Boxer Maxim Dadashev Dies After Brain Injuries From Latest Bout

Junior welterweight boxer Maxim Dadashev lost a bout to opponent Subriel Matias on Friday. However, the events soon turned tragic as the Russian boxer succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday morning. According to reports, Dadashev sustained brain injuries during an 11th-round knockout loss to Matias. The late Dadashev was 28-years at the time of his passing.

The fight was so brutal that it got to a point where Dadashev’s trainer Buddy McGirt pleaded with him to stop the fight. Later on, speaking to ESPN, an emotional McGirt admitted that tragedies like this makes one realise what kind of sport they are in.

The 55-year old said, “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.”

Maxim Dadashev leaves behind a wife, Elizaveta Apushkina and a son. He squared off against Matias in a 140-pound world title elimination fight. The winner of the fight would then go on to challenge Josh Taylor for the belt.

“Great, great guy. He was a trainer’s dream,” McGirt said. “If I had two more guys like him, I wouldn’t need anybody else because he was truly dedicated to the sport.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV01Wlokxlk

During the bout, Matias pummelled Dadashev on the head and body and dominated the fight. Matias led 109-100, 108-101 and 107-102 on the scorecards after the 11th round. Then, McGirt had obviously had enough of the massacre and stopped the fight, sadly it seemed to be too late.

After the round, McGirt was heard saying, “I’m going to stop it, Max. Max, you’re getting hit too much.”

However, Dadashev was adamant and wanted to continue, but McGirt still begged him to reconsider: “Please, Max, please. Let me do this. OK? OK? Look at me. Please.”

“If I don’t, the referee’s gonna do it. C’mon, Max. Please.”

Afterwards, McGirt confessed that he thought about stopping two rounds earlier, but by the 11th round, it was imperative.

“I saw him fading, and when he came back to the corner [after the 11th round], my mind was already made up,” McGirt said. “I was just asking him out of respect, but my mind was made up. I wasn’t going to let him go out there.”