Good point. It's not the brutal early-round KOs (Wilder-Stiverne II) that end fighters' careers/lives...it's the sustained wars of attrition where punches in bunches have a CUMULATIVE effect (Perez-Abdusalamov).
In November 2013 Abdusalamov took on Mike Perez in a 10-round fight for his title at Madison Square Garden in New York City as part of an HBO event featuring Gennady Golovkin in the main event. In a largely one-sided fight, which was scored seven rounds to three on two scorecards, Abdusalamov lost his title as Perez landed a bevy of power punches that the champion managed to withstand despite being cut late in the fight.
BRAIN INJURY
He was cleared of brain injury by Barry Jordan, Chief Medical Officer of the New York State Athletic Commission. Immediately afterwards, Abdusalamov took a taxi from Madison Square Garden to Roosevelt Hospital on the Upper West Side. The doctors who examined Abdusalamov found that he had sustained a large blood clot on his brain...
