Magomed Abdusalamov

Abdusalamov was cleared of brain injury by Barry Jordan, Chief Medical Officer of the New York State Athletic Commission.[3] Immediately afterwards, Abdusalamov took a taxi from Madison Square Garden to Roosevelt Hospital on the Upper West Side.[4] The doctors who examined Abdusalamov found that he had sustained a large blood clot on his brain, in addition to the wear and tear he suffered during the course of the fight. Doctors put Abdusalamov into medically induced coma as a way to give the swelling in his brain time to subside. Shortly after being put into a coma, he suffered a stroke, leading doctors to fear he was going to die.[5] On 6 November 2013, his condition was described as critical but stable.[1]

Abdusalamov's wife, Bakanay Abdusalamova, and their three daughters were with him in hospital.

Doctors briefly awakened Abdusalamov from his medically-induced coma and removed his respirator on the morning of 22 November.[6] He was brought back into medically-induced coma later that day as a precautionary measure after his temperature rose to 103 degrees.[7]

On Monday, 9 December, it was reported that the 32-year-old heavyweight was again out of coma, awake and aware of his surroundings, and that his condition had improved sufficiently to allow him to be moved to a regular room. "They said this is different than last time, because this time he's showing more improvement. He's awake. He's not able to speak, but he's awake and aware of his surroundings even if he can't speak. His eyes are open," said his promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz.[8]

On 19 December 2013, the neurosurgeon attending to Abdusalamov said in his opinion, Abdusalamov's career was over, despite his condition improving. "He's going to get better, I'm confident", Dr. Rupendra Swarup said, "but he will not be the same. He's going to have neurological deficits."[9]

In late May 2014, his wife Bakanay Abdusalamov told BoxingScene.com that Magomed was showing signs of improvement – he could recognize relatives, understand everything they were telling him, and was able to speak in short sentences with a low voice.[10]

With Abdusalamov's family facing "staggering" medical bills from the very start, promoters Lewkowicz, Lou DiBella, Leon Margules, and others called for donations and set up a trust fund. The Abdusalamov family is also accepting donations directly[11] and boxing charity Ring 10 has similarly called for donations.