Now we read the following in the NY Post:
The family of a Russian boxer who was beaten into a coma filed a $100 million lawsuit against the state Friday, saying officials should have stopped the Madison Square Garden slugfest and that he got shoddy medical care following the bout.
Magomed Abdusalamov, 32, who absorbed 312 punches during the Nov. 2 heavyweight brawl against Mike Perez, was advised by state officials to go to a hospital when he urinated blood after the fight — but no ambulance was provided, the court papers say.
The suffering fighter and his panicked family were forced to find a cab outside The Theater at Madison Square Garden at the height of the Saturday night rush.
Abdusalamov languished in a coma at Roosevelt Hospital for several weeks and may never walk again.
The fighter’s kin claim in court papers that officials allowed him to be “violently beaten, bludgeoned, punched and pummeled by his opponent without proper, timely or adequate recognition, termination and or/rescue.”
“They should have stopped the fight,” said his cousin, Amin Suleymanov. “Eveybody could see that.”
Suleymanov said he visits Abdusalamov in the hospital every day and has been forced to serve as the caretaker for his shattered wife and three children.
Abdusalamov’s condition is so grave that his three young daughters — ages 9, 4, and 1 — have only been permitted to see him twice since his hospitalization.
Filed by attorney Paul Edelstein, the papers accuse state athletic officials of failing to assess the severity of Abdusalamov’s injuries after the grisly bout and exacerbating his long-term suffering.
He was “permitted to sustain life threatening injuries including . . . acute traumatic brain injury, significant and permanent brain damage, coma . . . due to the improper, untimely and inadequate medical care and treatment on the part of the respondents,” the filing states.
Abdusalamov’s cousin, Abdullabulat Chartaevich, has said that state boxing officials failed them.
“They didn’t even take his blood pressure,” Chartaevich told The Post in the days after the fight. “He did say he had a headache, so the trainer and doctors should have seen something.”
The Dagestan native suffered a broken nose and hand in the first round and was visibly disfigured by the fifth round. During Round 7, two ringside doctors inspected Abdusalamov, but cleared him to continue.
Perez nearly knocked Abdusalamov down with a vicious jab in the final round, but the referee and his own trainer let him finish the 10-round fight.
Abdusalamov’s case is currently under investigation by the State Athletic Commission, which did not respond to a request for comment Friday on the fight and its aftermath.
Wow. Such a complete shame for him to be in such bad shape. Heart wrenching really.
ReplyDeleteA fighter is trained to never give up. To always march forward regardless of broken hands or detached retinas. They are programmed that way and as a pro its what they get paid for. Even when they are hurt they themselves don't always know how bad thats why there are check points along the way that should stop events like this from happening.
IMHO for something like this to happen its has to be a complete systematic breakdown. The fighters corner who should always be their best advocate can always stop the fight in between rounds or throw the towel during. The doctors can stop it at anytime, the ref can step in and even the state athletic commissioner sitting ringside can always stop the fight (I've seen it done on more than one occasion). But then to not even supply adequate medical attention post fight is horrendous. It looks horrible for the promoter and the state. An ambulance had to have been on site.
The last time I saw this occur was when I fought in the IKF world championships a fews years back and the same systematic breakdown occurred in a fight between Lindsay Shear and Adrienne Simmons. They were the championship fight after mine. Adrienne died within 12 hours of her bout.
Such a shame on so many levels.