Russian boxer dies from head injury during fight

Russia's well-known professional boxer Roman Simakov died at hospital in Ekaterinburg. The boxer died from the injuries, which he had received in his last fight.

The 27-year-old man lapsed into a coma on December 5^th, after the fight for the title of the WBC Champion of Asia against his country-fellow Sergei Kovalev in the weight category below 79.38 kg. Simakov lost the fight due to the technical knockout in the seventh round.

The video of Simakov's last fight, after which he was taken off the ring on a stretcher, is available for viewing on the Internet.

Roman was operated on, but the doctors failed to save his life, Allboxing.ru reports. The young man, a native of the city of Kemerovo, died without regaining consciousness.

Sergei Kovalev presented his condolences and sincere apologies to Simakov's relatives. Kovalev was very worried during the time after the fight, while Simakov was staying in a coma. Kovalev would go to the church to pray for the boxer.

Roman Simakov was hospitalized after the fight in severe condition. The doctors performed craniotomy on the man. "The patient arrived to us in a comatose condition. We didn't even have time to make an MRT," a doctor said.

Roman Simakov was WBC's former Asian champion. The man had 19 victories (nine with knockouts), two losses and one draw. He was ranked ninth on WBC's most recent rating list.

The law-enforcement agencies of the Sverdlovsk region have launched investigation into the fact of the tragedy. Most likely, the man had received a lethal cranial injury and suffered a brain contusion during the fight. The cause of death will be finally determined after the forensic examination of the boxers' body.

"We are like one big family in boxing - we all know each other. I knew Roman. I knew him as a very strong and willful fighter. It's such a pity that it came out like that. By the seventh round, he had had two "standing" knockdowns, missed one shot and literally slipped down on the floor against the ropes. Simakov was a very strong fighter, he would never fall down for no reason. I realized that something serious happened," Alexander Kolesnikov, a promoter of the Federation of Professional Boxing, told Itar-Tass news agency.

The official added that the referees usually interrupt a fight if they believe that it may have a lamentable outcome.

"Roman could have not shown his bad condition, and the referees did not notice what was happening to him," Kolesnikov added.

The boxer will be buried in his hometown of Kemerovo. His parents have already arrived in Ekaterinburg to pick up his body. Aman Tuleev, the governor of the Kemerovo region, presented his condolences to the parents of the boxer and promised to assist them financially.