Vincent Astrolabio rushed to the hospital days after fight vs Nakatani

Two-time world title challenger Vincent Astrolabio was rushed to the hospital last Friday just a few days after his failed WBC world bantamweight title bid against reigning champion Junto Nakatani at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.

Astrolabio, 27, suffered a first-round knockout against Nakatani after taking a straight left in the mid-section. According to Astrolabio's trainer Nonoy Neri, Astrolabio underwent surgery to remove a ruptured appendix that bothered his ward for weeks.

"Vincent [Astrolabio] didn’t tell us about it when we were preparing before we went to Japan. Maybe he just ignored it because it wasn’t painful yet at that time and he really didn’t want the fight against Nakatani to be postponed,” said Neri.

“Even when we arrived in Davao last week from Tokyo, he didn’t tell us anything about it. He kept it. He was just admitted last Friday to the hospital. The pain already bothered him sometimes before the fight in Tokyo," Neri continued.

"But he doesn’t regret anything and doesn’t want to make any excuses after he lost that fight. We rushed him to the hospital for an operation because he could no longer bear the pain.”

There was, however, no clear indication that the body shot from Nakatani aggravated Astrolabio's appendicitis. According to Astrolabio's handler and MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons, he did not know about his boxer's illness either.

"It’s a warrior mentality by Vincent," Gibbons quipped.

"He didn’t complain anything while they were preparing in Davao and then in Tokyo. He really fought with a big fighting heart despite feeling that there’s something wrong in his body, but he is not making any excuses out of it."

—JKC, GMA Integrated News