Simiso Buthelezi began throwing punches at the air after his opponent fell out of the ring.
A strange scene unfolded on Sunday during a boxing event in Africa. Simiso Buthelezi was prepared to defend his title against Siphesihle Mntungwa at the Greyville Convention Centre in Durban, South Africa. It took a turn in the 10th round when the champ began throwing punches at a non-existent opponent.
Buthelezi seemed to lose his sense of where he was in the 10th round once his opponent fell out of the ring. Mntungwa was struck and fell through the ropes before quickly scampering back in. The referee restarted the match but Buthelezi did not go after his opponent. Instead, the undefeated fighter turned the other way and began throwing punches in the corner at nothing.
The referee was forced to stop the fight and Mntungwa was awarded the victory. Tim Boxeo shared the video on his Twitter account.
“Very scary in South Africa please for Simiso Buthelezi (4-1). At 2:43 of the 10th & final round, Siphesihle Mntungwa (7-1-2) falls through the ropes but then Buthelezi appears to lose his understanding of the present situation. Mntungwa takes the WBF African lightweight title.”
Very scary in South Africa please ?? for Simiso Buthelezi (4-1). At 2:43 of the 10th & final round, Siphesihle Mntungwa (7-1-2) falls through the ropes but then Buthelezi appears to lose his understanding of the present situation. Mntungwa takes the WBF African lightweight title pic.twitter.com/YhfCI623LB
— Tim Boxeo (@TimBoxeo) June 5, 2022
An update was posted in a threat under the tweet explaining the current condition of Buthelezi.
“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.”
This is a scary scene for boxing because of the potential head or brain injury that Buthelezi might have suffered. There will be more answers given in the coming days as the situation gets sorted out. At this point, it is unknown if the one-time undefeated fighter will be in any condition to step back in the ring.
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