There were some shocking scenes that unfolded during a boxing match in South Africa recently.
Semisu Buthelezi (24) met his compatriot Sevishel Montungoa in a lightweight fight on Sunday, and in the 10th round the fight was stopped. Just before the referee intervened, Buthelezi stood up and struck in the air with his back to the opponent.
– I think he had a head injury, which made him feel disoriented. Ingunn Rise Kirkeby tells Dagbladet about the accident that the bleeding is not so great that he is unable to stay on his feet.
Kirkeby is a brain surgeon who specializes in neurosurgery. She is Senior Physician at the Department of Neurosurgery at the Rikshospitalet in Oslo.
After the match, Buthelezi, among others, collapsed, according to the English BBC. He was taken to the hospital, but his life could not be saved.
– He is clearly confused because he does not know where the opponent is. It just continues in the same direction. He was already a little shaken right away. If you look at what it looked like before, it was already unstable, holding on to the ropes, says Kirkeby and continues:
It didn’t happen there and then, it’s something he already had, which eventually became so big that there was no room for more in the skull.
Sports giants who were killed
– It’s not surprising
The chief medical officer has, among other things, given lectures on “brain injuries in professional boxing” and witnessed similar incidents before.
The referee often interrupts the fight before the boxers get confused, as in this case.
– To me it was not surprising that he died of a hemorrhage, says Kirkeby.
– I can understand that the public and others think it sounds weird. He tries to keep doing what he’s doing, until no one can do it or stop him.
Died while fighting
to be checked
The South African Boxing Association, along with the family of the deceased, released a statement praising Buthelezi and calling him “a fantastic boxer who was a perfection in and out of the ring”.
The death will now be investigated to find out exactly what happened.
– They should do it. Most likely it happened due to boxing. We haven’t seen previous rounds of the match, but that’s likely, says Kirkeby, who thinks the crash is sad.
Buthelezi’s coach, Becky Mengomizulu, is said to have stated that the boxer was in good health before entering the ring.
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