CHICAGO — About 300 seconds separated Rita Figueroa from life and death.
The boxer had just finished a six-round lightweight fight at UIC Pavilion, a loss to Kita Watkins on Nov. 6, 2009. During the middle of the fight, the pair of fighters accidentally head butted.
The collision caused a blood vessel in Figueroa's brain to rupture, and after having a headache, nausea and throwing up in the locker room post-fight, she was rushed to nearby University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System for emergency surgery by Dr. Sepideh Amin-Hanjani.
"I was about five minutes away from dying. I was very lucky," said Figueroa, 46, a lifelong Lincoln Square resident.
Figueroa plans to invite Amin-Hanjani to her induction into the Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame on Nov. 14. Figueroa found out Tuesday she was the only woman in this year's class of 24 inductees, which is highlighted by former Olympian and WBC World Light Heavyweight champion Montel Griffin.
Rita Figueroa (r.) lands a punch during one of her 13 professional fights. [Photos provided by Rita Figueroa]
Figueroa is being honored for her skill in the ring — following her bout against Watkins, she finished her five-year professional career 10-2-1 and was once WIBA Lightweight champ — and for her tenure as a trainer at Sam Colonna's gym in Brighton Park since retiring.
"Rita pushed herself extremely hard without complaint to rightfully earn recognition as one of the most dedicated and fiercest boxers in Chicago," said fellow Hall of Fame inductee Mike Joyce, who runs the boxing club at Leo High School. "And when I rate Rita Figueroa, it goes without saying that I rate her as a boxer and a trainer as among the best in Chicago, male or female."
Figueroa gives credit to Amin-Hanjani and the three people in her corner that night — Colonna, Angela Gibson and Greg Znajda — for saving her life.
"I have said numerous times, it was truly a group effort," she said. "I try to emphasize to fighters now — have people in your corner who you can trust and who you know. They knew something was wrong, and they said we need to get this s--- going."
She said her background as a instructor at Degerberg Academy of Martial Arts in the heart of Lincoln Square also played a role. One of her students, Dr. Tamir Hersonskey, was a colleague of Amin-Hanjani's, and called Amin-Hanjani — a Harvard-trained surgeon and the residency director at the University of Illinois of Medicine at Chicago — to request her services.
Before her surgery, Figueroa said she recalled telling medical personnel, who had shaved half her head, to do the rest or she "was going to look like an idiot." She also remembered hoping she "would see my daughter [Sahara], my husband [Mike] and my mother [Karin] again."
She woke up the next day alive, with a fully shaved head and 33 staples on the front left part of her head.
Had the surgery been delayed even an hour, Figueroa likely would have died, Amin-Hanjani said.
"Without emergent care and surgery, within the hour it is likely she would have suffered irreversible or fatal brain injury," Amin-Hanjani wrote in an email to DNAinfo Chicago late Wednesday.
Figueroa has infrequent headaches now and her writing has become slightly messier, but overall she feels fine. Her blondish-brown hair has helped hide the nasty scar. Amin-Hanjani said she's "thankful" Figueroa has not required ongoing neurological follow-up.
Figueroa remains a martial arts instructor and spends several hours a week at Colonna's gym off 35th Street.
RELATED: Sam Colonna's Boxing — A Training Ground for Champions, Children
Colonna said the best word to describe Figueroa is "loyal."
"If I was fighting, I would want her in my corner," Colonna said.
Rita Figueroa (fourth from r.) is a longtime trainer at Sam Colonna Boxing in Brighton Park.
Figueroa said her life had been represented by hard work. Twenty-six years ago, she started in the mail room at AT&T and climbed the ladder to her current role as a project manager. She used her time in martial arts to have success in boxing, first as an amateur and then professionally.
The best part of training, she said, is watching her mostly male but a handful of female fighters get better.
And entering Illinois' boxing hall, especially as a woman, is a true privilege.
"I've put in a lot of time and work," she said. "Being a woman in the good old boys' club of boxing, it's nice to see to see this kind of recognition.
"Boxing has some brought some very good times for me and some very tough times, but I would do it all again."
The Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony is Nov. 14 at LaVilla Banquet Hall, 3638 N. Pulaski Road. For more information, click here.
Rita Figueroa pumps her fist after her emergency brain surgery.
Rita Figueroa (l.) trains a fighter on the Chicago lakefront.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
