Alex Saucedo suffered what turned out to be a career-ending loss October 17.

ESPN’s Mark Kriegel revealed during an ESPN+ stream Saturday night from Las Vegas that Saucedo sustained two brain bleeds during his 10-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Arnold Barboza Jr. two weeks ago. The 26-year-old Saucedo told Kriegel he believes a clash of heads in the first round did the damage that ultimately ended the junior welterweight contender’s career long before he had hoped it would conclude.

“My career is done,” Saucedo told Kriegel. “But I’m glad to be alive.”

Saucedo said he didn’t feel normal while boxing Barboza after that first round.

The bleeds detected on Saucedo’s brain were 6 millimeters and 10 millimeters, according to what Sam Katkovski, Saucedo’s manager, told Kriegel. Saucedo spent three nights at University Medical Center in Las Vegas following his loss to Barboza, but he feels thankful that he remains relatively healthy.

“I’ve never saw another fighter come out alive after one of these,” Saucedo told Kriegel. “But if I get hit again, I might not be able to talk about it.”

Saucedo has two young children, ages 7 and 1.

The all-action Saucedo’s career concluded with a 30-2 record, including 19 knockouts.

Saucedo lost to Maurice Hooker by seventh-round technical knockout in their fight for Hooker’s WBO junior welterweight title in November 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Saucedo’s hometown.

Saucedo’s previous fight was one of the best action fights of 2018. He survived severe trouble during the fourth round and knocked out Austrailia’s Lenny Zappavigna in the seventh round of a bloody, brutal battle in June 2018, also at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Saucedo had hoped to move back into position for another title shot by beating Barboza on the Teofimo Lopez-Vasiliy Lomachenko undercard at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.