Boxer in coma after suffering brutal knockout
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — A California boxer is now in a different sort of fight — Daniel "Twitch" Franco of Rancho Cucamonga is now fighting to recover from a medically-induced coma.
CBS Los Angeles reports that Franco, 25, sustained a head injury in a featherweight fight in Iowa Saturday. The fight was stopped in the 8th of 10 rounds. He took a blow to the head from Utah's Jose Haro.
Franco was heavily favored in the televised bout but after that punch in the 8th round, officials saw Franco clearly wobbling and stopped the fight. He was taken to the hospital where doctors discovered several brain bleeds.
His friends said he needed emergency surgery to fix bleeding in his brain.
On Sunday night, Franco — a Riverside native, he trains in Rialto and graduated Hesperia High — was in the medically-induced coma.
Friends set up a GoFundMe page to help with his expenses. They were only asking for $1,000 because as they told CBS Los Angeles they really don't know what they are looking at medically or personally. They expect he will be in Iowa, though, "for weeks."
Franco is surrounded by family — dad is his trainer and his brother is his assistant trainer. His mom and girlfriend have also flown out to be by his side.
His manager was told by doctors last night that the next 48 hours would be critical.