• Boxing

Abdusalamov leaves hospital for rehab facility

Heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov was moved on Tuesday from a New York hospital, where he's been since suffering a traumatic brain injury during a November 2 fight, to a rehabilitation facility, promoter Nathan Lewkowicz told ESPN on Wednesday.

Abdusalamov had been at Roosevelt Hospital since being injured in a brutal 10-round loss by unanimous decision to Mike Perez at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Within a couple of hours of the fight, the 32-year-old Abdusalamov, a married father of three young daughters, had surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. Doctors initially thought he would die but after the surgery he was placed into a medically induced coma to give swelling in the brain time to subside. Shortly after that, he suffered a stroke, further impairing his chances for survival.

Since then, Abdusalamov's condition has improved and eventually he was taken out of the coma. Although it is unclear as to the extent of permanent damage Abdusalamov has suffered - according to Lewkowicz, Abdusalamov's doctor said there will be permanent damage - he was moved to Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, New York, a 105-acre facility on the Hudson River about 35 minutes north of New York City.

Lewkowicz said Abdusalamov, who has lost considerable weight and is unable to speak or walk, will probably be at the facility for about three months.

Although it costs $51,000 a month to live at the rehab facility, Lewkowicz said much of the bill is being paid for by Andrey Ryabinsky, a Russian business magnate and boxing promoter who volunteered to assist Abdusalamov. Ryabinsky surprised the boxing world earlier this year when he backed the astronomical $23,333,330 purse bid to win the right to promote the October 5 heavyweight championship fight between Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin in Moscow.

This article originally appeared on ESPN.com
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