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Pro boxer Israel Vasquez of Mexico City, who is a former junior featherweight world champion, is about to lose his right eye and have it replaced with a prosthetic one. The 38-year-old last fought in 2010 when he was stopped by Rafael Marquez in the third round. He turned pro back in 1995 and has a record of 44-5 with 32 Kos and his career is now unfortunately over. Vasquez said he has no regrets though about his boxing career and deciding to replace his eye. Vasquez had four epic bouts with Marquez as each boxer won two of them, but it was the last meeting that damaged Vasquez’s eye.

Vasquez said he’s about to lose his eye due to an oversight by himself and a doctor, not because of boxing. He told ESPN, “When they started to perform the surgeries, I didn’t take care of myself. They told me I was doing well and I tried to speed up the recovery, but my retina detached.” He added that he underwent several surgical procedures and tried different cures for his problem such as placing silicone in his eye. However, Vasquez never fully regained his sight following the silicone treatment. The former champ said he visited a top clinic in Mexico a year after the last Marquez fight and was told it was a miracle he still had his eye after half a dozen surgeries. The clinic then advised a corneal transplant.

Vasquez was told the silicone in his eye hardened and it might take up to 10 years for the eye to properly dry out or he could remove the eye and replace it with a prosthetic model. The boxer said he can see silhouettes with the eye and it’s sensitive to light, but that’s all he can make out with it so he decided to replace it. He remarked that he isn’t sure when the operation will take place and it will take some getting used to psychologically after it’s completed. Vasquez claimed he gained a lot from the sport of boxing and wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again since accidents can happen in any walk of life. He reiterated that the loss of his eye was due to an oversight rather than the sport itself.

Vasquez is now telling boxers to take care of their health and to make sure they visit a medical professional if they feel anything at all wrong with their bodies, even if it’s something as simple as a toothache. He added that he hopes other boxers can learn from his situation and take as many precautions as necessary when it comes to their well being.