By Yuri Tarantin

As previously reported, former heavyweight title challenger Manuel Charr (28-4, 16KOs) was shot in the abdomen on Tuesday night by an assailant in the German city of Essen. He was taken to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery for six hours.

A few short weeks ago, Charr was knocked out cold by Mairis Briedis in a bout which took place in Russia. The loss made Charr fall to 3-3 in his last six fights. 

Charr's agent, Peter Gleim, expects his fighter to make a full recovery and return even stronger to the ring. 

"At first the situation seemed quite bad," said Gleim. "Manuel had been unconscious for a long time. But after six hours of surgery at the medical facility, he was able to recover again. Yesterday, he finally saw his mother and sisters, it inspired him."

"This is a very serious injury, but the doctors have done a good job. We'll wait a couple of weeks and see how the damage will heal. But I think at this moment the situation is more encouraging. We are confident that Manuel will return to the ring even stronger than he was before."

Yuri Tarantin covers boxing for Allboxing.ru