SEOUL, South Korea – A South Korean boxer who lost consciousness after winning his WBO intercontinental flyweight bout was in a coma with a brain injury.
Choi Yoi-sam was rushed to a hospital shortly after Tuesday's fight against Indonesian challenger Heri Amol. The 33-year-old South Korean was knocked down in the final round of the 12-round fight, but it was not known whether that caused him to pass out.
"Choi's condition is very bad. He is in a coma," Lee Mi-jong, a spokesman at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul, said Wednesday.
The boxer had surgery Tuesday to stop the swelling of his brain, he said.
"Even if he survives, it'll be difficult for him to continue his boxing career," Lee said.
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