Former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi required emergency medical treatment and suffered complete vision loss in one eye following his bare-knuckle victory against Tyler Goodjohn at BKB 47.
The 44-year-old Italian-American fighter was transported to hospital immediately after the bout, where he remained overnight for treatment.
Despite securing a split decision victory in his return to combat sports after a six-year absence, Malignaggi sustained severe facial injuries during the contest.
Malignaggi revealed that an eye poke during the fight left him unable to see properly from his right eye, explaining: "After that eye poke, when I went down, I still can't see.
Paulie Malignaggi revealed that he was struggling to see after his brutal fight
|TALKSPORT
"That may be why I got hit with that shot that cut me."
The veteran fighter's injuries proved so severe that medical intervention was urgently required following the final bell.
Both competitors emerged from the ring bloodied and battered following their punishing though Malignaggi's facial damage appeared particularly severe to ringside observers.
The extent of Malignaggi's visual impairment became apparent when he addressed the crowd post-fight, confirming: "I am blind in this eye right now. Yeah, it's very foggy."
He explained that he completed the remainder of the bout with severely compromised vision, stating: "I finished the fight with one eye essentially because, right now, I can't see out of this eye. I just see shadows.
Paulie Malignaggi picked up some extreme facial lacerations
|TALKSPORT
"I'm still very foggy on this eye after that eye poke. Hopefully, I'll go to the back and get it taken care of."
Following his overnight hospitalisation, Malignaggi spoke to BKB about his condition, revealing: "Spent the night in hospital. I have not slept yet."
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
The veteran fighter acknowledged the physical toll of the contest, admitting: "So, besides that and then being sore and banged up from the fight, I feel like an old man."
Despite his injuries, Malignaggi expressed contentment with the outcome, stating: "But I'm happy that I got the win."
Paulie Malignaggi took to social media to reveal he spent the night after the fight in hospital
|He praised both the unique fighting format and his opponent's standing in the sport, saying: "And it was a great experience to be able to do it in the trigon against a fighter that I consider a very big pioneer. A legend in this game of bare knuckle."