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If lemons had been life鈥檚 gift to Sergio Chavez and Bekhzod Usmonov, they no doubt would have gladly accepted them 鈥� considering what they got instead.

Some 13 months ago, life gave Chavez a diagnosis of stage-four pancreatic cancer.

In December, a high-speed car crash put Usmonov, his wife, Victoria, and their son Maximus, in the hospital 鈥� Bekhzod and Max with serious injuries, Victoria with grievous ones.

And now?

Chavez,  a former Golden Gloves state boxing champion, is back doing what he loves and what the New Mexico combat-sports community loves having him do: lending his knowledge and expertise in the corner. He cornered for fighters during the April 4 Legacy Promotions card at the Embassy Suites and again on April 18 at the Holmes Promotions card at Ohkay Hotel Casino outside Espa帽ola.

While continuing treatment, he鈥檚 back to working as a maintenance supervisor for Jamboree Management, which manages several apartment complexes in the area.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a journey, and I feel good about it,鈥� Chavez said in a phone interview. 鈥淚 feel really good about it.鈥�

Usmonov, a native of Tajikistan, has lived for years in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and trained at Jackson-Wink but is now living and training in Cleveland. That鈥檚 where Victoria needs to be for repeated surgeries 鈥�  six thus far.

Despite his absence, he remains a respected and popular figure among his Jackson-Wink peers. Mike Winkeljohn, Jackson-Wink coach and co-founder, said via text he still considers Usmonov a J-W fighter.

Barely three months after the crash, Usmonov was back in the ring 鈥� or, to be specific, the Trigon 鈥� on a BKB Extreme bare-knuckle card at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Fighters talk all the time of fighting for their families, no one more than Usmonov that night. Emerging from the promotion鈥檚 triangle-shaped ring with one eye closed and the other barely open, he nevertheless was the winner that March evening, prevailing against Mexico鈥檚 Luis Guerrero via second-round TKO in an utterly brutal fight.

Usmonov, his right eye closed and knocked down twice in the first round, took the fight to Guerrero in the second. The Mexican fighter, who鈥檇 inflicted more facial damage than he鈥檇 absorbed, wanted no more.

What鈥檚 next for these men?

Chavez spent several months in treatment at the Envita Medical Center in Scottsdale, Arizona and underwent further treatment at a clinic in Hermosillo, Mexico. None of that care, he said, was covered by insurance.

He continues to make periodic trips to Arizona for treatment. A GoFundMe account established by Chavez鈥檚 wife, Tammy Kirkpatrick, has been paused. He and his wife are paying for further treatment out of their own pockets.

鈥淲hatever I鈥檝e got to do,鈥� he said, 鈥淚鈥檒l do.鈥�

The cancerous tumor is dormant, he鈥檚 been told, but he is not in remission.

Usmonov, meanwhile, is eager for another fight and the accompanying payday.

Immediately after the Guerrero fight, with one eye closed and the other a slit, he鈥檇 said he hoped to fight in April. That, perhaps in light of the punishment he absorbed, didn鈥檛 happen. As of now, he鈥檚 not listed as fighting on an upcoming card.

Rest assured. When BKB Extreme calls, he鈥檒l answer.

A , established by Winkeljohn, is still active.