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The Russian junior welterweight was just 28 years old.
Russian boxer Maxim Dadashev (13-1, 11 KOs) has succumbed to injuries he suffered in his IBF junior welterweight #1 contender bout with Subriel Matias (14-0, 14 KOs) on Friday night.
ESPN confirmed with trainer Buddy McGirt and coach Donatas Janusevicius that Dadashev passed away at the UM Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly, Maryland, where he was transported after the fight in nearby Oxon Hill.
Dadashev lost to Matias by 11th round TKO, absorbing 260 power punches from his opponent. It was McGirt who made the decision to throw in the towel after the 11th round, which was the clearest and most lopsided round of the contest. Matias was up on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
This is a mark of a great trainer, one that knows his warrior at war a trainer has to love his fighter enough to make a crucial call sometimes saving him from his very self. Great call Buddy @buddymcgirtboxing prayers up for this young warrior #speedyrecovery #toughsport pic.twitter.com/cKljvTKOgt
— The Magic Man (@AntonioTarver) July 20, 2019
“It just makes you realize what type of sport we’re in, man,” McGirt told ESPN. “He did everything right in training, no problems, no nothing. My mind is like really running crazy right now. Like, what could I have done differently? But at the end of the day, everything was fine [in training].
“He seemed OK, he was ready, but it’s the sport that we’re in. It just takes one punch, man.”
After the result was read, Dadashev collapsed before he could make it back to his dressing room and started vomiting. He was unable to walk under his own power and the medical staff immediately attended to him. Dadashev was placed on a stretched and taken away from the arena via ambulance. He was initially responsive but vomiting profusely, then lost consciousness on the way to the hospital.
ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna reported during the ESPN+ broadcast that Dadashev was “severely concussed” and “severely dehydrated,” and emergency surgery was required to relieve a subdural hematoma, otherwise known as bleeding of the brain. Dadashev remained in a medically induced coma following surgery, listed in critical condition. Sadly, he would not recover.
Dadashev was a promising prospect with a deep amateur background, compiling a record of 281-20. He turned professional in 2016 and was signed by Top Rank Boxing. Dadashev quickly went from rising prospect to a contender, defeating the likes of Darleys Perez and Antonio DeMarco on his way to an IBF title eliminator vs. Matias.
On a night when Dadashev was on the cusp of his first world title shot, what instead transpired was an unspeakable tragedy that provides a sobering reminder of the inherent dangers of boxing. Perhaps what magnifies this particular fatality was that McGirt did what he could to save his fighter from more punishment, and yet ultimately it was too late.
Maxim Dadashev was just 28 years old. He leaves behind a wife and a 2-year-old son.