A man was left in a coma after being beaten bloody in a drunken backyard boxing match in Ballarat.
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Wade Duffy, 31, pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury at the County Court in Ballarat on Monday, where he appeared from custody.
The "egregious, cowardly attack", which left the victim with two broken eye sockets and a collapsed lung, started after a day of heavy drinking and drug use at Duffy's home.
![The assault happened in November 2021, Duffy will be sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty. File picture The assault happened in November 2021, Duffy will be sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/116320384/16ad9363-1c9e-4c5a-be8a-a3ff49bc7a56.PNG/r57_0_1222_656_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Duffy and the victim met through a mutual interest in mixed-martial arts training.
On November 8, 2021, the pair, along with a friend, were drinking at Duffy's home in Ballarat.
The court heard Duffy had consumed 20 beers, cannabis and 15 Xanax tablets on the day of the assault.
During the drinking session, the victim wrapped his hands with boxing tape and asked Duffy if he wanted to spar in the backyard shed.
At about 6.30pm he and a friend ended up in the shed where there was a makeshift boxing area with soft mats and punching bags.
The court heard Duffy and the victim sparred before the victim tripped and landed on the concrete floor of the shed. Duffy bent down on one knee and hit the victim in the face and chest until he was unconscious.
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The third person in the shed filmed 15 seconds of the assault, which was shown to the court.
The video showed the victim's head rolling around during the assault "like a doll", Judge Anne Hassan said.
Duffy leant down into the face of the victim after the attack and whispered "night, night."
The bloody clothes of the victim, which had been removed, appeared to be soaked in petrol, the court was told.
The victim was still unconscious when he was taken to Ballarat Base Hospital where he was intubated, placed on ventilation, had a chest tube inserted, and required monitoring for kidney damage.
He was later taken to the Royal Melbourne for a CT scan, which found both eye sockets fractured, a collapsed lung and blood pooling in the brain.
Duffy was arrested on November 9, 2021 and has since been in custody.
The court heard Duffy was "erratic" in the time leading up to the assault on November 8, 2021, triggered by a visit to a deceased friend's mother.
The defence claimed Duffy was "normalised" to violence at a young age and used violence as a coping mechanism. Drugs were an "escape" and Duffy continued to use drugs.
The defence said despite the "unfortunate" messages Duffy had sent, he was remorseful and pleaded guilty as the earliest opportunity.
At the time of the assault, Duffy's partner was eight-months pregnant with their first child.
Being in custody, Duffy missed the birth of his son and other milestones, and was unable to hold his son until he was about a year old.
Duffy, who appeared by video link, was visibly upset, as well as his partner and mother who were present in court.
Judge Hassan noted the "vicious nature of this attack", also calling it "egregious and cowardly", and would hand down Duffy's sentence on Tuesday, August 22.
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