By Allan Fox: Russian heavyweight contender Magomed Abdusalamov (18-1, 18 KO’s) reportedly suffered a stroke on Sunday while recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain following a 10 round decision loss to Mike Perez last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, in New York.
Abdusalamov is currently on a life support system in the intensive care unit at Roosevelt Hospital in New York. Abdusalamov’s medical bills have been mounting since he was admitted to the hospital on Saturday night, and his purse for the fight was $40,000.
Abdusalamov’s promoter Nathan Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing told ESPN’s Dan Rafael “He is recovering from a stroke and he’s on a machine that’s keeping him alive. He is getting better according to the doctors as he doesn’t have a temperature like he did on Sunday. We didn’t want to say anything about it [the stroke], but someone told the New York Post about it, so I decided to confirm it.”
Abdusalamov initially was admitted to the hospital to treat a broken hand, nose and cheek injury from the Perez fight last Saturday. But while in the hospital, Abdusalamov complained of a severe headache and it was at that point where the blood clot on his brain was discovered. Surgeons from the hospital then took off a section of Abdusalamov to relieve pressure on his brain and to help remove the blood clot. The blood clot was successfully removed. He was then put in a medically induced coma to help treat the swelling on his brain.
They’re looking for donations to help pay for the huge costs of the medical bills for Abdusalamov.
The fight arguably should have been stopped early on when the left side of Abdusalamov’s head began to swell up badly by the 6th round. He was opening and closing his mouth as if he had injured his jaw, and it’s unknown why the ringside doctor didn’t step in and call a halt to the bout because Abdusalamov did not look good at all for the last five rounds of the fight, and he took some major shots from Perez in those rounds.
Abdusalamov hurt his left hand early in the fight, and that’s his power hand. Without that weapon, he was at a huge disadvantage because he wasn’t able to get Perez out of there the way he had his previous 18 opponents.