The 36 year-old southpaw suffered devastating injuries during a ten-round war with Mike Perez at Madison Square Garden in November 2013 and will be disabled for the rest of his life as a result.
Being cared by for his spouse, Bakanay Abdusalamova and attempting to regain as much function as possible, the period since the Perez fight has been a struggle for all concerned.
Picture by Ed Mulholland / HBO
During the aftermath of the contest, and as Abdusalamov showed signs of a major problem, mistakes were made which the New York State have now moved to rectify in some way with compensation.
Family attorney, Paul Edelstein commented to ESPN on the award by saying, “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.
“The three ringside physicians had primary responsibility and we’re not going to stop until they acknowledge it. Their malpractice insurance carriers’ lawyers apparently don’t see the case the way the inspector general and attorney general do.
“I’m obviously very pleased about the settlement with the state that provides for Mago and his family, but having these doctors testify in open court may be the best way to show how grievous this was and how screwed up the system of caring for athletes is in an admittedly dangerous sport.”
Monies payable include a $10m settlement to Abdusalamov, $10m towards legal fees and continued treatment, plus $2m to Mago’s wife for loss of future earnings her husband may have been able to claim had his career not been cut so tragically short.
Speaking on finally ending her battle, Bakanay added: “I would trade all of the money to just bring back Mago as he was, but that’s not how it works. It cannot buy the happiness we had.”
