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Update 6/28/02 -- A memorial service is scheduled for Alcazar on Saturday at the Roberto Duran Coliseum in Panama City, Panama. Written by Ozzie Gonzalez, Latinosportslegends.com June 25, 2002 -- Tragedy struck the sport of boxing last weekend when former WBO Bantamweight champion, Pedro "Rockero" Alcazar suffered profuse brain swelling and died 36 hours after the bout. Alcazar, 26, of Panama City, Panama fought on the undercard of the Barrera-Morales II showdown held at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Alcazar, who came into the match undefeated at 25-0, lost his title to Fernando Montiel when the referee, Ken Bayless stopped the fight at 1:16 of the sixth round. Alcazar took many punches to the head, but was responsive and still standing when the fight was stopped. "At that point in time, I figured he had enough and I stopped it," Bayless said. "He was never down in the whole fight. He was trying to slip punches at the time I stopped it. The ring examiner immediately checked out Alcazar inside the ring and was examined again by another doctor and a neurologist after the fight in the dressing room. All the doctors found nothing wrong and didn't even recommend he be taken to a hospital for precautionary tests, as often happens. Dr. Flip Homansky, a member of the state's athletic commission, said Alcazar felt fine the following day (Sunday), spending the day sightseeing on the Las Vegas Strip with his cornermen. He said he had a slight headache about 6 p.m. Sunday and took a Tylenol, but had no other symptoms. On Monday morning, Alcazar was taking a shower and getting ready to fly home, when he suddenly collapsed. A Nevada boxing doctor said Alcazar had shown no symptoms of being hurt until he fell about 6 a.m. at the MGM Grand hotel-casino. He later died at Desert Springs Hospital in Las Vegas. "He had brain swelling," said Dr. Homansky. "I've never seen anything like it. To my knowledge, there has never, ever, been something like this happen so long after a fight." Alcazar had last fought on April 19 in Panama, where he stopped Alfredo Toro in the fourth round. A single parent of two, Alcazar first began boxing at the age of 10 and was the Panamanian Golden Gloves champion and a gold medallist in the Central American Games. Our condolences and prayers goes out to the family and friends of Pedro Alcazar.
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