WAR WOUNDS
Boxer Mikaela Lauren, 48, left unrecognisable after horrific beating by world champion 15 years her junior
The 48-year-old suffered a cracked skull in the one-sided beatdown
BOXER Mikaela Lauren was left completely unrecognisable after suffering horrific swelling in her last fight.
The Swedish slugger took a beating at the hands of WBC welterweight champion Michaela Kotaskova late last month.
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Czech clubber Kotaskova battered the 48-year-old for ten straight rounds to retain her belt in a lopsided decision victory.
Lauren left the ring battered and bruised and a shell of herself.
And the shiners the Swedish slugger was sporting as she left the ring nearly closed in the hours after the one-sided beatdown.
Lauren shared a series of post-fight snaps and videos of herself with her 80,000 Instagram followers.
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She revealed the severity of her injuries in one of the videos by taking off her glasses and laughing at the fact her eyes were swollen shut.
The swelling was the result of a crack in Lauren's skull, which she claims she suffered due to several accidental head clashes.
She wrote in her accompanying caption: "It has been a bit quiet on my part as I have needed some time to heal myself and reflect on everything.
"First I want to congratulate @michaela.kotaskova and @boxteambounce and thank you for the chance.
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"You win some - you lose some and, unfortunately, it didn't go all the way this time.
"Even though I didn't get my boxing to 100%, I still showed that I belong at the top.
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"I'm incredibly proud that I fought so hard in all 10 rounds despite all the accidental "scalding" (head collisions) that caused me to crack my head first and then have a HUGE swelling on my forehead and eyebrows that interfered and obscured my vision.
"The night after the game, the hematoma (swelling/blood collection) from the "scaldings" in the forehead descended over the eyes and became so swollen that my eyes were completely blocked.
"It made it so that I could not open my eyes and see. Had to be escorted around like a blind person."
Lauren almost wasn't allowed to fly back home due to fears over her injuries.
She continued: "When we stopped over in Zurich, I was not allowed to fly on without a medical certificate (competition doctors had already looked at me but left no certificate).
"Me and my head coach Alex then had to stay and go into the hospital and do an X-ray which fortunately showed that everything looked good.
"Had no headache and no nausea so I wasn't really worried, but of course nice to check everything and take the safe for the unsafe.
"All planes home were then fully booked, so we had to make another layover before we finally landed at Arlanda 22 hours after departure from the hotel.
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"Luckily now the swelling has subsided a bit and I can properly open my eyes again, but I can say that I have been more beautiful in my days
"However, it looks worse than it is, and now I just need to rest and spend time with family."
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