“For him it was a hell of a fight”: Russian boxer Dadashev is in critical condition after a fight with Mathias

Boxer Maxim Dadashev was urgently hospitalized after the qualifying bout according to the International Boxing Federation (IBF) light welterweight championship with Puerto Rican Sabriel Matias. The Russian team had to stop the meeting after the 11th round.

The fight for the title of a temporary contender for the organization's belt was held in the American city of Oskon Hill and was the second event of the day after the meeting between American Teofimo Lopez and Japanese Masayoshi Nakatani. Throughout the fight, Mathias was more active in the ring and significantly outnumbered Dadashev in accuracy and number of power strikes.

After 11 rounds, all the judges gave the unanimous victory to the Puerto Rican - 109: 100, 108: 101, 107: 102. During the break, the condition of the Russians deteriorated sharply. He hardly reached his corner. Referee Kenny Chevalier came to check the boxer's condition, while the second, Buddy McGirt, said that his ward would not be able to return to the ring. According to him, he planned to do this earlier, but Dadashev refused to give up.

“I could not convince him to stop. But at the same time, I saw that he was missing more and more clean blows as the fight went on, and asked myself if it was worth it. One blow can change the life of this guy, and I didn’t want to let that happen. I preferred him to be angry with me for a day or two than the rest of his life, ”McGirth quoted Fightnews.

In addition, the coach suggested that the condition of the Russians could be aggravated due to severe fatigue and dehydration.

“I think now he really needs droppers. Being in the corner, he did not want to drink a lot, constantly spitting out water. For Maxim it was a very hard, hellish fight, in which he missed a lot of punches. I think we stopped him in time, ”McGirt said after the fight.

Russian needed help to leave the ring. In the locker room, he could not come to his senses, he vomited several times. It was decided to emergency hospitalization. From the arena the athlete was carried out on stretchers.

On the way to the hospital, Dadashev lost consciousness. Manager Egis Klimas said that doctors immediately contacted his relatives to find out about possible contraindications, as they planned the operation.

The athlete was diagnosed with severe cerebral edema, his condition was assessed as critical, and therefore the craniotomy was required.

“I returned from the hospital, Dadashev successfully underwent a two-hour operation ... Now the recovery process is underway. The long-term forecast on this score is not yet known, ”wrote American journalist Steve Kim.

After the fight, sports commentator and expert Max Kellerman stressed that you should not blame the referee in this situation.

“I wouldn’t say that a specific blow led to this. I witnessed a lot of similar situations. It doesn't seem to me that Chevalier did something wrong, since there were no obvious prerequisites for stopping the meeting. Dadashev did not stand out from the rhythm of the battle for 11 rounds. Therefore, everyone behaved correctly, ”Kellerman told ESPN.

The defeat in the qualifying bout was the first in the career of Dadashev at a professional level. After an early victory over the Russian Mathias received the status of the mandatory applicant for the title of the organization in the welterweight. Puerto Rican was pleased with the fight, but expressed regret in connection with the state of the Russians and wished him a speedy recovery.

“First of all, I am grateful for the opportunity given to me. I managed to prove that I can not only deliver power strikes. Dominated throughout the battle. My attack was directed at the body and that was how I managed to stop the opponent. I hope that everything will be fine with Maxim. He is a great fighter and a warrior, ”said Mathias.

The Boxing Federation of Russia called for clarification of all the circumstances of the incident, and also stated that they were ready to provide the boxer and his family with the necessary support.

“I have already instructed to contact the managers of Maxim and join in the support of our boxer. We are ready to participate financially in order to restore the guy, to return him home to St. Petersburg, ”RIA Novosti quotes the organization's general secretary, Umar Kremlev.