NEW YORK -- The family of brain-damaged Russian heavyweight boxer Magomed Abdusalamov has filed court documents that state its intent to file a $100 million lawsuit against the state of New York and its athletic commission, alleging negligence and medical malpractice.

Abdusalamov, 32, was in a coma for weeks following emergency brain surgery to remove a large blood clot hours after his Nov. 2 Madison Square Garden bout with Mike Perez. Perez won a unanimous 10-round decision, landing 312 punches to Abdusalamov's 248. Now in a rehabilitation facility, Abdusalamov has shown slight movement and can follow simple commands, but he remains bedridden, said Dr. Rupendra Swarup, medical director of the Mount Sinai Roosevelt Hospital department of neurosurgery. Abdusalamov may never walk or talk again.

During a postfight exam in the dressing room, Abdusalamov, who broke his upper jaw and hand during the fight, told New York State Athletic Commission doctors that his head hurt, according to his handlers. They said doctors gave him a neurological test that required him to read a series of numbers, sutured a cut above his left eye and told him he had a broken nose and that he should have his injuries looked at by a doctor within a day or two upon returning home to Florida.

What neither the commission doctors nor anyone else realized was that at some point Abdusalamov's brain started bleeding. Left untreated, Swarup said, the condition would have killed him.

Matt Farrago, the state athletic commission inspector assigned to monitor Abdusalamov that night, said that after commission doctors cleared the fighter and left the dressing room, he noticed blood in Abdusalamov's urine sample -- a possible sign of internal bleeding. Farrago, who boxed professionally for eight years, said he advised Abdusalamov's handlers to take him by taxi to a hospital. A Madison Square Garden source who spoke only on the condition of anonymity told "Outside the Lines" that two ambulances were on site (state boxing regulations require at least one for a fight card), but commission doctors summoned neither one for Abdusalamov.

In early November, acting on a request from the office of New York's Secretary of State, which oversees the athletic commission, the state inspector general launched an investigation of the fight and what happened after it. No date for the inquiry's completion has been announced. State athletic commission chairwoman Melvina Lathan and chief medical officer Dr. Barry Jordan -- both of whom were at ringside -- the other commission doctors on duty that night and referee Benjy Esteves Jr. have not commented publicly since the probe began and declined "Outside the Lines" interview requests.

Paul Edelstein, the attorney for Abdusalamov's wife and three young daughters, told "Outside the Lines" that he soon will file a lawsuit against commission doctors and other parties.

He said the legislation that created the commission gives it immunity against some types of litigation but that the state could be liable if there is a legal finding that Abdusalamov was mishandled by the state-employed doctors and others who oversaw the fight.

There is recent precedent of the state settling a claim after a ring tragedy, Edelstein said. The widow of boxer Beethavean Scottland, who died from injuries in a 2001 New York fight against George Jones, filed a wrongful death claim that was settled 11 years later for $150,000. The contention was that Scottland shouldn't have been allowed to fight Jones and that the bout should have been stopped before Scottland's injuries became life-threatening.

The Court of Claims notice filed by Edelstein charges the state with allowing Abdusalamov to be "unreasonably and violently beaten" and states that "improper, untimely and inadequate medical care and treatment" contributed to his condition.

Brutal fight but no knockdowns

"That fight was just an all-out war, two guys giving their all, giving and taking all they can," said John David Jackson, Abdusalamov's trainer.

Russian heavyweight boxer Magomed Abdusalamov said he injured his left hand early in his fight against Mike Perez. HBO Archives

A devout Muslim from the Russian republic of Dagestan, Abdusalamov was the WBC's U.S. champion and entered the bout 18-0, all on knockouts in the fifth round or earlier, with 15 in the first or second round. The 6-foot-3, 231-pound lefty was ranked among the top contenders for the world heavyweight championship with a title shot likely two bouts away -- but he hadn't faced an opponent of the caliber of Perez, who entered the fight with a 19-0 record.

Abdusalamov's manager, Boris Grinberg Sr., said the fighter and his camp knew the HBO-televised matchup was "the most important fight of his life."

In the first round, the 6-foot, 235-pound Perez staggered Abdusalamov with a quick left forearm to his face. Referee Esteves could have declared a "no contest" as a result of the illegal blow, but he was positioned behind Abdusalamov -- it's unclear what he saw, and many other observers missed the forearm shot. Abdusalamov and his corner men did not ask for the fight to be stopped, and neither did ring doctors, although at the end of the first round, Abdusalamov looked up at his image on the big screen video monitor and asked his corner whether his nose was broken.

As the fight progressed, Abdusalamov appeared unable to breathe out of his nose, and the left side of his face became severely swollen and disfigured. His left eye was half shut, and he was bleeding from the cut above it. Despite the damage inflicted by both fighters, the fight had no knockdowns.

"Outside the Lines" interviewed all four of Abdusalamov's corner men -- Jackson, the trainer; cut man Chico Rivas; interpreter Boris Grinberg Jr. (the son of Abdusalamov's manager) and Abdusalamov's brother, Abdusalam. Jackson said he considered stopping the fight around the seventh round because of the punishment Abdusalamov had taken, but that he didn't have a sense from him or the doctors that he was imperiled. And his fighter came back strong -- he won the ninth round.

Throughout the bout, Jackson said, "there was a lack of communication in the corner." He said he repeatedly asked Abdusalamov about his condition, but the fighter spoke almost exclusively with his brother -- in Russian, and that Grinberg Jr. was ineffectual at relaying what they were saying.

Abdusalamov's face became swollen and disfigured during the fight, but he traded punches with his opponent to the end. HBO Archives

A friend of Abdusalamov's who helped him learn basic English said the corner difficulties may have been compounded by the fighter's pride and independence. "He had a history of not paying attention to his corner, he did what he wanted to do," said Chris Jay.

A review of the video and interviews with Abdusalamov's corner men, as well as with Farrago, were inconclusive as to how extensively ring doctors examined Abdusalamov during the fight.

"No one in the medical field over there that night gave me any indication that I should stop this fight," Jackson said. "And the kid was fighting back hard, so I had to give him every chance I could give him to win."

After the final bell at 10:51 p.m., Abdusalamov's brother said his brother made a surprising statement in the ring.

"He hugged me and said, 'Abdusalam, I did everything I could under the circumstances.' I remember that phrase very well -- 'under the circumstances,'" his brother told "Outside the Lines" through an interpreter.

What Abdusalamov's brother and others learned from him was that he had injured his hand early in the fight.

"In the first round, I hit his [Perez's] head with my left hand, and after that I couldn't make a fist and I couldn't operate with my left like I wanted to," was the Abdusalamov quote in the ring provided by Nathan Lewkowicz, executive vice president of Sampson Boxing, Abdusalamov's promoter, for ESPN.com's postfight report.

"But a champ is a champ, and he was a great champion tonight."

Concerns after the final bell

"When we removed his glove after the fight, his hand was badly swollen," said his brother, Abdusalam.