Viloria’s opponent critical
and in a coma

LOS ANGELES » Mexican flyweight Ruben Contreras was in critical condition in a medically induced coma yesterday, a day after undergoing surgery to relieve pressure from bleeding on his brain.

Contreras suffered a seizure Saturday night, shortly after he stopped fighting in the sixth round of a scheduled eight-round bout against Waipahu's Brian Viloria.

Dr. David Duarte, a trauma surgeon at California Medical Center, said the surgery on Saturday relieved the pressure on Contreras' brain and was performed quickly enough to avoid permanent damage.

"We're happy he was able to make it in as quickly as he did," Duarte said. "If he had waited more than 30 minutes, he probably would have had irreversible brain injury."

Doctors were monitoring Contreras' condition while he remains in a medically induced coma through tomorrow evening.

"It's hard for me to say what's going to happen to his brain," Duarte said. "So far, everything has gone quite well, but that doesn't guarantee he's going to make it."

Contreras and Viloria fought on the undercard of the Julio Cesar Chavez-Ivan Robinson bout at Staples Center. There were no knockdowns, but Contreras was bleeding from the nose and mouth.

Dr. Paul Wallace, chairman of the state boxing commission's medical advisory board, said the commission would investigate Contreras' training and any other factors that may have led to the seizure.

The 32-year-old Contreras has a 9-17-3 record. Viloria, 24, is 17-0, with 10 knockouts.