Boxer Dies After Trainer Buddy McGirt Stops Fight

Buddy McGirt knew something was seriously wrong.

It was last Friday night and his fighter, junior welterweight Maxim Dadashev, was sitting on a stool at MGM National Harbor following the 11th round of his fight against Subriel Matias.

"I'm going to stop it, Max," McGirt, a Brentwood native and former boxing world champion in two weight classes, said in a now heartbreaking scene. "Max, you're getting hit too much."

Dadashev, 28, wanted the fight to go on with the winner of the bout getting a shot at the light-welterweight title against Josh Taylor.

McGirt stopped the fight anyway, but Dadashev collapsed before making it to the dressing room and began vomiting, ESPN reported.

Dadashev, who hoped to bring his wife and 2-year-old son to America from his native Russia, died Tuesday morning after spending days in a medically induced coma.

McGirt, who was named Trainer of the Year in 2002 by the Boxing Writers Association of America and was recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, told ESPN that Dadashev had trained well for the fight.

"He seemed OK," McGirt said. "He was ready. But it's the sport that we're in. It just takes one punch, man."