned to fighting. He won the middleweight title in 1987.
In 2010, Antonio Margarito suffered a fractured eye socket in a loss to Manny Pacquiao. The California native fought just one more match before retiring.
“The doctor hasn’t said anything yet,” Covino said. “All we can do is wait. Jake has a good attitude and he’s got his sight — he’s not losing that.
“What happened, happened. He’s mad that it happened, but he’s not going to cry about it.”
Giuriceo lost to Michael Clark on July 21 in Columbus. He now stands at 16-2-1.