A Cuban boxing star lost about 80 percent of his vision after an accident with a pressure cooker.
According to ESPN, Guillermo Rigondeaux — a former world champion in two weight classes and two-time gold medalist in the Olympics — was cooking black beans Thursday in Miami when the pressure cooker exploded.
According to Rigondeaux’s manager, Alex Boronte, some boiling water landed in the boxer’s eyes and left a pair of burned corneas. He suffered other burns as well.
Boronte told the outlet that Rigondeaux can see sunlight and shadows. The process of regenerating the corneas can take two weeks.
“The next week to 10 days is really going to define his fighting career and his future because that’s when the cornea needs to regenerate itself and he can see or not,” Boronte told ESPN. “But gathering from the last 24 hours, he’s doing really good.”
It was unclear what caused the pressure cooker to explode, and Rigondeaux has made his beans “a million times,” Boronte said.
Boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux, throw a punch during a 2013 fight. Anthony J. CausiRigondeaux last fought last Saturday in Dubai, where he lost to Vincent Astrolabio. The 41-year-old has said he wants his boxing career to continue, though that is now in doubt.
Rigondeaux, a former WBA and WBO Super Bantamweight World Champion, won gold in the bantamweight division at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics
