The bereaved wife of boxer Maxim Dadashev, who died of injuries suffered in a recent fight, has revealed her "warrior" husband suffered a stroke during the fatal bout, according to the doctor who operated on him in hospital.
Writing on Instagram in Russian on Thursday, Elizaveta Apushkina revealed that the 28-year-old father of their young son suffered the stroke, which affected his orientation, during his 11th round loss to Subriel Matias in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on Friday.
Also on rt.com Maxim Dadashev's tragic death should be accepted as boxing's cruel reality"Do you want to know what true grit, and strength of mind and the highest will to win is? What it means to be a warrior, a warrior of life?" Elizaveta wrote.
"Rewatch this fight and know, that when you ask yourself the question: 'how did Max, with his level of defense, get hit with so many punches?', that according to the doctor that operated on him, he had already suffered a stroke and continued to fight."
She continued: "While experiencing the most inhumane pain and losing his orientation, he did not quit, he rose from his knees a million times from the blows of fate, kept moving forward, and never gave up!"
St. Petersburg-born Dadashev suffered a subdural hematoma - a bleed to the brain - as a result of shipping heavy punishment during the fight. Upon leaving the ring, Dadashev lost conciousness, was later placed into a medically-induced coma and underwent a two-hour surgery to relieve swelling in his skull.
After showing signs of "severe brain damage", he passed away on Tuesday at the local UM Prince George's Hospital Center from heart failure, a result of his injuries.
Elizaveta earlier paid tribute to her husband on Wednesday, posting a touching family photo with the caption: "My love! You are forever in my heart, my soul is breaking from the pain of being without you! The most difficult time for our family has begun."
Also on rt.com 'I begin to hate this sport of beating each other': Khabib speaks on death of boxer Dadashev