• Heavyweight

Abdusalamov suffered stroke while in coma

Magomed Abdusalamov suffered a brain injury during a unanimous 10-round decision loss to Mike Perez © Getty Images

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Although Russian heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov remained in stable condition in intensive care and in a medically induced coma on Tuesday night, he suffered a stroke on Sunday.

"He is recovering from a stroke and he's on a machine that's keeping him alive," Nathan Lewkowicz, vice president of his father Sampson Lewkowicz's promotional company, Sampson Boxing, which promotes Abdusalamov, told ESPN on Tuesday. "He is getting better according to the doctors as he doesn't have a temperature like he did on Sunday."

Adusalamov's temperature had risen to 104 degrees on Sunday, although Lewkowicz said it had since returned to normal.

Initially, Lewkowicz had not mentioned the stroke when he updated Adusalamov's condition on Monday, but then word leaked out about it.

"We didn't want to say anything about it but someone told the New York Post about it, so I decided to confirm it," Lewkowicz said.

Abdusalamov (18-1, 18 KOs), 32, suffered a brain injury during a unanimous 10-round decision loss to Mike Perez (20-0, 12 KOs) on the Gennady Golovkin-Curtis Stevens undercard on Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Abdusalamov suffered a left hand and nose injury in addition to cuts and bruises during the bout, after which he was taken to Roosevelt Hospital in New York for treatment. But he also complained of a headache and when he was examined at the hospital, a small brain bleed was discovered.

Abdusalamov, a married father of three daughters, had brain surgery to remove the blood clot as well as a small piece of his skull in order to relieve the swelling in his brain. He was also placed in a medically induced coma, which is used to help reduce the swelling.

"The worst part about [Monday's] hospital visit though was seeing his 11-month-old daughter continually saying 'Da Da.' As a new father, that was absolutely heartbreaking," Lewkowicz said.

Sampson Lewkowicz announced that he, fellow promoters Leon Margules, Lou DiBella and others in the boxing industry are setting up The Magomed Abdusalamov Trust to help raise money to help with the financial burden of the medical costs.

"We are going to do what we need to do for Magomed," Sampson Lewkowicz said. "He and his family are going to need our help. He is going to need financial assistance for the medical bills for his treatment and for his family, who are faced with an urgent financial crunch from this terrible accident.

"We cannot, as a boxing family, turn our backs on the brave men and women who compete in our sport when they need us most. We are going to do everything possible to help him get back on his feet. Magomed will never fight again, but he is a good man and a brave man with a nice family. We are going to make sure they all pull through this intact. That is the right thing to do. Every dollar will help."

This article originally appeared on ESPN.com
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