Maxim Dadashev: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Russian junior welterweight Maxim “Mad Max” Dadashev has died from injuries he sustained after a July 19 fight against Puerto Rican opponent Subriel Matías. Dadashev was taken to the hospital for emergency surgery after the TKO loss at the MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland on Friday night at the end of the 11th round. Dadashev, 28, (13-0) was treated for a serious brain bleed and swelling at the University of Maryland Prince George’s County Hospital Center.

Going into the match, both boxers were undefeated. The International Boxing Federation (IBF) ranked Dadashev (14-0) as No. 3 and Matias (13-0) as No. 8. The 12-round bout world title eliminator bout preceded the Teofimo Lopez and Masayoshi Nakatani match.

Here’s what you need to know about Maxim Dadashev.

1. Dadashev Underwent Two Hours of Surgery & Had Brain Damage

Immediately after the fight, Dadashev was stumbling and vomiting, but was conscious. He was removed from the arena on a stretcher and was set to be transported to Washington Adventist Hospital, 17 miles from the venue. The ambulance was suddenly re-routed to UM PG Hospital Center when Dadashev lost consciousness.

Dadashev was in the operating room for two hours as surgeons treated him for a subdural hematoma (SDH). The injury caused blood to pool in the skull, placing pressure on his brain. A portion of Dadashev’s skull was removed during surgery. After the operation, he was placed in a medically-induced coma to reduce the swelling.

On July 20 at 2:25 a.m., ESPN reported that neurosurgeon Mary IH Cobb told manager Egis Klimas and trainer Donatas Janusevicius that Dadashev’s brain was bleeding on the right side and that he was showing signs of severe brain damage.

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2. Dadashev’s Trainer Stopped the Fight

Spectators applauded trainer James “Buddy” McGirt for ending the match as they witnessed Dadashev on his stool looking dazed and spitting out water. After repeatedly begging Dadashev to stop fighting and telling Dadashev, “Max, you’re getting hit too much,” McGirt took matters into his own hands and told the referee the match was over. “Please Max, please! Let me do this,” he yelled at the boxer.

“God forbid, one punch can change a whole guy’s life and I wasn’t going to let that happen. So I’d rather have them be mad at me for a day or two than be mad at me for the rest of their life,” McGirt explained.

Initially, McGirt thought his fighter was just dehydrated. “I think he really needs some IV’s in him,” he said.

When the fight was stopped, an attending physician described Dadashev as dehydrated and “severely concussed.”

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3. Viewers Are Criticizing ESPN+ for Televising Dadashev after the Match

ESPN+ came under fire for continuing to live stream the event after the fight was over. Spectators were angered that ESPN+ was taping Dadashev as he was stumbling, vomiting and being taken out on a stretcher. One viewer described the live stream as “shameful.”

4. Dadashev Was Originally From Russia

Maxim Dadashev was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on September 30, 1990, where he was raised with his older brother. Dadashev became interested in boxing at the age of 10 after his father took him to watch his brother box. “My brother quit, but I tried it and really liked it, so I kept going to the gym.”

Dadashev was 5’9″, weighed 140 pounds, was right-handed and had an orthodox stance.

He lived with his wife Elizabeth and their two-and-a-half-year-old son Daniel in Oxnard, California. According to ESPN, Elizabeth Dadashev was in Russia during the fight but hoping to get to her husband’s bedside by Monday.

Dadashev said he enjoyed living in California and emphasized the weather was perfect for training. “You can go up in the mountains where there’s snow, and you can go down where there are beaches and the ocean. It’s like paradise!”

Dadashev explained that California has higher level sparring partners compare to Russia. “In Russia, there’s more amateur boxing and here in Oxnard there are more professionals,” Dadashev said.

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5. Dadashev Was Represented by Famed Boxing Manager Egis Klimas

Dadashev was signed on by famed boxing manager Egis Klimas, who said he’d heard the young boxer’s name “all over Russia.” Klimas has a current stable of fighters in the U.S. and Ukraine.

Klimas described Dadashev as “an aggressive fighter” and noted that Russian boxer Alexander Besputin recommended Klimas sign him.

Klimas was initially confident that Dadashev was ready to take on Matias. “Maxim has a very strong, experienced opponent in Matias in front of him, who has 13 wins, with 13 knockouts. But Maxim had a very good camp in Oxnard. He’s done well with (trainer) James ‘Buddy’ McGirt. Maxim feels strong and he’s good for Friday,” he told the Ventura County Star.

Klimas shared with ESPN that he was grateful McGirt ended the match after witnessing Dadashev take repeated blows from his opponent. “I didn’t want him to go in the 12th round either.”