As the boxing world waits for news on Aidos Yerbossynuly’s condition after he was placed in a medically induced coma, one of his training team has said he had ‘the towel in his hand’ to stop the fight before the knockout blow.
Yerbossynuly was knocked out in the twelfth round of his fight with David Morrell Jr. It was the second knockdown of the round and followed a bruising and brutal fight for the Kazakh super middleweight. The referee in the ring, Tony Weeks, waved the fight off following Morrell’s final right hook. Yerbossynuly was brave enough to stand, but a lack of balance saw him being helped back the corner by his opponent and Weeks.
In the hours following, he was taken to a local medical facility and placed in the coma as Doctors identified bleeding on the brain of the 30-year-old fighter.
Yerbossynuly’s assistant trainer, Emanuel Savoy, has told ESPN that he wanted to stop the fight rounds before this all unfolded.
“I actually had the towel in my hand. Aidos wanted to continue. His head coach [Kanat Orakbaev] wanted him to continue. He evaluated Aidos and said nothing was wrong with him.”
“[After the first knockdown] He acknowledged the ref [Tony Weeks]. He looked up and said, yes, he wanted to continue. As a corner, I think he still wanted to fight. He wanted to fight all the way to the end.”
“He’s a great guy. I don’t even want to talk about it no more because I’m sick to my stomach at this point. I just hope for a speedy recovery for Aidos.”
Savoy’s comments come amidst an outpouring of support to Yerbossynuly’s family from fighters, pundits and fans. Many in the sport have also questioned those involved – Weeks and the training team in particular – as to why the fight, which Morrell was clearly winning, was allowed to proceed for so long.
Veteran boxing journalist, Dan Rafael, recently reported that Morrell has visited his opponent in hospital.
After David Morrell KO’d Aidos Yerbossynuly he showed the kind of guy he is by quickly helping him to his stool. Classy move. And now, per sources, I’m told he has gone to the hospital to visit with his team and show support for his injured opponent. Another classy move. #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) November 8, 2022
Although every fan is aware of the dangers of boxing, cases like this bring home the precarious nature of the sport we all love – and highlight just how close to heartbreak every contest is. Boxing Social joins the community in wishing Aidos a full recovery.