Graphic Photo: Grotesque swollen eye leads to TKO loss

You can probably figure out why Anthony Yigit was not allowed to continue in his IBF junior welterweight title fight vs. Ivan Baranchyk.

(Warning: Graphic photos in post)

Last Saturday in New Orleans, Louisiana, Swedish boxer Anthony Yigit (21-1-1, 7 KOs) fought Belarusian Ivan Baranchyk (19-0, 12 KOs) for both the vacant IBF junior welterweight (140 lbs) world title, as well as the right to advance to the semifinals of the World Boxing Super Series tournament.

In an entertaining fight, Baranchyk simply had too much firepower for “Can You Dig It?” Yigit — I swear that’s his actual nickname — to withstand. Yigit’s left eye started to swell in round two, and by the end of round seven, the doctor stopped the fight, and despite Yigit’s protestations, I think you can figure out why this had to be called off.

Yikes. Try topping that for scary when you’re celebrating Halloween. Yigit has since addressed his fans through Instagram page.

“Well, that didn’t go as planned.. The gameplan was to be competitive in the first couple rounds but keep the distance and then take over in the latter rounds. I got drawn in to unnecessary fights with him and that’s where he wanted me. I was down 2 rounds with two of the judges scorecards and one judge had it even, coming in to the 8th round. With 5 more rounds to go I was quite certain I could’ve flipped it. The eye is ok (looks worse than it is), got a couple of stitches above the eyebrow from a cut, drained blood from my ear and also got a small fracture in my jaw in the 5th round. A tough Saturday night, in other words. I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s been supporting me and cheering for me. I hope you enjoyed my fight even though it didn’t go my way but I will come back stronger. Love you all!”

Yigit also wrote on Twitter that the doctor who stopped the bout “did his job and he did it well.”

Baranchyk will face the winner of Josh Taylor vs. Ryan Martin, which is slated for this Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland.