Russian heavyweight boxer Arslanbek Makhmudov showed off his brutal eye injury after losing to Guido Vianello on Saturday at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City.
The ringside doctor was forced to stop the fight on Makhmudov’s behalf as the swelling around his left eye worsened worryingly in the eighth round.
Days after the TKO loss, the Mozdok native showed off the damage on his Instagram, sharing how he suffered “multiple blows to the head” in the lead-up to his defeat.
“After multiple blows to the head, my left eye was completely closed, so I could not see all the attacks from the right eye and the doctor stopped the fight in the eighth round,” he wrote.
“Alhamdulillah, in any position,” Makhmudov added. “I did everything I could.”
Arslanbek Makhmudov showed off his brutal eye injury after losing to Guido Vianello on Saturday
The photo shows Makhmudov’s eye completely closed, while a patch of black and blue is visible on his face due to swelling.
Vianello landed right hands at will throughout the fight, causing the Russian knockout artist’s eye to completely close.
At the end of the seventh round, Makhmudov looked visibly hurt and shaking. At 2:58 of the eighth, the doctor stopped the fight to prevent further damage.
This would be the second loss of his career. His first defeat was by technical knockout to Agit Kabayel in December, which he avenged in May with a second-round knockout of Miljan Rovcanin.
Vianello targeted the Russian’s left eye, forcing the doctor to stop the fight in the eighth round.
The referee allowed Makhmudov to continue fighting despite being hit at the end of the seventh round.
Makhmudov now has a record of 19-2 with 18 finishes.
He won the WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title in his eighth professional fight on 17 May 2019. Five months later, Makhmudov won the WBC-NABF heavyweight title and embarked on nine consecutive title fights, winning them all before the loss to Kabayel in Saudi Arabia.