A boxer who was left fighting for her life after a bout in Glasgow last year is set to be a mum. When Alejandra Ayala was knocked out in the 10th round of her WBA and IBO super-welterweight title fight against Scot Hannah Rankin, her family were told her brain injury was so severe it was likely she would die.
One year on, Mexican Alejandra, 34, is not only thankful for winning her own battle for life, but is looking forward to bringing a new one into the world. Alejandra married Mexican former MMA champion fighter Israel Quintero in January after he supported her through her recovery. And the couple are now expecting a son next month.
Alejandra, who continues to recover from the brain injuries she suffered, said: “Israel and I met through boxing, and he was with me at the fight in Glasgow. When I woke up from my coma, the first person I thought of was him.
“We’d been living together for some time and had previously thought about getting married and having a child. This last year has not been easy, but love conquers everything. We got married in January and had a small wedding, with very few people there, but it was lovely.
“Now we are having a baby boy, who is due on June 30. We are so thankful for this past year of life I’ve had, for all the blessings that have come to us and for all that are to come.”
Alejandra faced Hannah, Scotland’s first world champion female boxer, in front of a 4500 strong crowd at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on May 13 last year. Initially, Alejandra was treated in the ring before being taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
After tests revealed both a bleed and dangerous swelling on her brain, Alejandra was placed in an induced coma and underwent a number of surgeries. One operation included a section of skull being removed and placed in her stomach for safe-keeping, then replaced two weeks later as the brain swelling went down.
Alejandra said: “Doctors told my parents I was likely going to die before and during the first two surgeries. Then before and after the third surgery, they said I was probably not going to be able to walk, remember the past or talk.”
The Mexican defied the medics’ worst fears after being woken from her coma. She has undergone intensive therapy in Scotland and Mexico to help her recover – including learning to walk and speak again.
Twelve months on from the fight, she has accepted her brain injury will always cast a shadow over her life. Alejandra, who has been told she can never box again, said: “I don’t think I’ll ever see a 100 per cent, full recovery, but I’m not sad or mad about what happened. I feel very happy and loved.
"My head injury continues to cause me problems, in language and sometimes spasms. I still can’t fully do things as before, such as working all day. Months before that last fight, I had already acquired a boxing gym where I planned on being a coach.
“Nowadays that’s what I do but I’ve had to hire another coach – ex-pro boxer Miguel Mendieta – to do the physical things. I don’t miss fighting itself because I was already thinking about stopping. I’d planned that I would only have two fights in 2022 and then retire.”
The Tijuana native set up a fundraising page in the months following her injury to help towards the cost of her continued therapy in Mexico. She regularly makes trips to Mexico City for ongoing treatment and has been selling much of her boxing memorabilia to help fund her expenses.
She said that despite the ongoing impact of her injury, she is looking forward to the future. She said: “I can’t have regrets over what happened because it’s changed my perspective on life for the better.
"I’m excited about the future and whatever comes my way – I’m ready and grateful for it. Most of all, I want my baby to be healthy and happy.”
Alejandra, who doesn’t blame Hannah for her head injury, said that she is no longer in touch with her former opponent or the hospital staff in Scotland who saved her life.
She said: “I’m not in touch with Hannah or her coach, although I talked to her while I was still in Scotland before coming back home. I’m not in touch with the medical team in Glasgow either but I do think about them often and truly love them.”
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