Heavyweight boxer Magomed Abdusalamov competed on the HBO Boxing card last night, facing Mike Perez in the prelude to Gennady Golovkin vs. Curtis Stevens. Addusalamov dropped a hard fought 10 round decision to Perez, taking a lot of damage along the way. Now, it appears that damage was more severe then we realized.

BoxingScene.com reports that Abdusalamov was put in a medically induced coma this morning due to a blood clot on the brain. From their first report:

Earlier today, BoxingScene.com reported that during the fight Magomed broke his left hand, broke his nose and he was taken to a local hospital where a small blood clot was discovered on the brain. Late last night, Magomed's manager, Boris Grinberg, told BoxingScene the fighter was doing fine after doctors tended to his injuires. But a few hours later the boxer began to complain of bad headaches and was feeling ill. Doctors at Roosevelt Hospital placed him in a medically induced coma to reduce the possibility of any serious complications stemming from the blood clot.

BoxingScene has since updated the story, indicating that Adbusalamov is now in stable condition in ICU, though is still in the coma.

After the opening round of the fight, Abdusalamov was questioning the extent of his injuries in the corner. As the fight progressed, the fighter's face continued to swell, and he again questioned how badly he was injured. His corner opted to keep him in the fight for the full 10 rounds despite the, at the time, unknown injury.

With the recent death of boxer Francisco Leal, and now this, everyone involved in boxing is given a stark reminder of the very real dangers involved in this sport.

On behalf of everyone at Bloody Elbow, we extend our best wishes for a full recovery to Magomed Abdusalamov.



