Jeffrey Mathebula to undergo jaw surgery – Boxing News
Jeffrey Mathebula, former junior featherweight champion, not only lost his title to Nonito Donaire on July 7, but he also got his jaw fractured in two places. The former titlist underwent a surgery to get his jaw fixed.
The fight was held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. It was a title unification bout, with two 122-pounds titles on the line. Donaire, who was the favourite for the fight, knocked Mathebula down in the fourth round. It was a devastating left
hook that damaged Mathebula to the utmost, and could also be the shot to cause the fractures.
“His jaw was broken in two places. He will not be able to go to the gym for at least two months, according to the specialist. I hope to give him a fight at the end of the year,” revealed Branco Milenkovic, Mathebula’s promoter.
According to Branco, they do not know when exactly the fractures happened during the fight. However, he confirms that the incident took place between the fourth and seventh rounds.
“We did notice that he didn't talk in the corner between the rounds, but we thought it was his tooth. As a matter of fact, the California commission doctor said after the fight, when he looked at Jeffrey, it was a tooth. We couldn't get much done as our
flight was a few hours after the fight, but we did notice during the flight back (to South Africa), which was a trip of 30 hours, that Jeffrey wasn't well,” Branco told ESPN.com.
Even though Jeffrey lost the show, he managed to finish it neat, making his promoter proud of his brave performance. With a broken jaw, standing up against a fighter like Donaire is not a child’s play, and Mathebula went through it pretty smoothly.
Branco revealed that Mathebula was taken to a specialist as soon as they arrived in South Africa and then they got to know about the severity of the situation.
According to Branco, even the doctor was surprised to know Mathebula kept fighting, as the pain was tremendous and unbearable.
Mathebula underwent the surgery on Friday and is now recovering.
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