A 26-year-old boxer died 10 days after sustaining a severe brain injury during a fight

• A Russian boxer died from injuries sustained after being knocked out in a fight he took at short notice.
• 26-year-old Arest Saakyan fought on December 26, and was in an induced coma for 12 days before his death.

A 26-year-old Russian boxer called Arest Saakyan died on January 7 following injuries sustained in a fight on December 26 last year.

Boxing Scene reported that Saakyan died after suffering a cerebral edema, or swelling of the brain, under two weeks after his most recent match — an eight-round knockout defeat to Igor Semernin, in Tolyatti, Russia.

Reports from boxing media suggest that Saakyan took the fight at short notice.

A stocky super middleweight at 5-foot-8, Saakyan was an orthodox fighter with a pro record before the fight of six wins (five knockouts) against two defeats.

Prior to fighting Semernin, a fellow novice boxer albeit one with a flawless knockout record, Saakyan had never been finished.

Saakyan went into his ninth fight with little preparation. According to his sister Svetlana Petoryan, he had to drop around 30 pounds of weight in "a very short span of time."

Petroyan told Ren TV, via Boxing Scene, that the stoppage came too late.

"Commentary crew said it should have been stopped … but no one had halted the contest," she said. "It was obvious the fight should have been stopped because he had been too bad. He was out of it at that moment."

Video footage from the event, which Insider has reviewed but is not publishing, shows that Saakyan was still responsive toward the end of the bout, moving around the ring and throwing a number of punches. He had suffered bruising to his face.

However, midway through the eighth round, Semernin dropped Saakyan to the canvas with a left hook. The referee counted Saakyan out and awarded Semernin the victory.

In the footage reviewed by Insider, Saakyan was unable to get back to his feet after the count, and was on the canvas for around seven minutes before being taken away on a stretcher.

Boxing Scene reports that he was then taken to hospital where he was diagnozed with a subdural hematoma, a condition in which blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain, per the UK's National Health Service.

He then suffered a cerebral edema during surgery and was placed in a medically-induced coma. He never regained consciousness and died on January 7.

"Arest Saakyan has passed away," Semernin said. "My deepest condolences go to Arest's family and his relatives. We share this pain with you and we mourn Arest with you."