Magomed Abdusalamov

Magomed Abdusalamov

Statistics
Real name	Magomed Abdusalamov
Nickname(s)	Mago
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Nationality	Russian
Born	(1981-03-25) 25 March 1981 Makhachkala, Dagestan ASSR, USSR
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	19
Wins	18
Wins by KO	18
Losses	1
Draws	0
No contests	0

Magomed Abdusalamov (Russian: Магомед Абдусаламов) (born March 25, 1981) is a Russian former professional boxer who fought in the heavyweight class.^[1] Abdusalamov won the Russian national amateur titles as a super heavyweight in 2005 and 2006, and became a professional boxer in 2008. He fought nineteen times as a professional, winning his first eighteen by knockout, and lost once.

Abdusalamov was forced to retire from boxing after his fight against Mike Perez, which took place on November 2, 2013 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, due to a severe brain injury caused by the fight which Abdusalamov lost by unanimous decision.

Early life

Magomed Abdusalamov was born in Dagestan’s capital city of Makhachkala on March 25, 1981. He grew up in a strict Muslim household and was his parents’ first male child. Growing up in large family from an early age his hard-disciplining father pushed his son into sports as a way to shelter him from the growing violence and crime in the city.^[2]

Amateur

In spite of his success at the nationals 2005 and 2006, hard-punching southpaw Abdusalamov stood in the shadows of Islam Timurziev who was regularly sent to international competitions ahead of him.

He did not qualify for the 2008 Olympics after losing to eventual Bronze medalist David Price in a qualifier.

Professional boxing career

He turned pro in 2008 and won his first four bouts for Warriors boxing.

Of his nineteen professional fights he got eighteen wins, all by KO or TKO.

In September 2012 he was dropped hard by Jameel McCline in the first round, but won by TKO in the second round to win the vacant World Boxing Council USNBC Heavyweight title at Olympiyskiy in Moscow, Russia. He defended the USNBC title twice with stoppage wins in 2013, against Victor Bisbal in Atlantic City, New Jersey in March 2013, and Sebastian Ceballos in Buenos Aires, Argentina in April 2013.

In November 2013 Abdusalamov lost his WBC USNBC heavyweight title on points to Mike Perez over 10 rounds at Madison Square Garden in New York City. One judge had the close bout only 95-94 for Perez. Abdusalamov took many big shots from the seventh round on, but did not go down. Immediately after the fight, Abdusalamov took a taxi to Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, New York.^[3]

Brain injury

At Roosevelt Hospital he was found to have a large blood clot on the brain. He also incurred injuries to the left hand and nose, along with cuts and bruises from the bout. 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.^[4] On November 6, 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.^[5] He was brought back into medically-induced coma later that day as a precautionary measure after his temperature rose to 103 degrees.^[6]

On Monday December 9, Lewkowicz 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 Lewkowicz.^[7]

On December 19, 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."^[8]

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.^[9]

Medical bills

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

News reports didn't clarify those who set up trust funds put money themselves into said trust funds.

In February 2014 it was reported that the family would sue the New York State Athletic Commission seeking damages.^[11]

Professional boxing record

18 Wins (18 knockouts, 0 decisions) 1 Loss
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" \|Loss	18-1	Mike Perez	UD	10	2013-11-02	New York City, New York	First pro loss. The fight caused a brain injury.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	18-0	Sebastian Ignacio Ceballos	TKO	1 (10)	2013-04-27	Buenos Aires, Argentina
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	17-0	Victor Bisbal	TKO	5 (10)	2013-03-08	Atlantic City, New Jersey
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	16-0	Jameel McCline	TKO	2 (10)	2012-09-08	Moscow
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	15-0	Maurice Byarm	TKO	2 (10)	2012-06-07	Las Vegas, Nevada
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	14-0	Jason Pettaway	TKO	4 (10)	2012-03-17	New York City, New York
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	13-0	Pedro Rodriguez	TKO	2 (4)	2012-02-03	Las Vegas, Nevada
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	12-0	Rich Power	TKO	3 (8)	2011-11-20	Las Vegas, Nevada
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	11-0	Masataka Takehara	KO	1 (6)	2011-10-28	Salinas, California
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	10-0	Kevin Burnett	TKO	1 (6)	2011-10-01	Atlantic City, New Jersey
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	9-0	Jerry Butler	TKO	2 (6)	2010-12-07	Hollywood, Florida
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	8-0	Keon Graham	KO	1 (4)	2010-10-22	Miami, Florida
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	7-0	Raymond Ochieng	TKO	1 (6)	2010-02-06	Moscow
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	6-0	Ryan Shay	TKO	1 (4)	2009-10-31	Johnstown, Pennsylvania
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	5-0	Sherzod Mamadjanov	KO	1 (6)	2009-07-02	Moscow
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	4-0	Larry White	TKO	1 (4)	2009-03-27	Tampa, Florida
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	3-0	Maurice Winslow	TKO	1 (4)	2009-02-27	Hollywood, Florida
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	2-0	Bernard Mwakasanga	TKO	1 (4)	2008-11-21	Saint Petersburg
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" \|Win	1-0	Epiphanie Pipi	KO	1 (4)	2008-09-06	Moscow	Professional debut.