Boxer Abdusalamov Magomed Magomedgadzhievich: biography, fights and interesting facts. “Money will not return my former husband to me”

2017-09-11T13:26:42+03:00

"Money will not return my former husband to me." The Abdusalamov family received $22 million in compensation in a US court

The family of Russian boxer Magomed Abdusalamov won a lawsuit in the United States and will receive very large monetary compensation. Match TV correspondent Vadim Tikhomirov spoke with Bakanai Abdusalamova to find out what her three years of struggle for justice and the health of her husband were like for her.

On November 2, 2013, in New York, Russian Magomed Abdusalamov lost a boxing match for the first time in his career: he lost to Cuban Mike Perez by unanimous decision. After the fight, Abdusalamov felt unwell, began to lose consciousness and was taken to the hospital by taxi. Doctors determined a cerebral hemorrhage and put the boxer into a state of artificial coma. In December, Abdusalamov was brought out of a coma - and two exhausting processes were launched for his family. The first is rehabilitation, due to the fact that after a coma, the boxer could not move and talk. The second is judicial, since, according to relatives of Magomed, he did not receive timely medical care.

On the night of September 9, 2017, ESPN wrote that the court ordered the state of New York to pay $ 22 million to the boxer's family as compensation for the injuries sustained by Magomed Abdusalamov. Among other things, it was indicated that this is the largest compensation in US history for bodily injuries.

“All this is really true, but the trial is not over yet, we are continuing the case, there will be more trials,” Bakanai Abdusalamova, Magomed’s wife, said in an interview with Match TV a few hours after the news appeared.

- But the state of New York has to pay your family 22 million dollars, and this is already certain?

- For you, money was a matter of principle, a desire to prove that someone is guilty of what happened to your husband?

It's hard for me to say now. You see, when the trial began, I thought that Mago would come to his senses by the last court hearings. I thought his condition was for six months, maybe for a year. But now, when you realize that Mago has not yet recovered and that you need a lot of money, and you see that you are alone, and everything you need for your family needs to be paid somehow, you understand that you need money too.

- I perfectly understand that you did not win this money in the lottery, but still this is a huge fortune that suddenly became yours - how will you manage it?

- We have to pay for the work of lawyers, we have debts - about two million dollars. Plus, out of the amount that we will be paid, ten million will look like an investment that will provide us with a monthly income, which should be enough to support the family and rehabilitate Magomed. I hope this money will help create Better conditions for recovery, we will be able to see where and what rehabilitation centers are, it will be easier for us to move around.

As I said, we received the money, but whatever it is, I can’t just take it and return the Mago that was before.

What is a two million dollar debt?

- These are the expenses that we incurred in the course of rehabilitation. All procedures here are very expensive. Just to give an example, a 15-minute acupuncture session costs $150. We need several such sessions a week, and we have been doing them for three years. A special bed for people who cannot move independently costs about eight thousand dollars. We need to pay so that we can travel to train.

- Train?

- That's what I call physiotherapy, I'm already used to this word when I talk about Magomed. Usually we have hour-long workouts and in addition to them we do either in the pool or come to us and do acupuncture. At home there is a special room where we can go for procedures.

- All boxers have insurance before the fight.

- Yes, insurance coverage is ten thousand dollars ... This is enough for a few minutes of resuscitation in a clinic in the USA. Magomed spent two months in a coma. I exaggerate, of course, but when a person receives such damage, insurance does not cover even a small part. For example, Andrei Ryabinsky (Russian businessman, head of the World of Boxing company - Match TV) helped us pay for treatment in a rehabilitation center. Treatment there costs several tens of thousands of dollars a month. But we had many procedures later, in fact, it was a treatment on credit - the hospital agreed, although I understood that it would be difficult for me to repay this debt. I have nothing.

During rehabilitation, Magomed was hospitalized several times. Once everything was very serious, he had a severe infection, we just did not advertise it. We started developing osteomyelitis (a purulent-necrotic process in the bone - "Match TV"), sepsis, and Magomed's condition was very serious. At some point it seemed to me that the doctors, in principle, decided that he could not cope and thought that it should be so. I started yelling for them to do something. Magomed spent several weeks in the hospital. Now we live on, and we will not say that everything is gorgeous, but normal.

– Where do you live?

- In Greenwich in New York, in the house that family friend Aminulla Suleimanov provided us, he, together with Andrei Ryabinsky, helped us the most, and I am very grateful to them for this, because it was the help without which everything would be now differently. But obviously, we can't live all our lives in someone else's house, we would like to buy our own.

- Have you ever met Mike Perez (Magomed Abdusalamov's rival)?

- No. For what?

Would it be important to you that he personally apologize to you?

– He boxed in the ring just like my husband. Before that, Magomed also had all the victories by knockouts, that is, he also beat people hard. What happened to him is not the fault of his opponent.

- Who do you blame?

- I can't rate. We believe that Magomed did not receive timely medical assistance - that's all I can say.

- Magomed understands that you won the trial?

It's hard for me to answer you. Of course, I tell him this, but I think that he does not fully understand. He is now a different person, he cannot sit and argue what we will do when we won the court. I can. I think about what conditions it will create for him so that he can live and train, what conditions I can create for the life of our children with Magomed.

I would like to equip a training room at home, buy all the necessary rehabilitation devices there, so that we can undergo procedures outside the rehabilitation center, so that we can work out before bed. I'd like to buy him a special bed, I've got a few more things in mind for him, and hopefully it works out now.

– Unfortunately, there are stories when a person and doctors reach the maximum in terms of rehabilitation, and after that it is already difficult to improve something.

- In general, doctors first told us that he would not survive, then that he would not be able to think, then that he would not be able to speak. Now they say they see a miracle, because initially they looked at the pictures of his brain and said the word "plant", and now they look and say "fantastic".

The left side of the body works for him, he opens his eyes, he tries to speak. While doctors do not promise anything, we just hope that there will be some more results.

- Have you thought about trying to be treated somewhere other than the USA: in Israel, Switzerland, Germany?

- Well, where we do not. Of course, they say that there are other good clinics, but America has very good medicine. Perhaps in another country he would not have survived with such injuries. And I’m not ready to move with the children and Magomed to another place, especially when I don’t know how he will endure the flight.

- Do you get a lot of advice on how to be treated?

“Instagram constantly says: “Try this…do it like this…these medicines help.” I don’t try any of this, because without the doctor’s permission I can’t give anything, and now he has a lot of drugs that you need to know how to combine with each other, and some new drugs may simply be incompatible. Someone says that it is necessary to use the traditional method for Islam - Hijama (bloodletting treatment - "Match TV"), I respect traditions, but imagine if doctors in the USA see that I myself do some things on my husband's body then incisions. I think I myself can then be sent to court.

- If you happen to see a boxing match today, how do you react?

- I can’t sit down on purpose and turn on boxing myself, but if I see it somewhere, I won’t turn away, I understand that my husband lived this, and an injury could have been in ordinary life get. So, when you wrote to me, on WhatsApp, you thought that this was not my number, because there is an adult man in my profile picture.

Yes, and very serious.

“It's just a picture of my brother, he died in a car accident two years ago. This is a huge grief, but this does not mean that we should now not drive. It's the same with boxing.

Postponed severe injuries and a stroke, began to talk with loved ones. This was announced by the athlete's wife Bakanay. On November 2, 2013, during a duel with Cuban Mike Perez, Magomed received a severe head injury, as well as fractures of his arm and jaw. He was taken to the hospital where he suffered a stroke. The boxer was placed in an artificial coma, in which he remained until December 10 of the same year. The athlete underwent a craniotomy to remove blood clots, and a broken jaw was also operated on. Abdusalamov spent a certain period of time in a rehabilitation center.

In mid-September, the athlete was discharged home. Now he takes food on his own, but he still cannot move without help. “He doesn’t really speak, but I understand him,” said the boxer’s wife. - He speaks quietly, but tries to do it, although not everything is clear. I am his translator. In general, for him a great medicine is our youngest daughter. She tries to be close to him, to hug him. He smiles when he sees her."

On this moment Abdusalamov's right side of the body is completely paralyzed. “While the left side works for us, the right side does not. I gradually start to give him regular food, although he usually eats everything from a blender. But he looks much better and fresher, gained weight well. Maga tries to draw, writes our names. In general, we have progress,” Bakanai added.

The wife of 34-year-old Abdusalamov also noticed that doctors note progress in the athlete's condition, but do not give encouraging forecasts. “In the beginning, the doctors told us that he would not survive, would not think,” the boxer's wife said. But I proved them wrong. He gets better. A doctor three months ago said that he would not be able to walk. But we do not think about it, we believe in the best. He doesn't have the lost eyes he used to. I heard Denis Boytsov (a Russian boxer who is recovering from severe injuries) was told that he would return to normal life and will walk. But if he can, then so can we!”

Immediately after the incident, the desire to help Abdusalamov was expressed by world champions Sergey Kovalev, Ruslan Provodnikov, Sultan Ibragimov, Khabib Allahverdiev and Russian promoter Andrei Ryabinsky, who paid for part of the athlete's treatment.

According to a friend of the athlete Amin Suleymanov, the treatment and rehabilitation in the United States of Magomed Abdusalamov costs about $20-30 thousand a month. “Now Maga and his family live with me,” said Suleymanov. - At first everyone helped, but now only I am left. While he was in rehab, treatment cost $50,000 a month. Now we are taking him from home, I am using my money to help Maga. In total, it takes between $20,000-30,000. There is city insurance, but it does not cover everything.”

Abdusalamov Magomed was one of the main hopes of domestic heavyweight boxing. His career developed rapidly, the athlete was distinguished by a strong delivered blow, which put many rivals ahead of schedule on the carpet of the ring. However, at the very take-off, not only the boxer's participation in big sport but also his life. It happened in a duel with Cuban Mike Perez at the Madison Square Garden arena in November 2013.

Formation

Abdusalamov Magomed Magomedgadzhievich was born in Dagestan on March 25, 1981. It was the father who instilled in his son a love for sports, since he himself was engaged in freestyle wrestling, received the title of master. Young Magician tried different kinds martial arts, and came to boxing at the age of 22 due to a knee injury in the Thai interpretation of this sport, where he achieved considerable success.

The first mentor of the athlete was G. Gaziev, who later was like an older brother for him. In classical boxing, Abdusalamov Magomed began training with Evgeny Kotov. In the amateur category, the athlete managed to win the championship twice Russian Federation. However, he lacked tactics and technique due to his late arrival in this sport. In amateur boxing, Magi has fifty fights on her account, the lion's share of victories in which took place ahead of schedule.

Professional career

Boxer Magomed Abdusalamov professional career started in the fall of 2008. At first, Yuri Fedorov supported the athlete, then the promotion of Mage was provided by the American Leon Margulies with his team. The Dagestani alternately fought in Russia and America. Soon the entire boxer's family (wife and two daughters) moved to Florida. Abdusalamov Magomed laid down the first eight opponents in the professional ring on the canvas in the first round. In 2012, the well-known American J. McCline became Magee's rival. In this fight, the Russian athlete managed to be knocked down, but the second round brought him an early victory.

A year later, a meeting between Abdusalamov and Puerto Rican V. Bisbal took place. This opponent made the Dagestani nervous, but in the fifth round he was also knocked out. In fights, it is noticeable that the Magician practically does not control the defense, behaves quite openly and risky. According to the athlete himself, this was his tactic, making it possible to take the opponent by surprise. The main trump cards of the domestic boxer are tremendous power and high striking power.

Magomed Abdusalamov: what happened in the fatal battle?

The ill-fated duel took place on November 2, 2011. In the ring of the Madison Square Garden arena in New York, two invincible boxers at that time met - Magomed Abdusalamov and Cuban Mike Perez. Bookmakers estimated the chances of athletes about fifty-fifty. The Dagestani at that time was 32 years old, and his opponent was 28 years old.

The opponents began the fight in an active struggle for the center of the ring. Almost from the first seconds, a frank "cutting" began. In his characteristic style, Maga tried to suppress the Cuban's initiative, but he failed to do so right away. Moreover, he missed a powerful blow to the jaw, which immediately began to swell. The coach and the team did not pay attention to this until the very end of the fight. As it turned out later, the Russian athlete suffered a fracture of the facial bone under the eye, and this was in the first round!

Development of events

Despite the injury, Magomed Abdusalamov last Stand drove like a real warrior. Actively maneuvering, he rushed to the offensive. Throughout the fight, boxers alternately took the initiative into their own hands. Perez turned out to be a very persistent and nimble opponent. In addition, he repeatedly struck the Russian athlete with low blows, for which he was deprived of one point by the referee's decision.

With each round, the fight between Magomed Abdusalamov and the Cuban became tougher and more spectacular, forcing the audience to jump up and down from their seats. However, Maga was noticeably tired, missed several serious blows to the injured jaw and earned a couple of cuts. At the same time, Mike behaved provocatively, showing ambiguous gestures and language. As a result, the fight ended with the victory of the Cuban athlete on points by unanimous decision of the judges.

Situation after the fight

How did Magomed Abdusalamov feel during the fight? What happened in the first round and why did the coaching staff not react to a serious injury? There are no clear answers to these questions. Some consider the language barrier a hindrance in mutual understanding, others claim that too much was at stake. The fact is that a few hours after the fight, the athlete was sent to the clinic with severe headaches, where he was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage.

To prevent the situation from worsening, the doctors put the boxer into an artificial coma. And a few days later, Abdusalamov suffered a stroke. An operation was performed, during which doctors removed a blood clot from the brain, and also removed part of the skull to relieve swelling. Only after some time the athlete came out of a coma and began to breathe on his own. Four months later, he was transferred from intensive care to a regular ward.

Rehabilitation

It soon became known that the Abdusalamov family did not have the right amount funds for passing full course rehabilitation and follow-up care. All possible assistance in solving this problem was provided by caring sponsors and patrons from the boxing environment, including current and former athletes, as well as friends of Magomed. The promoters even set up a special fund to collect donations for Magee's treatment.

Abdusalamov Magomed Magomedgadzhievich was transferred to a rehabilitation center in 2014. He is going through a difficult and lengthy recovery period, has lost a significant amount of weight and is still unable to move independently. The athlete's wife, Bakanay, does not leave her husband and makes incredible efforts to ensure that the rehabilitation process is completed successfully. Unfortunately, the brain damage turned out to be very serious, the treatment can take more than one year. Magomed has already begun to talk a little, the wife hopes that soon her husband will get on his feet and walk. Although doctors predict paralysis of the right side of the body forever.

Conclusion

Boxing is a really dangerous sport in which more than one person has lost his health. Athletes take risks in every fight, and sometimes fatal role plays just a case. I would like to believe that the boxer Magomed Abdusalamov will recover and cope with the disease, as with most of his rivals in the ring. Fans remember him as a persistent, purposeful and almost invincible athlete.

Magomed Abdusalamov (nickname in the ring "MAGO") was born and raised in Makhachkala. Before joining professional boxing, he managed to finish the Makhachkala branch of the Moscow Road Institute, was engaged in Thai boxing. He has a wife and three small children. He had 18 fights in the professional ring, the last of which turned out to be fatal for Magomed.

Abdusalamov started boxing in 2004, he was considered a young promising athlete. In the amateur ring, Magomed managed to become the heavyweight champion of Russia twice. I had a desire to go to Beijing for the Olympics, but no luck - I could not get through the qualifying selection.

Debuted in 2008. Mago practiced open, on "collision courses" boxing, relying on a knockout punch. During the battle, Magomed often neglected the defense, which played with him bad joke during the fight with Perez.

In total, before the ill-fated fight, he entered the ring 17 times in the heavyweight division and always won by knockout in the first rounds. The most significant in the career of the Russians were fights for the title of US champion according to the WBC. In the summer of 2012, Magomed won the fight against Maurice Byrom, becoming the champion, and in March 2013, Abdusalamov managed to defend his title in a difficult fight with the American Jamil McCline.

The fatal fight for Abdusalamov took place on November 2, 2013 in New York at the famous Madison Square Garden. In the fight for the title of US WBC champion, the Russian was opposed by the famous Cuban boxer Mike Perez. Experts and the public assumed that the fight would end prematurely, but they were wrong - both opponents stood on their feet for all 10 rounds.

The beginning of the fight was for Magomed, but somewhere from the 6th round the Cuban seized the initiative and began to seriously press our boxer. In the final three-minute period, Perez shocked Abdusalamov with a powerful right cross, but he could not completely fall down. After the announcement of the result, the Russian barely had the strength to come up to congratulate his opponent on his victory. So our boxer suffered the first and, presumably, the last defeat in his career.

A few hours after the fight, Magomed complained of a headache and dizziness. Abusalamov was hospitalized in the medical center. Roosevelt in New York. After examination, a small blood clot was found in the victim's head, in addition, his arm was broken, his nose was broken, and there were numerous injuries to the maxillofacial region of the skull.

By the decision of the doctors, the athlete was put into a coma and operated on, as a result of which the blood clot was removed from the brain. Doctors also had to remove part of the skull. And later, new shocking news became known: due to cerebral edema, which led to multiple hemorrhages, the boxer suffered a stroke without regaining consciousness. It became clear that there could be no question of returning to the ring, on the contrary - we are talking about life and death.

Three weeks later, Magomed regained consciousness for a short time, but was soon connected to life support again. The boxer finally woke up and began to breathe on his own only on December 6th. After a while, he was operated on again, restoring the removed part of the skull. Now Abdusalamov is in a rehabilitation center, slowly recovering, talking, not moving independently, eating through a tube. Bakanay's wife is always with him. Doctors say that the patient will not be able to fully recover.

The shocking news for the boxer's family was the medical bills. Abdusalamov, who earned $40,000 from the fight, owes the medical institution $700,000. Relatives of the boxer blame the incident on the doctors who examined him after the fight. Doctors diagnosed Abdusalamov with a broken nose, advised him to go to the hospital and released him in peace. The boxer's family filed a lawsuit against the New York Athletic Commission, accusing doctors of negligent attitude to the case, as a result of which the athlete became disabled. The amount of the claim is $100 million.

The boxer's manager, Natan Levkovich, with the support of promoters, organized a fund to raise funds to help the injured athlete. Some of Magomed's "colleagues" and other caring people responded to the call for help. As usual, there were those who only wanted to promote themselves on someone else's grief. Businessman Andrey Ryabinsky especially helped by paying for the treatment of the victim in a rehabilitation center. According to available information, one month of stay in an institution costs $50,000.

Critics blame Abdusalamov's team for the misfortune, especially his manager Boris Grindberg. There is an opinion that sending a Russian to fight a Cuban was the same as throwing a grenade under a tank. The question arose: where did the seconds look and why did they not stop the fight ahead of schedule, seeing a frightening hematoma on the face of their ward? Moreover, they knew very well that Magomed had never had a chance to stand in the ring for more than 5 rounds.

Abdusalamov courageously held on to the end, as a result of which this fight was recognized as the most spectacular in 2013, but is it any easier for him?

Not so long ago, it was considered one of the main hopes of the domestic professional boxing in the most prestigious royal weight category of the heavyweight division. However, the career of this very physically gifted and promising fighter was cut short at the very take-off, when he was already a couple of steps away from the fight for the world title. In November 2013, at the arena of the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, a native of the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, met in the ring with the hitherto unbeaten Cuban boxer Mike Perez.

The fight took place on a collision course, the rivals often met in open battle. According to the results of 10 rounds allotted by the regulations, Perez was recognized as the winner by unanimous decision of the judges. And after a few hours, the defeat in the ring almost turned into a tragedy. Only the remarkable health of Magomed and the qualifications of doctors saved his life. Abdusalamov managed to get out of the clutches of death, but remained disabled, unable to move independently.

Magomed was born on March 25, 1981. His father Magomedgadzha was a very strong by nature man who was fond of martial arts and became a master of sports of the USSR in freestyle wrestling. It was he who instilled a love for sports and his son. Influenced by Asian martial arts films then fashionable among teenagers, the young Maga tried many types of martial arts. From the age of 12, he began to practice kickboxing, Thai boxing and other oriental disciplines. He became the champion of Russia in them, the finalist of the World Cup. Abdusalamov switched to boxing when he was already 22 years old, because he got a knee injury while practicing Thai boxing. He hoped to improve his handwork while the leg was injured, but he remained in boxing.

Magomed's first coach was Gadzhimurad Gaziev, with whom Abdusalamov became so close that he called the mentor his older brother. Later, his Muay Thai coach was Zaynalbek Zaynalbekov. Evgeny Kotov became the first mentor of Magomed in clean boxing. In amateur boxing, Abdusalamov failed to fully prove himself. His trump cards were power, physical strength and a knockout punch. However, Magomed lacked technical, especially defensive skills precisely because of his late arrival to boxing. Nevertheless, he managed twice (in 2005 and 2006) to win the Russian championship among adults in the heavyweight division.

Abdusalamov had a chance to speak at Olympic Games 2008, but, representing Belarus, lost in the qualifying qualifying tournament to Briton David Price. In total, Magomed has about 50 official fights in the amateur ring. Moreover, as Abdusalamov himself said, at least 95% of amateur victories were won by him ahead of schedule. In September 2008, his professional boxing career began. At first, it was hosted by the famous Russian promoter Yuri Fedorov. Then the American Leon Margules and his "stable" Seminole Warriors Boxing became Magomed's co-promoter. Later, sponsors from Azerbaijan provided financial support to Abdusalamov.

Magomed boxed either in Russia or in the USA. Over time, he moved his family to Florida - his wife and daughters. Abdusalamov completed the first eight pro fights with early victories in the first round. Not much longer, against the Dagestan left-hander, who did not stand out for his elegant and refined technique, but was distinguished by enormous power and lethal striking power, the following rivals also held out. However, in many fights it was noticeable that Abdusalamov often neglects defense, acts too openly, and sometimes even recklessly. Magomed himself then said that in this way he was trying to lure rivals into a trap. They say, in order to lure them out of a deaf defense, you sometimes need to reveal yourself, inviting opponents to attack. But such a tactic was fraught with danger.

And on November 2, 2011, two hitherto unbeaten heavyweight prospects met in the ring - 32-year-old and 28-year-old Cuban Mike Perez. The bookmakers, which happens quite rarely, the chances of both opponents to win were regarded as almost equal. The fight started without any hesitation, from the first round the boxers rushed into a quick exchange of blows, in which, thanks to the best technique and coordination, the Cuban was more successful. But not only did Magomed fail to immediately suppress the opponent’s initiative in his characteristic style, so in this starting three-minute period one of Peres’s blows also broke his left cheekbone (the facial bone under the eye), which immediately began to swell.

However, in the second round, due to greater activity, Abdusalamov looked better than his opponent. And in the next few three minutes, the initiative passed from one to another. But after the equator of the fight, Abdusalamov's face began to swell more and more, a cut formed over the same left eye, but most importantly, he began to get tired and decently slow down. Perez, on the other hand, turned out to be a strong fellow, and even frankly missed series of blows did not bother him. The Cuban continued to rush forward, although he was able to work well from a long distance. In the ninth round, the referee deducted one point from Perez for a low blow. Nevertheless, this did not prevent the Cuban from bringing the fight to victory on points by unanimous decision of the judges - 95-94, 97-92, 97-92.

A few hours after the end of the battle, the situation began to develop dramatically. Abdusalamov, who received serious injuries, began to complain of a severe headache and was hospitalized with a diagnosis of cerebral hemorrhage at the Roosevelt Medical Center in New York. Doctors urgently performed a craniotomy on Magomed and put him in a state of artificial coma in order to avoid possible brain damage from the formation of a blood clot. However, four days later, Abdusalamov suffered a stroke. Doctors were forced to perform an operation to remove a blood clot from the brain, and also removed part of the skull so that the swelling subsided.

A little later it became known that Magomed's family did not have money to cover the huge bills for his treatment and stay in the hospital. And here patrons from the boxing world came to the rescue, including some current and former boxers. 20 days after the ill-fated battle, Abdusalamov was briefly brought out of an artificial coma. But only on December 6, that is, more than a month later, Magomed finally came out of a coma and began to breathe on his own. And four days later he was transferred from intensive care to a regular ward.

In 2014, Abdusalamov, who lost a lot of weight, was transferred to a rehabilitation center, where he began a long period of recovery. We must pay tribute to the wife of Magomed, Bakanay Abdusalamova, who all this time devotedly takes care of her husband who has lost the ability to move independently and makes titanic efforts for his successful rehabilitation. However, the brain damage turned out to be so serious that the boxer's recovery process could take long years. Last summer, Magomed began to talk quietly with his family. Unfortunately, doctors say that the right side of his body will forever remain paralyzed. However, Bakanay believes that one day her husband will get on his feet, walk independently and lead a more or less fulfilling life.

The editors of the "Championship" congratulate Magomed on his birthday and wish him a speedy recovery!