Fighter in medically induced coma after Saturday night

He is still in a coma. He had the blood clot removed and after his temp went up as I posted, he suffered a stroke that has him on life support. I have read some conflicting reports that he is doing better and some that say he is the same so i'm not sure which is true. There is a site that is currently raising money to help him with the medical bills that are piling up which i'll find if anyone is interested.

 

A Russian fighter was beaten into a coma in a 10-round bloodbath at MSG that horrified spectators — and now state boxing officials are probing whether he was given proper post-match medical care.

Magomed Abdusalamov, 32, suffered a massive stroke from the Saturday night pummeling by Cuban heavyweight Mike Perez, which was broadcast nationally on HBO.

Abdusalamov — dubbed the Russian Tyson for scoring 18 straight knockouts — also broke his nose, hand and jaw in a bout that left his face so disfigured that even the fans were tweeting their dismay.

The battered fighter’s face resembled “a fiery six-car pileup on the highway. Ugly, terrible, tragic yet you can’t look away,” one person tweeted.

Another wrote he, “started to look like the dude off Goonies,” referring to the disfigured character Sloth.

Perez won the fight by decision, and the bloodied Abdusalamov returned to his dressing room, where he waited for medical treatment until he was hastily examined by two doctors.

One just took a urine sample to test for drugs.

The other merely said “Count one, two, three, four, five” and then told the fighter to go to a hospital to have his broken nose looked at,” Boris Grinberg, Abdusalamov’s manager, told New York magazine.

“They give him no attention! No ambulance!” Grinberg fumed.

The Russian, who hails from the former Soviet republic of Dagestan, staggered out of the Garden and threw up on the street.

Grinberg and some passersby got him into a taxi and made their way almost 30 blocks north to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital. As he waited to be seen in the ER, Abdusalamov vomited again and then passed out.

Doctors performed a CAT scan and found swelling and a blood clot in the fighter’s brain.

They performed emergency surgery, removing a section of his skull to reduce the pressure and putting him in a medically induced coma because of the stroke.

“He’s still in a coma. He’s been the same the past couple of days,” Nathan Lewkowicz, vice-president of Sampson Boxing, which promotes Abdusalamov, told The Post.

“He was checked out and the doctors let him go. From what it looks like, maybe they should have checked him out more.”

Several officials had the authority to stop the fight, including Referee Benjy Esteves Jr., and five ringside doctors, including Dr. Barry Jordan, the Chief Medical Officer for the NYSAC, who was monitoring the bout.

But a source told The Post doctors are hesitant to call fights for fear they won’t be assigned to work future bouts.

Abdusalamov’s heartbroken wife and his youngest daughter flew up from the family’s Florida home to be by his side at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital.

“They should have stopped it after the first round when he broke his hand,: said his grieving wife, Bakanay Abdusalamova, 27. “I just want to turn back time. I look at him and I still can’t believe it happened.”

Grinberg told the magazine his fighter should have gotten better medical care after the bout.

“It is horrible. I am not afraid to say it. New York State Athletic Commission is horrible. It is dangerous for these people to be so careless and not do anything,” Grinberg said.

NYSAC spokesman Lazaro Benitez said, “Our primary concern is the health and safety of all athletes licensed by the New York State Athletic Commission. The Department of State is conducting a thorough inquiry into whether existing health and safety protocols were followed by NYSAC, and its employees and licensees in attendance at the event.

‘Should our investigation reveal a need, DOS stands ready to implement immediate corrective action.”

The fighter’s manager and other experts said the bout should have been stopped — even though the tough-as-nails Russian kept on slugging right until the 10th and final round.

Hall of Fame fight promoter Bob Arum said, “We’ve got to educate corner people to realize that when a fighter is getting beaten and beaten badly that they can’t be stupid and think a miracle is going to happen and risk getting permanently injured.”

Additional reporting by Bob Fredericks

http://nypost.com/2013/11/08/comatose-boxer-okd-by-doctors-after-fight/

 

The problem is, lessor powered blows mean that fighters take more of them, and their effect is cumulative.

Which is why there's less (not none) Issue with MMA matches, smaller gloves makes for more KO's, but overall they take less impact during the matches, especially as there is the grappling component as well. BUT generally MMA fighters have for less matches in their career then boxers do.

However the rise of low level poorly regulated MMA means that safety record wont stay for long.

One easy way to reduce the risk in pro boxing is to remove standing 8 counts.

 

Actually just read an article that said mma fighters suffer concussions 2% of the time vs boxings 20%. The article also stated smaller gloves should be an idea for less of these issues. Wins would also be more decisive.

 

This makes me so @%$^& mad I can't see straight. "One just took a urine sample to test for drugs." Yes, a world run by the DEA and their ilk. Nuclear holocausts, atomic mass compounded upon atomic mass, Heaven at War, evil souls fall to Hell but all that matters is their Precious.

And this is NY. Won't allow Mixed Martial Arts because "it is too brutal"

 

What I find most interesting is that MMA has elbows, fists, shins, knees, etc and yet they still suffer many less issues... surely an elbow or flying knee must be more dangerous than a 10 oz glove right? It doesn't seem so.

 

I've pondered the same question - and can't come up with a satisfactory answer. I've heard the various arguments but...

Anyone check the stats on the avg number of head-blows per bout (5min x 3-5rnd) MMA vs (3min x 10-12rnd) boxing?

 

I have an even better question. Consider many of the all time greats of boxing... listen to/read their stories and see how many of them suffered from paranoia, dementia, Parkinson's, etc. Louis, Ali, even Sweet Pea as good of head movement as he had still slurs his words. Don't get me wrong, I love boxing and it's my first love when it comes to MA's, but honestly I don't view it the same as I used to. You see a great all out fight like Gatti Ward or Coralles Castillo 1, but all I can think anymore is that each one of these fights just helps to ensure more and more damage. This is why I cannot stand when someone calls a fighter with great defense "boring".

 

One hard hit is less damaging to the brain long-term than a larger number of lighter hits in quick succession. How often does someone take a flying knee? How many dozens of times is someone punched in the head with a 10-oz glove during a boxing match?

 

If MMA had a standing 8 count, I guarantee a lot of guys would get up to continue fighting after some of the hits you see them take. How many times have you seen a guy get knocked out and then try to fight off the Ref. who hops on to protect him, or are immediately up afterwards?

Successive blows to the head are what cause the worse injuries. An injury received, then compounded by further injuries cause horrible problems, which is what is happening in a boxing match.

 

No, I agree.. what I am saying is that if it's to brutal for NYSAC, they should take a harder look at the stats. Much of the time is also spent on the ground instead of just taking punches consistently. Of course most of them are on PED's these day which makes it all even worse.

 

Yep, the question is... what can be done about it though? There's a ton of money in boxing and it's not just going to go away. Should they mandate headgear? Smaller gloves? Both? Something else perhaps? I don't know what the answer would be.

 

I think they've come to the conclusion ( correction, if I'm wrong ) that headgear makes no difference, hence seems that they are doing away with its mandatory use in the amateurs.

 

Shorten the count. If you don't pop back up right away because your'e shaking off the disorientation you just received a concussion medically. 2 sec. count or something. And of course if the fighter is out on his feet, the fight needs to be stopped immediately.

I think that would solve a lot of the biggest injuries honestly. If you used smaller gloves people wouldn't hit to the head as hard. Headgear is shown to allow people to hit harder which is why Amateurs in the 'elite' (serious ammy competition) class don't wear it anymore.

The problem isn't in the rounds in my opinion, its with allowing the fighters to continue after they've received a concussion (symptoms aren't necessarily immediate. I worked out for an entire week before mine hit).

 

Already implemented.

 

Yeah, it's hard for me to watch some fights... you find yourself not thinking about what might be happening to the fighter behind the scenes.

 

Also, going back to Saved's post regarding the old-timers fates, MMA - well by that I reckon we mean Pride-era and later - hasn't been round long enough to see the effects in later years.

If we could fast-forward to a 70ish Liddel, Wandy in his early 50's, etc. would we be asking this question?

Another one: What will Vitor, Overroid and the rest of the steroid abusers look like down the pike? I think we can all guess.

 

I think one of the reasons there are fewer problems in MMA is that you don't get a count. If you become unable to continue for any time at all, the referee can stop the fight. Standing counts in boxing should be abolished and a TKO should be declared. You should have a reduced number of times you can be knocked down and allowed to continue - if you've been dropped more than once, that should be a TKO.

 

It depends if your down due to strikes, or down due to Being pushed, mistiming a weave etc.

They should definatly take away standing 8 counts.

 

But the referee shouldn't count slips, trips, pushes etc as knockdowns. You should get one knockdown to remove the chance of a lucky punch taking your legs away for a second, but how many fighters go down twice and still win? How many fights would that affect?