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'Truly horrific': Boxing rocked by devastating double tragedy

Yahoo Sport Australia

The boxing world is in shock after the deaths of two fighters in 48 hours.

On Thursday the World Boxing Council confirmed that Argentinian boxer Hugo Santillan had died at the age of 23 due to injuries suffered in a fight against Eduardo Abreu.

Santillan's death comes just two days after Russian Maxim Dadashev passed away after sustaining similar injuries in a bout with Subriel Matias in Maryland on Friday.

The WBC said: "We have received the very, very sad news of the death of the 23-year-old Argentine fighter Hugo Santillan, which happened today at the San Felipe Hospital in San Nicolás, Buenos Aires.

"The World Boxing Council and its president, Mauricio Sulaiman Saldivar, send Hugo’s family and friends their deepest condolences, at this time of deepest grief."

Maxim Dadashev and Hugo Santillan have both died within 48 hours. Image: Getty/WBO
Maxim Dadashev and Hugo Santillan. Image: Getty/WBO

According to ringside reports from Buenos Aires, Santillan's nose began to bleed in the fourth round of Saturday's 10-round bout and, though he raised his arm in victory after the fight, he is said to have collapsed after the judges announced the fight as a draw.

‘DEVASTATED’: Opponent breaks silence after boxer's tragic death

Santillan underwent surgery for a clot on his brain and twice went into cardiorespiratory failure before he died of cardiac arrest at 12:35am local time Thursday.

"Upon admission to the hospital, he had successive kidney failure and he did not come out of his coma," Dr Graciela Olocco from Hospital Agudos San Felipe said.

"He had swelling of his brain and he never recovered consciousness. The swelling continued to worsen, and it affected the functioning of the rest of his organs.”

A super lightweight, Santillan — the son of former boxer Alfredo Santillan — made his professional debut in 2015 and was 19-6-2 with eight KOs.

Dadashev collapsed after fight

Dadashev underwent emergency brain surgery in Washington after his super-lightweight bout was stopped in the 11th round by his cornerman James "Buddy" McGirt.

“It just makes you realise what type of sport we’re in, man,” McGirt told ESPN on Tuesday.

“He did everything right in training, no problems, no nothing. My mind is like really running crazy, right now. Like what could I have done differently?

“But at the end of the day, everything was fine [in training]. He seemed OK, he was ready, but it’s the sport that we’re in. It just takes one punch, man.”

Dadashev, known as "Mad Max", was unable to walk to the dressing room after the fight and was immediately hospitalised.

Doctors operated to relieve pressure from swelling on his brain, but he couldn’t be saved.

with agencies