Boxer told not to blow his nose after fracturing skull in brutal defeat

A boxer was instructed not to blow his nose after suffering a fractured skull.

Adam Kownacki fought on the undercard of the blockbuster Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder fight on Sunday and was defeated by veteran Robert Helenius.

The pair contested a rematch after their first clash took place in March 2020, one of the last boxing matches before thecoronaviruspandemic took hold.

The former IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight champion lost the first encounter to the Finnish fighter in the fourth round.

He made it to the sixth round in their second fight before he was disqualified for a series of low blows, meaning he lost to the 37-year-old for the second successive time.

Kownacki not only suffered a crushing loss, but is now nursing a serious head injury, having his orbital bone fractured after relentless attacks throughout the fight.

And a doctor's report made available to ESPN, Kownacki has been warned not to even blow his nose as he recovers from his gruesome injuries.

"You have a fracture of the orbital floor and will need to follow up with an ophthalmologist and plastic surgeon," the summary says.

"Do not blow your nose. Elevate your head use ice packs."

Despite being the favourite in both fights, Kowancki, 32, was unable to get the upper hand and land consistent punches during the bout, and even landed multiple shots below the belt in a failed attempt to halt his opponent’s momentum.

Following his victory, Helenius was asked how he felt about the disqualification.

“Either way, it would’ve been a stoppage,” he said. “I had very hard hits on him, he didn’t have any on me.”

He has now taken his record to 31 wins and three losses with 19 KOs and before he spoke about what’s next, he revealed how much he wants to see his family.

“Right now, I want to go home to my family,” Helenius said in apost-fight interview with Fight Sports . “I’ve been away from them for four weeks. Then we can worry about what’s next.

"We have been training for this fight for two years so I was ready, I could have been in a bit better condition but I felt confident and comfortable in the ring.

"Every time the round was over I needed to breathe, but that's boxing.

"He got hit hard in the first round, I took him back to the place he was in the last fight, that's not the place to be."

Kownacki, who seemed close to earning a title shot before his first meeting with Helenius, will now have to claw his way back into contention following another devastating defeat.

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