Victor M Burgos Do

[Marion Georgi]

Burgossurvived the operation at Los Angeles County Harbor-U.C.L.A. Medical Center in nearby Torrance, Calif., but is still in a medically induced coma, a common technique used after head trauma to help reduce harmful brain swelling. His doctors have also reported Sunday that Burgos has already shown certain signs of movement in the intensive care unit that can only be described as positive. Burgos became the IBF junior flyweight champion by defeating Alex Sanchez at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2003.

He moved up to the 112-pound flyweight limit in 2005 and was challenging Darchinyan for his title on Saturday in a match televised by SHOWTIME Championship Boxing as part of a world championship doubleheader..

Darchinyan knocked Burgos down in the second round, but Burgos returned to his feet and fought on valiantly until the contest was stopped by the referee in favor of Darchinyan at 1:27 into the twelfth and final round. Ringside physicians had Burgos removed from the ring by stretcher before being transported by ambulance to the hospital.

He lived a tough life on the streets. At age 17, he decided to turn a new leaf and took up boxing. His boxing career, like his life, has been filled by ups and downs. His perseverance in his life and in the ring has paid off.

He fought Sanchez to a draw in an IBF junior flyweight eliminator in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 11, 2002. Their immediate rematch in Las Vegas on Feb. 15, 2002, was for the vacant IBF flyweight title, and Burgos stepped into the ring with a 34-13-2 record hoping their third meeting would be the charm.

Even though he appeared to be on the way to winning a unanimous decision, Burgos disposed of Sanchez in the twelfth and final round with a technical knockout rather than let it go to the scorecards. A lesser man who faced the challenges Burgos faced would have quit the sport well before a world championship would have seemed like a possibility.

He began his professional career by dropping his first four contests in a five-month stretch. Despite these early setbacks, Burgos continued to work hard. That dedication and perseverance paid off in late 1993. Returning home to Mexico, he captured his first pro victory on Sept. 6, when he upended the crafty Tomas Cordova in Tijuana, Mexico. The following month, Burgos continued his winning ways by stopping Enrique Vega in the fourth round on Oct. 22.

Following a non-title victory over Ruben Arteaga, Burgos dropped down one weight class when he took on Jorge Roman for the Sinaloa State 108-lb. crown on Sept. 18, 1995. Utilizing his quickness and renewed vigor for the sport, Burgos pounded out a hearty 12-round decision to capture his first championship.

One month later, Burgos challenged Edgar Cardenas for the Mexican 108-lb. crown in Tijuana, Mexico, on Oct. 24, 1995. Burgos befuddled his opponent and added a second belt to his resume by scoring a 12-round decision.

Burgos opened the 1996 campaign by defending his Mexican title twice with an 11-round technical win over Jose Zepeda on Feb. 12, and by scoring a seventh-round TKO in a rubber-match with Cordova on April 30.

Undeterred by the setback, Burgos moved back up to 108 pounds in his next contest and tallied a 12-round decision over Jorge Arce to win the World Boxing Association North American (WBA/NA) crown on Dec. 12, 1997.

Following the victory, Burgos dropped four out of his next five 1998 contests. Included among the losses were three title match-ups (two International Boxing Association and one International Boxing Council). The only victory that year came when Burgos stopped Jaime Lopez in the second round on Sept. 12.

In his only 1999 appearance, the hard-hitting Mexican returned to Tijuana on Feb. 8 and scored a third-round TKO over Ruben Arteaga. The fight represented the first of 12 consecutive contests in the city.

Burgos opened the 2000 campaign on Feb. 4 by winning his fourth pro crown (the North American Boxing Organization 108-pound title) with a fourth-round TKO over Juan Moreno. The champion then successfully defended his title twice before losing his belt to Roberto Leyva to close out his eighth pro season on Dec. 5.

For the second consecutive time, Burgos opened the year by winning a pro title when he registered a 12-round decision over Victor Hernandez on May 4, 2001, to win the WBO Latin America 108-pound crown.

It was a toe-to-toe battle from beginning to end with the quicker Burgos often beating Alvarez to the punch. Alvarez became so frustrated he resorted to rough tactics like leading with his head and low blows, in an attempt to frustrate Burgos.

While many at ringside thought Burgos had done enough to win the fight ended in a draw. One judge, from New Jersey, had Burgos winning by a 116 to 113 margin, while the second judge, from Belgium saw Alvarez winning 116-112. The third judge, also from New Jersey, had it at an even 114 to 114.

Burgos made the decision to move up to the 112-pound-limit full-flyweight division and picked up two victories. On Sept. 19, 2005, he scored a 10th-round knockout over Javier Murilla in Tijuana. On May 6, 2006, he won a unanimous decision over Luis Doria in Worcester, Mass., before losing by twelfth-round technical knockout to IBF flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan on March 3 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Nadal, limited to a one-match exhibition at the Kooyong Classic as preparation for the season's opening Grand Slam, secured his first competitive victory since an ATP Finals defeat to David Goffin to increase expectation of a first Australian title since 2009.

Home favourite Nick Kyrgios, who said he has had enough of having a "rollercoaster" ride in his career, began his charge for Grand Slam success with an assured 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva.

The Australian world No 17, on the receiving end of a code violation for swearing at a spectator who he felt was making too much noise, continued his unbeaten start to the season, having won the Brisbane title, and will next meet Viktor Troicki, after the Serbian defeated Australian Alex Bolt 6-7(2) 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4.

Two of the sport's most promising names for the future were in action at Melbourne Park and world No 50 Denis Shapovalov continued his upward trajectory in the men's game with a 6-1 6-3 7-6(5) win.

Grand Slam competitors come in all shapes, colours and sizes, but nobody is quite like Victor Estrella Burgos. Standing at 5ft 8in the world No 80 is short by modern standards, but that is not his main claim to fame.

Before arriving here Estrella Burgos had banked just $485,879 (about 293,000) in his whole career. His two victories this week have already earned him prize money of $105,090 (about 63,000), though he will do well to add to that as he faces Milos Raonic, the world No 6, in the third round today. Estrella Burgos did not play in professional tournaments until he was 26 as he could not afford to travel. He also had to take an eight-month break from the sport after suffering a serious injury to his right elbow in 2012.

3a8082e126