lya Medvedev was attacked while fishing in a river in the Siberian region

Russian boxer Ilya Medvedev carries a still modest career in world boxing. In his country, however, he has already participated in the Russian championship and other national competitions. One of the main achievements was gold at the 2019 Armed Forces tournament. And while these are not very popular worldwide, you can bet on many boxing matches by opening an account with the best betting agent.

What the 23-year-old boxer did not expect is that the biggest opponent of his life would be far from the rings, and at a weight infinitely higher than his 64 kg. On Thursday, the fighter was fishing with a friend in the Siberian region when he was attacked by and proceeded to fight against a bear. He managed to tackle and kill the animal with a knife. His partner, however, was not so lucky.

Facing the bear

The case happened on the banks of the Irtysh River in the Siberian region. According to the newspaper “New York Post”, witnesses said that the fighter’s friend, named Vyacheslav ‘Slava’ Dudnik, was the first to be attacked by the bear and died on the spot. Medvedev reportedly still tried to shoot at the animal, but the bear disarmed him during the attack. The screams of the two were heard by fisherman Denis Chebotar, who was the first to rescue the victims. He told the newspaper that he shot four times to try to disperse the beast, which ended up being stabbed to death with a knife by the fighter.

Medveded was taken to the hospital in serious condition with lacerations to his liver and head. Despite his condition, his coach, Dmitry Kosenko, said that the boxer is no longer at risk of death. Local authorities have also opened an investigation into the case. This was not the first time that the site was the scene of an attack involving a grizzly bear. On another occasion, a young man could not survive his injuries after being attacked in a forest in the nearby Siberian city of Tiumen.

Support in the Aftermath

In an interview with Russian state news agency TASS, the president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), also Russian Umar Kremlev, said that the organization will cover the cost of treatment for the 23-year-old together with the Russian Boxing Federation.

– We are already in contact with Ilya’s family and we will give full support to him and his parents, a real fighter in a difficult situation, and we hope very much for his quick recovery,” he said.

Now, that sure is not something you hear about every day, not everybody can fight a bear and live to tell the story, and if you want to hear more amazing stories just like this one, stay tuned to our news section!