Medvedev, a Russian boxer, killed a bear with a knife

Russian boxer Ilya Medvedev, 23, is in intensive care following a dramatic encounter with a bear in the Tyumen region, Russia, while fishing. The bear killed one of Medvedev's friends, who fought the animal to the death in a winning fight.

Two men, including Medvedev, were attacked by a bear while they were fishing on the Irtysh River. The animal first killed Vyacheslav Dudnik, who died on the spot. Medvedev fired his gun several times at the animal, but the wounded bear continued to approach and knocked the weapon out of Medvedev's hands. In desperation, the wounded boxer pounced on the bear with a knife and managed to kill it.

The end of the terrifying fight was witnessed by the third fisherman, Denis Chebotar, who came to the rescue and was alerted by the shouts of his colleagues as he was tackling the fishing boat on the river bank. Chebotar dragged his seriously injured colleague onto the boat and took him to the hospital. Medvedev, the winner of the 2019 Russian Armed Forces Boxing Championships (under 64kg), was put into a pharmacological coma, but doctors say his life is no longer in danger. The athlete will have to undergo lengthy rehabilitation.