Magomed Abdusalamov Settles $22 Million Claim Against New York State

Always been a big critic of the endemic bogus premature stoppages of modern boxing, but this case is a prime example of a commish completely inept in following their own regulations to protect boxers. Mago’s own corner also should have stopped the fight since every indicator was a fighter medically damaged beyond his capacity to win. 

NEW YORK — Nearly four years after boxer Magomed Abdusalamov suffered brain damage from a bout in the Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York State has agreed to pay him and his family $22 million in what is believed to be the largest personal injury settlement the state has made.

Court of Claims Judge Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick approved the agreement on Friday.

After Abdusalamov’s fight on Nov. 2, 2013, his family filed suit alleging recklessness, gross negligence and medical malpractice by the New York State Athletic Commission, NYSAC staff and the doctors it retained to work that night. The complaint said improper care crucially delayed diagnosis and treatment of a developing blood clot in Abdusalamov’s brain. He underwent emergency surgery, suffered multiple strokes, was in a coma for weeks, and was hospitalized for more than 10 months, including in-patient rehabilitation.

Now 36, Abdusalamov remains paralyzed on his right side and unable to walk. His speech is mostly limited to mumbling. His wife, Bakanay Abdusalamova, said doctors told her he’d likely never talk again, but now he occasionally delivers fully formed words with clarity. She cares for him and their three daughters — ages 11, 8 and 4 — in a Connecticut house provided by a friend.

Abdusalamov was paid $40,000 for the fight and received the full $10,000 payout from a mandatory minimum insurance policy. A year-and-a-half later, the incapacitated ex-boxer and his family were more than $2 million in debt, according to a 2015 court filing.

After a 32-month investigation, the state inspector general released a 48-page report last year that excoriated the NYSAC for mishandling Abdusalamov’s care and for an array of systemic problems, including its approach to medical emergencies.

The Abdusalamov family’s attorney, Paul Edelstein, characterized the $22 million settlement to ESPN’s Outside the Lines as “the state taking responsibility for its actions and paying an appropriate amount for the damages caused — it was handled by the attorney general’s office and Assistant AG Ross Herman in an extraordinarily professional and empathetic way.”

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