Japanese fighter Ryuto Maekawa lands in hospital with burst eardrum after pounding by Hong Kong ace Rex Tso
Youngster recovering from injuries sustained during Saturday night’s bruising ‘Battle of Victors’ after showing courage during 10-round bout against the ‘Wonder Kid”
Japanese super flyweight Ryuto Maekawa flew back home on Sunday afternoon after spending the night in hospital with a perforated ear drum suffered during his beating by Hong Kong’s Rex Tso Sing-yu in Saturday night’s “Battle of Victors”.
Maekawa was rushed to Adventist Hospital before dawn on Sunday morning, complaining of feeling unwell and bleeding from his left ear.
Tso defeated the previous unbeaten Maekawa (11-1-1, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, but the bout was much closer than the judges’ scorecards suggested and the 20-year-old Japanese came out of the bout worse for wear after his 10-round beating watched by a sell-out crowd of 5,000.
Watch: Rex Tso wins his 20th straight victory as a professional
Tso also suffered minor injuries to both ears but Maekawa’s injuries were much more worrisome.
Organisers were woken up early on Sunday by a member of Maekawa’s camp, who was worried about the youngster’s health and the fighter was rushed to hospital, where he underwent a CT scan, which revealed a perforated eardrum.
“Rex’s Japanese opponent called us up at 5am, saying he was in a bad way and that he couldn’t sleep and was bleeding from his left ear. His brother and father were also here,” said Tso’s manager and trainer, Jay Lau Chi-yuen.
“As organisers, we had to help them all we could and we immediately sent him to hospital.
He has suffered a hole in his eardrum from all the impact he had taken during the fight. He had taken a lot of punches. He was cleared to fly and luckily, he’s OK now,” he said.
“Doctors had to make sure that Ryuto didn’t suffer any brain damage and that he was well enough to take a flight home. We are relieved that he’s okay and that he didn’t suffer more serious injuries.”
Tso was amazed by Maekawa’s resilience, saying the Japanese youngster showed courage beyond his tender years.
“I threw everything at him. I hit him with a lot of good shots but he refused to buckle. I have to salute him because he fought a tough fight,” said Tso.
“I also suffered a few injuries. My right ear is slightly damaged but I am well overall,” said the unbeaten southpaw, who improved his record to 20-0-0 (12 KOs).
On a positive note, Lau said the event was big success with all tickets sold on the night.
“We had people coming in and snapping all the remaining 100 tickets that were available at the last moment,” said Lau.
Tso will have three options next year. He could fight for the IBO super flyweight title against South Africa’s Gideon Buthelezi or face Japanese rival, Kohei Kono, for the WBO international title.
The 29-year-old could also face Jamie Conlan, who comes from the famed Frank Warren stable in Britain.
