Magomed Abdusalamov was the WBC US heavyweight boxing champion, with a record of 18-0, all by stoppage. He is from Dagestan, the same North Caucasus Russian republic that produced Khabib Nurmagomedov. On November 2, 2013 he lost a unanimous decision to Mike Perez at Madison Square Garden, sustaining a large number of heavy blows.
Ringside doctors reportedly examined the boxer, sutured a cut, and told him to get an x-ray for a suspected fracture when he returned to Florida, where he was living at the time. Then everyone left.
The boxer didn’t feel right and took it upon himself to get to the hospital, in a taxi. Doctors there determined Abdusalamov had a large blood clot in his brain, and put him into a coma to allow time for the swelling to subside. Over a month later it was announced he was out of a coma, but he was not the same, and never will be.
Abdusalamov remained in the hospital for ten more months, and four years later is paralyzed on the right side, and unable to walk. He can occasionally form full words. In May his wife, Bakanay Abdusalamova, posted a video on Instagram of the former champion refereeing an arm wrestling contest between his elder two daughters.
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Abdusalamov is now being cared for by Abdusalamova and their three daughters, ages 11, 8, and 4, in a Connecticut house provided by a friend.
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Abdusalamov was paid $40,000 for the fight, and received the maximum payout from New York’s mandatory minimum insurance policy – $10,000. In a court filing in 2015, the family reported they were $2,000,000 in debt. Multiple fundraisers were held, but costs far, far, far exceeded gifts, and charity is only very rarely permanent.
Following a 32-month investigation, the inspector general reported in pointed detail that the New York State Athletic Commission “failed to carry out its responsibilities.” Now in the largest personal injury settlement New York ever made, the boxer will receive $22 million.
$10 million will go into an annuity for the damaged boxer, and an equal amount will go into an account with a court-appointed guardian to cover financial obligations, including legal fees. His wife will receive $2 million for loss of services and consortium.
“It was handled by the attorney general’s office and Assistant AG Ross Herman in an extraordinarily professional and empathetic way,” said Paul Edelstein, the Abdusalamov family’s attorney, on ESPN’s Outside the Lines, as transcribed by William Weinbaum for ESPN.
The settlement made Abdusalamova realize with finality that her husband would not be restored.
“I was depressed for a few days, because I always thought by this time Mago would be better and our normal life would return,” she said through an interpreter. “But I came to the realization that although we can’t bring back the Mago of before, this will really help us make his and our family’s life better, and we can pay to get him more treatment without depending on others.”
“For a long time he was crying a lot, clearly not in good spirits, but antidepressant medication has been of some help controlling that.”
“I would trade all of the money to just bring back Mago as he was, but that’s not how it works. It cannot buy the happiness we had.”
