Maxim Dadashev dies after suffering brain injury during boxing match
Maxim Dadashev, left, fights Antonio de Marco during a super-lightweight bout at Park Theater at Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Oct. 20, 2018, in Las Vegas. Credit: Getty Images/Steve Marcus
MOSCOW — Boxer Maxim Dadashev has died after suffering a brain injury in a fight in Maryland. He was 28.
The Russian Boxing Federation said Tuesday that Dadashev died "as a result of the injuries he sustained" in Friday's light-welterweight fight with Subriel Matias at the Theater at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
"The Russian Boxing Federation expresses deep condolences to Maxim's relatives and close ones. We mourn together with you," the federation said in a statement.
Dadashev was hospitalized at UM Prince George's Hospital Center with brain swelling shortly after the fight, which was stopped by his corner following the 11th round after Dadashev took numerous shots to the head.
Footage from the fight shows Dadashev shaking his head in his corner as his trainer, Brentwood native Buddy McGirt, pleads with him to stop the fight, telling him: "You're getting hit too much, Max. Please, Max, please let me do this."
Shortly after, the referee stopped the bout at McGirt's request.
Both fighters were 13-0 before the bout, which offered the winner the right to challenge IBF titleholder Josh Taylor. Dadashev had been viewed as a rising star after beating two former world lightweight champions, Darleys Perez and Antonio DeMarco, last year. He was originally from the Russian city of St. Petersburg but had fought exclusively in the United States since turning pro in 2016.
"He was a very kind person who fought until the very end," Dadashev's wife, Elizaveta Apushkina, said in a statement issued by the hospital. "Our son will continue be raised to be a great man like his father. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone that cared for Maxim during his final days."
The Russian embassy in the U.S. said in a statement on Facebook it is "ready to provide any necessary assistance for [Dadashev's] repatriation to Russia."
