Swedish female super
featherweight boxing star Frida Wallberg has undergone surgery after sustaining
a serious head injury in a 10-round world championship title fight against
Australia’s Diana Prazak.
“Nobody wants to win this
way,” said an upset Prazak after Saturday’s fight in Stockholm.
Wallberg was floored twice
before being brought to the ringside corner with severe pains. She received
oxygen as a shocked audience looked on, some in tears.
The 30-year-old boxer was then
carried out on a stretcher and brought to the Karolinska University Hospital in
Stockholm.
She remained conscious
throughout her ordeal but on Sunday she was in a medically-induced coma after
undergoing surgery and was breathing with the help of a respirator.
Tabloid Aftonbladet reported
that Wallberg suffered cerebral hemorrhage.
Saturday’s fight was the
headliner event in the Golden Ring gala at Stockholm’s Waterfront Congress
Centre. Wallberg was ahead on points after five rounds but Prazak floored her
in the eighth. She was hurt but was allowed to continue before being floored
for a second time, leading the referee to stop the fight.
“She is doing reasonably well
considering the circumstances,” one of Wallberg’s hospital caretakers told news
agency TT.
But late Saturday night,
Wallberg’s trainer William Nguesseu, a former boxer who had to retire after a
head injury, told Aftonbladet: “She is feeling bad. It is not good at all.”
Diana Prazak cheered when the
referee blew the final whistle, not realizing that Wallberg was in a serious
condition.
“This takes everything away
from the victory. Everybody wants to win on a knockout but nobody wants to win
this way. It doesn’t feel like I have won anything at all. I am praying for
her,” said Prazak.
Previously, Wallberg had twice
defended her WBC belt, which she first won in November 2010. Saturday’s
devastating fight marked her first defeat ever as a professional. Before
Saturday, she had achieved 11 straight wins.
The event has sparked
controversy regarding the ringside doctor’s actions, with some accusing him of
failing to help get Wallberg proper medical attention in time. It has also
reignited a debate in Sweden about a ban on boxing.
Meanwhile, messages of support
flowed in on Facebook from members of the public while fellow boxing
professionals also sent greetings to Wallberg.
“It is so unbelievable. I
really feel for her. Frida has been one of our big names within boxing,” rising
boxing star Erik Skoglund told tabloid Expressen. (Source)
