An emergency fundraising effort has begun for Moises Fuentes, who continues to fight for his life.

The World Boxing Council (WBC) has rallied to raise awareness and financial support for Mexico City’s Fuentes, who remains under long-term care while still physically rehabilitating after undergoing emergency brain surgery following his knockout loss to countryman David Cuellar last October 16 in Cancun.

Fuentes was hospitalized in Cancun for more than two months before being relocated to a medical facility closer to home in Mexico City. It is obvious that the 34-year-old former WBO strawweight titlist will never fight again, though the concern is the impact it will have on his wife Janine Martinez and their children Moises Jr. (age seven) and Santiago (age five).

That is where his friends at the WBC decided to take the lead, having established a GoFundMe for the boxer.

“At this time we are asking for support from the Boxing community, our friends and WBC family, to help his family,” the sanctioning body pleaded on Friday. “His wife and children are going through financial and emotional hardship during this pandemic.”

The final fight of Fuentes’ fourteen-year career was an unfortunate one-sided affair against the 20-year-old Cuellar (20-0, 13KOs), a promising junior bantamweight prospect who returns to the ring this Sunday. Their bout ended with Cuellar landing a left hook to Fuentes down and out. Referee Florentino Lopez Cruz immediately called a halt to the contest and urging ringside physicians to immediately tend to the fallen boxer.

The ending was avoidable, as WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman and Fuentes’ own manager repeatedly called for a stoppage long before the near-fatal ending. Fuentes’ training team felt otherwise, sending him out before he was rendered unconscious at 2:11 of round six in their junior bantamweight fight.

Fuentes remained motionless on the canvas before being transported out of the ring and to a nearby hospital for emergency care. It was determined that surgery would be required to remove a blood clot from his brain. The emergency procedure went well, though Fuentes continues the lengthy and costly rehabilitation process.

The bout was the first for Fuentes (25-7-1, 14KOs) since September 2018, when he was stopped in the fifth round of what was tabbed as a comeback fight for Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez who hadn’t fought in a year following back-to-back defeats.

In happier times, Fuentes held a WBO strawweight title in the early part of the 2010s. His reign is best remembered for a fifth-round knockout of Ivan Calderon in the Puerto Rican legend’s final career fight in 2012. Efforts to become a two-division titlist were unsuccessful, fighting to a draw with and knockout loss to Donnie Nietes in their two fight set between March 2013 and May 2014. 

Fuentes would go on to beat former titlists Oswaldo Novoa and Francisco ‘Chihuas’ Rodriguez, the latter in a major upset as he claimed a split decision in their December 2015 clash. Fuentes would claim one more win before losing five of his final six fights.

While he was able to carve out a respectable career through the years, the financial demands that come with long-term care far exceed what he and his family can presently afford.

“We ask for you to help with as little as you can contribute,” requested the WBC.

Former WBC junior bantamweight Carlos Cuadras has also taken part in the fundraising effort, agreeing to autograph and donate the gloves he will use in his next fight. Mexico City’s Cuadras (39-4-1, 27KOs)—a close friend of Fuentes and his family—faces Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (14-0, 10KOs), with the vacant WBC 115-pound title at stake in their DAZN main event from Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

The WBC plans to raffle the gloves, with 100% of the proceeds to go to the Fuentes family.

The goal is to raise at least $50,000 to contribute to medical bills. Those who wish to donate can do so at the established GoFundMe page (//www.gofundme.com/f/united-for-moises-fuentes-unidos-por-moises).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox