Guillermo Gonzalez, better known as Pedro "El Rockero" Alcázar (16 September 1975 in Zapayal,

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

– 24 June 2002) was a

nian

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who won the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

Super flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council respond ...

championship, and then sustained fatal injuries in the ring.

Background

A single parent of two, Alcazar first began boxing at the age of 10 and was the Panamanian Golden Gloves champion and a Gold Medalist in the

Central American Games The Central American Games ( es, Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos) are a multi-sport regional championships event, held quadrennial (every 4 years), typically in the first year after Summer Olympics. The Games are open for member federation ...

. He was a protégé of the legendary Hall of Famer

Roberto Durán Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as wel ...

, who was a

pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles of ...

at his

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

Death

Alcazar's death shocked the boxing world. He lost his title to

Fernando Montiel Fernando Montiel Martínez (born March 1, 1979) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a multiple-time former world champion in three weight classes, having held the WBO flyweight title from 2001 to 2002, the WBO junior bantamweight title twic ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

on 22 June 2002. Immediately following the bout, Alcazar was declared healthy by ringside doctors, with no visible signs of any

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source *Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic inju ...

. He went sightseeing the day after the fight and was in his hotel room getting ready to fly back to Panama when he collapsed. He was taken to hospital, where he died. This was the first time in boxing history that a boxer is known to have collapsed so long after the end of a fight. The boxing authorities have discussed compulsory medical testing for boxers up to 48 hours after a fight finishes, longer than heretofore. There was already concern following the

Michael Watson Michael Watson (born 15 March 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1991. He held the Commonwealth middleweight title from 1989 to 1991, and challenged three times for a world title between 1990 and 1991. Wats ...

case, which in the United Kingdom established the principle that the authorities have a wide responsibility for the

health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...

of boxers (and also spectators). Alcazar's death highlighted the manner in which it can take an extended time before potentially life-threatening symptoms present themselves.

External links

* * 1975 births 2002 deaths Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing Flyweight boxers Super-flyweight boxers World boxing champions World super-flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Organization champions Sports deaths in Nevada Panamanian male boxers Central American Games medalists in boxing Central American Games gold medalists for Panama {{Panama-boxing-bio-stub