(EMAILWIRE.COM, June 05, 2008 ) Brighton, MI-- "I'll always have hope," says Rosemary Contreras as she sits by her son’s bedside. "I believe that God's going to bring him back to me." Juan Contreras has been in a coma since March 15. He suffered a serious head injury during his second amateur boxing match. Doctors performed surgery in order to relieve the pressure caused by a blood clot in his brain.

Initially it looked like Juan would have won the bout. According to his coach, Ali Easly of Crown Boxing, he definitely had the talent and heart for the sport. Just two weeks earlier he was victorious in his debut fight held in St. Clair Shores. His sister, Crystal and brother, Jose, recall how he would jog 10 blocks routinely to condition himself for the ring.

And with his father, Jose Sr. in the stands cheering him on Juan was as ready as he could be. The bell rang sounding round one and Juan came out like a champion landing blows on his 13 year old opponent. By the second round it was obvious that Juan was dominating the match, landing a left hand at the end of the round that knocked his opponent to the canvas. But round three was an unexpected twist of fate with the other fighter coming after Juan with a vengeance.

He landed a flurry of punches to Juan’s face and head. Juan was in trouble and couldn’t recover. The referee was forced to stop the attack with a standing 8 count. Initially there was no sign of serious injury until Juan’s knees buckled. He collapsed into the referee’s arms who sat Juan on his corner stool to let the ringside doctor examine him. It must have apparent that something was wrong because an ambulance was sent for to take the injured fighter to Bronson Methodist Hospital in nearby Kalamazoo.

By the time he arrived he was unconscious and unresponsive due to a subdural hemotoma, more commonly referred to as a brain bleed. This is a common effect of serious head injury which causes pressure to build and cut off oxygen from the brain. Now Juan is facing the fight of his life…he’s fighting to live. He is being eased off the ventilator but will need a feeding tube until he can feed himself.

But Juan and his family are not alone, he has the support of the Michigan Boxing Commission. Recently, Al Low, Chairman of the Michigan Boxing Commission went to see Juan. Al learned that Juan’s favorite boxer is Oscar De La Hoya; he told Juan that he was just at a press conference with Oscar and what a great man he is. Just then Juan moved forward in his special chair and his mom caught him and moved him back.

She had such a shocked look on her face; she explained to Al that that was his first movement in over sixty days. Al then told Juan he believed he could get Oscar to talk with him but Oscar would want to know if he still knew how to make a fist. As Al asked that question, Juan raised both his arms and fists up in the air as though he was going to box.

Words can’t explain how it felt to see boy so immobilized respond with such strength and vigor. So Al asked one more thing of Juan. He told him to squeeze his hand so he could tell Oscar how strong he was. Juan responded by grabbing his hand with a firm grip like a grown man. Al pealed his hand off to place it on his moms arm and he squeezed so hard it made her yell out.

Since that day Al has been working to organize a fundraiser in order to support Juan’s recovery. He is asking for anyone with sympathy and compassion in their heart to contribute to this effort. He is sponsoring an amateur boxing show on June 14th at the Mt. Brighton Ski Lodge. Call 248-390-1873 for Ticket Info.

Al’s promotion company is accepting donations on behalf of Juan and the Contreras family. Make checks or money orders payable to Big Al’s Promotions and mail to 9742 Tioga Trail; Pinckney, Michigan 48169.

Areas service by Boxing event:
Macomb
--Bruce Township, Center Line, Chesterfield Township, Clinton Township, Eastpointe,
Fraser, Harrison Township, Lenox Township, Macomb Township, Mt. Clemens, New Baltimore, Ray Township, Roseville, Richmond ,Richmond Township, Shelby Charter Township, St. Clair Shores Sterling Heights, Utica, Warren,

Oakland County
--Addison Township, Auburn Hills, Berkley, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Clawson, Commerce Township, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Franklin, Hazel Park, Highland Township, Holly, Holly Township, Huntington Woods, Independence Township, Keego Harbor, Lathrup Village, Lyon Township, Madison Heights, Milford, Milford Township, Northville, Novi, Oak Park, Oakland Township, Orchard Lake, Orion Township, Oxford Township, Pleasant Ridge, Pontiac, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Southfield, South Lyon, Troy, Walled Lake, Waterford Township, West Bloomfield Township, White Lake Township, Wixom

Wayne County
--Belleville, Brownstown Township, Canton Township, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Grosse Ile Township, Grosse Pointe Shores, Grosse Pointe Woods, Hamtramck, Inkster, Livonia, Northville Township, Plymouth, Redford Township, Riverview, Romulus, Taylor, Trenton, Wayne, Westland, Wyandotte.

Washtenaw County:
Ann Arbor, Bridgewater, Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Salem, Saline, Superior Township, Whitmore Lake, Whittaker, Willis, and Ypsilanti

June 14th at the Mt. Brighton Ski Lodge. Call 248-390-1873 for Ticket Info

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