Lupita Villalobos was discharged from the hospital on 24 April after a week-long stay for a subdural hematoma, and organizers of Supernova: Génesis 2026 were forced to look for a replacement for the 26 April function after her withdrawal. Poncho de Nigris later confirmed the possible addition of Karely Ruiz as Kim Shantal’s new rival.
Villalobos said the injury left her with mild motor sequelae tied to intracranial pressure, but no serious damage. She said she had been hospitalized since 17 April after intense headaches that brought deafness, dizziness, vomiting and vision problems, and described the pain as feeling “como un derrame entre el cerebro y el cráneo.”
She said her release came with a sense of relief. “Adivinen a quién dieron de alta ya. Adiós, hospital. Ya me voy, chamacos, ya. Ya voy a mi casita por fin a recuperarme allá. Todavía traigo lentes por la sensibilidad a la luz, pero no manches, ya, ya en mi casa por fin. Ahorita los veo. Te quiero,” she said. Villalobos also said, “Sí hay consecuencias, en mi caso, de coordinación, en un tema motriz, por así decirlo. Nada grave.”
The withdrawal matters because Villalobos had been scheduled for the main fight at Arena Ciudad de México, but the Comisión de Box de la Ciudad de México and the Consejo Mundial de Boxeo canceled her authorization to fight once the medical situation became clear. The source says a subdural hematoma is a bleed between the brain and the skull that creates intracranial pressure and motor effects, which is why the medical discharge did not mean a full return to normal.
Villalobos said she personally told Kim Shantal before the news spread online. “No manches, se me vino el mundo abajo, pero logré entender, obvio, que la salud es primero,” she said. On that point, she added: “Fue una de las primeras que quise que supiera esto porque yo no quería que se enterara por redes, ni por un comunicado, ni por periódico, ni por prensa. Quería que se enterara por mí.”
For now, the biggest unresolved piece is whether Karely Ruiz will actually enter the card in Villalobos’s place. Organizers needed a new opponent for the 26 April show, and the replacement talk already shifts the event from a medical setback to a scramble over who will fill the slot Villalobos was forced to leave behind.