South African boxer Simiso Buthelezi appeared to lose his bearings in the ring on Sunday (5 June) and began punching thin air.
The fighter was just seconds from claiming the WBF African lightweight title in the 10th round against his opponent Siphesihle Mntungwa.
Things went inexplicably downhill when his opponent Siphesihle Mntungwa fell backwards through the ropes of the boxing ring.
After Mntungwa got back into the ring to resume the final round, Buthelezi appeared to be disoriented - perhaps from an earlier hit.
Advert
When the bell rang for the fight to continue, Buthelezi slowly backed the referee into a corner of the ring, almost appearing to think that the ref was his opponent.
However, when the referee moved out of the way, Buthelezi continued to throw slow punches into the corner of the ring, with both Mntungwa and the referee standing behind him.
.png)
All credit to the referee for immediately stopping the fight when he quickly realised what was going on.
Also recognising that Buthelezi was in no state to finish the fight, his opponent Mtungwa wasted no time in celebrating his victory.
Advert
Mtungwa impersonated Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo's 'Sui' celebration as he leapt across the ring.
Providing commentary on the fight, boxing podcaster and enthusiast Tim Boxeo tweeted that Buthelezi was 'almost certainly headed to a 10 round decision victory' before the incident unfolded.
He went on to inform fans that Buthelezi had been 'removed from the ring under immediate medical care'.
In a later update to concerned boxing enthusiasts, Boxeo said: "Sources share that Simiso Buthelezi is currently in stable condition in South Africa and in the next few days more will be learned as to what could have potentially caused a very scary and odd response in the ring.”
Advert
The WBF has made the decision to postpone the belt ceremony for Mntungwa until further notice.
While some boxing fans theorised that Buthelezi had suffered from heat exhaustion during the intense match, others suggested that he might have suffered a concussion in an earlier round.
Before the distressing twist in the final minutes of the fight in Greyville Convention Centre, Durban, Buthelezi had an undefeated record of 4-0.
LADbible has contacted the World Boxing Federation for an update on Buthelezi's condition.
Ali Condon