Gutting Through It: 11 Boxers Who Fought Through Significant Injuries

Every boxer who enters the ring puts their health, if not their life, on the line — though boxing fans often reserve the title of “warrior” for only a select few prizefighters.

“I’m a warrior,” Andre Ward once said, offering a logical alternative perspective. “But people only give the ‘warrior’ tag if you get cut every other fight or you’re in a Fight of the Year candidate every other fight.”

He has a point. “Warrior” is a badge of courage that all boxers proudly wear to commemorate them risking their health and safety to entertain fans of the sport. But not all badges are the same size. Ward earned his badge by consistently fighting quality opposition. Other fighters earn their badge by fighting through injury.

Here are 11 notable examples of boxers since the turn of the millennium who have earned the “Warrior” badge by leaving a significant piece (sometimes literally) of themselves in the ring:

February 18, 2005: Sebastian Lujan Gets Partially Van Gogh’d vs. Antonio Margarito

This bout matched two fighters who had no issue standing in front of one another and trading hard shots. Unfortunately for Lujan, Margarito appeared to be getting the better of it as the fight progressed.

By round seven, Lujan’s ear was starting to separate from the side of his head. The injury continued to worsen, and although Lujan never made any efforts to have the fight stopped, the bout mercifully ended in the 10th round at the ringside doctor’s advice.

Lujan’s career continued without any subsequent major injuries to his ear. While he never ascended to the elite level, he was in plenty of exciting fights and often gave his opponent a difficult fight.

December 28, 2019: Yuriorkis Gamboa Tears His Achilles Tendon Against Gervonta Davis

At 38, Gamboa’s chances of beating Davis, 25 years old at the time and the owner of a sparkling 22-0 (21 KOs) record, were considered slim coming into the fight. Slim quickly changed to none in the second round, when Gamboa suffered a complete tear of his Achilles tendon.

The injury compromised both Gamboa’s ability to generate power in his punches and prevented him from moving effectively in and out of Davis’ range for the majority of the fight. A hobbled Gamboa bravely continued to fight to the best of his ability up until the fight was stopped in the 12th round. Although it was evident Gamboa was not going to win the fight, his refusal to give in was universally lauded.

In the aftermath, Gamboa underwent surgery to repair the damage and did not fight again until 10 months later against Devin Haney.

January 19, 2019: Badou Jack’s Bloodbath vs. Marcus Browne Splatters Tony Weeks’ Uniform

Jack represented a step up in level of opposition for Browne, yet it was Jack who was down on all three official scorecards when a horrific clash of heads split Jack’s forehead wide open, producing one of the largest and ugliest cuts ever seen in boxing.

The cut continuously bled throughout the rest of the bout, regardless of all the actions Jack’s cutman took to try to stem the flow. By the end of the night, referee Tony Weeks looked like had just finished a shift as a butcher.

Despite already being outgunned prior to the cut, Jack made it clear he had no intention of trying to get himself out of this fight, made evident by Jack rebuffing Weeks’ compassionate offer to end the fight early and send the decision over to the judges.

Though Jack lost a unanimous decision, he earned the benefit of the doubt in all future fights in regards to his heart and will. His career continued after this fight without noticeable long-term damage from the cut.

March 30, 2024: Tim Tszyu’s Hairline Rubs Elbows with Sebastian Fundora

Tim Tszyu entered the professional boxing world with significant fanfare due to his relationship with his father, former lineal welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu. He quickly proved that he could fight, amassing a record of 24-0 (17 KOs) and picking up the WBO belt at junior middleweight.

Tszyu agreed to defend his WBO title against late replacement Sebastian Fundora, who stepped in when Keith Thurman was injured; the vacant WBC title was up for grabs as well. Tszyu won the first round two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards, but an unintentional elbow from Sebastian Fundora at the end of the second split round Tszyu’s forehead open, causing blood to pour down the middle of his face. 

Despite the horrific injury and significant blood loss, Tszyu fought bravely for 10 rounds, ultimately succumbing to Fundora via split decision. Although Tszyu lost his belt that night, no one could doubt the toughness and grit it took to battle through such a significant injury.

His next fight didn’t go well for him either; Tszyu fought valiantly but was stopped in three rounds by IBF titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev. There was a notable clash of heads in this fight which caused Tszyu to paw his forehead, trying to confirm if he had once again sustained a significant cut. While his skin held up, it was evident the mental scars from the Fundora fight remained.

June 21, 2003: Vitali Klitschko’s Face Falls Apart vs. Lennox Lewis

Many boxing fans had questioned Klitschko’s heart since 2000, when he was perceived to have quit against Chris Byrd due to a shoulder injury that later was confirmed to be a torn rotator cuff. 

Very few could question his heart after his 2003 challenge against heavyweight king Lewis.

Klitschko, a late replacement for Kirk Johnson, was fighting well up to the point that the tide turned thanks to a Lewis right hand opening a sizable cut over Vitali’s left eye. Klitschko continued to win rounds after the cut opened, but he also continued to sustain additional damage to his face, culminating in the bout being stopped at the conclusion of the sixth round.

Although Klitschko was ahead on all three scorecards, Lewis was awarded the TKO win, as the cut was deemed to have been caused by a legal punch. Klitschko continued to have issues with cuts in the aftermath of this fight. However, perhaps because of the way the Lewis bout ended, his style slightly changed, allowing him to sustain less punishment and nullify the effect of these cuts.

September 14, 2019: Tyson Fury’s Eyebrow Gash Pours Crimson vs. Otto Wallin

Ahead of a rematch with Deontay Wilder, Fury chose the undefeated but untested Wallin in what many expected would be an easy tune-up fight for Fury. The fight ended up being anything but.

Instead, it wound up being one of the most difficult fights in Fury’s career due to two horrific cuts over his right eye that were deemed to have been caused by a punch. 

While there has been debate about whether the fight should have been stopped due to how much blood Fury was losing (the cuts reportedly required 47 stitches), what is not up for debate is Tyson’s will to win that night. He stuck to his game plan despite having compromised vision and focused on landing clean punches in the pocket, rather than trying to play it safe at range.

Fury’s courage and composure were rewarded with a unanimous decision over Wallin, and his plans to fight Wilder for big money were not spoiled as a result. Cuts have not been an issue in subsequent Fury bouts, although he did sustain one in sparring that caused the delay of his first fight with Oleksandr Usyk..

July 15, 2011: Pawel Wolak Gets Grotesquely Disfigured Against Delvin Rodriguez

In an interesting clash of styles, Wolak and Rodriguez provided viewers with an action-packed main event on an ESPN Friday Night Fights card. Wolak utilized his typical style and bulled his way in against his opponent. Rodriguez had height and reach advantages over Wolak but chose not to utilize them, instead providing fans with an action fight.

Starting in the fourth round, Wolak began to develop extreme swelling around his right eye, which only worsened as the fight went on. Despite being completely blind in one eye, Wolak continued to push forward and try to win the fight. While he was not given the decision outright, his bravery was rewarded with a draw. Wolak and Rodriguez squared off again five months later on the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito 2 undercard, which turned out to be the final fight of Wolak’s career.

June 1, 2002: Hasim Rahman Adds a Second Head vs. Evander Holyfield

Only one fight removed from ceding the lineal heavyweight championship back to Lennox Lewis, Rahman was considered the favorite in his comeback bout against a 39-year-old Holyfield, who was 1-2-2 in his previous five bouts. 

However, boxing matches are not won on paper. Given the significant age gap between the two fighters, it was mildly surprising how easily Holyfield seemed to be winning each round as the fight progressed. Matters got worse for Rahman when the two fighters’ heads collided in the seventh round.

What began as a bruise quickly transformed into a giant hematoma on the left side of Rahman’s forehead. He continued to fight through the injury, but the ringside doctor called for the bout to be stopped in the middle of the eighth round, and a technical decision went Holyfield’s way when the scorecards were read.

November 13, 2010: Antonio Margarito Blinded by Manny Pacquiao

Margarito’s hand wrap scandal prior to his 2009 fight with Shane Mosley left many content when Mosley served Margarito justice in the ring. They desired even more comeuppance when Margarito faced Pacquiao 22 months later. Those boxing fans got their wish in a vacant junior middleweight title fight.

While there were many who thought Margarito was going to be too big for Pacquiao, it turned out that Pacquiao was too quick for Margarito, landing blindingly fast counters primarily to Margarito’s right eye. By the halfway point, Margarito’s eye was almost completely shut, causing those quick counters to land even more flush.

Pacquiao’s comfortable margin on the scorecards and Margarito’s worsening situation seemed to lead Pacquiao to take his foot off the gas, even looking at the referee a few times to see if he was going to halt the bout. Yet Margarito never stopped trying to walk through Pacquiao’s hard shots to dole out punishment of his own.

Unfortunately for Margarito, his offense never neared a level of effectiveness to put the end result in question. He lost a wide unanimous decision and sustained permanent damage to his right eye. Margarito took a year off after the loss, and a rematch defeat to Miguel Cotto in which he sustained significant damage to the same eye seemed to send him into retirement, until a brief comeback in 2016-17.

June 10, 2006: Paulie Malignaggi’s Orbital Bone Shattered by Miguel Cotto

This matchup pitted Malignaggi’s slick defensive style against Cotto’s seek-and-destroy style. While Cotto was largely expected to emerge victorious, he had yet to fight someone with the defensive acumen Malignaggi had, leaving some questions about who would come away with the win.

Alas, Malignaggi’s movement and sharp jab were not enough to keep Cotto off him, resulting in Malignaggi absorbing significant punishment to the head and body. This heavy assault broke Malignaggi’s right orbital bone early in the fight, causing intense swelling of his right cheek.

Malignaggi continued to fight bravely without a thought regarding getting himself out of the fight, and he was able to claim the moral victory of making it to the final bell, even with his cheek grotesquely swollen. Although Malignaggi lost a unanimous decision that night, he was able to continue his career and capture a junior welterweight title two fights later.

December 11, 2009: Jean Pascal Separates His Shoulder vs. Adrian Diaconu

This was a rematch of their spirited first fight. Pascal again received a unanimous decision win over Diaconu, but this time the scores were a little wider and the circumstances Pascal had to face en route to victory may have been more challenging.

After getting his arm caught in the ropes in the fourth round, Pascal separated his shoulder. He endured the extremely painful process of having his shoulder popped back in by a member of his corner so he could continue fighting. Unfortunately, the injury was reaggravated twice over the remaining eight rounds, leading to two more instances of his team popping the bone back into the socket.

While Pascal was able to score the better punches and was awarded a unanimous decision, no one would describe this fight as easy for him. He continued fighting after this win, besting previously undefeated Chad Dawson in his next bout to become the clear-cut number one at light heavyweight, but he also dealt with shoulder issues in subsequent bouts.