Eduard Gutknecht Placed In Artificial Coma After Brain Surgery

Eduard Gutknecht, who fought George Groves on November 18, was rushed to the hospital after the fight and is now in an artificial coma.

Gutknecht is currently suffering from brain damage after his loss to Groves. He reportedly did not show any ill signs at the fight, but once he got to the dressing room afterwards, his condition got severe and had to be taken to a hospital. The 34-year-old boxer had brain surgery shortly after.

He is currently staying in London and Thomas Puetz, president of the German professional boxing federation, confirmed the news.

“He was placed in an artificial coma, that’s normal with this type of surgery,” Puetz said.

Gutknecht got hit hard throughout the fight and suffered a swollen left eye during the ninth round of the fight, but he did go the distance, losing on the scorecards.

Groves took to social media to send his best wishes to Gutknecht and his family during this time.

This isn’t the first instance this year where a boxer suffered terrible head and brain injuries during a fight. Back in March, English middleweight Nick Blackwell collapsed at the end of his stoppage defeat by Chris Eubank Jr. He suffered bleeding on his skull, but was treated at a nearby hospital, where he eventually recovered, despite having to retire. More recently in September, Scottish welterweight Mike Towell died just 25 hours after losing to Dale Evans in Glasgow. He had suffered severe bleeding and swelling to his brain.

Gutknecht is a former regional and intercontinental champion at super middleweight and light heavyweight. Before the loss to Groves, Gutknecht challenged Jürgen Brähmer back in March for the WBA “regular” light heavyweight title. Gutknecht also lost that fight via unanimous decision.