South African boxer Simiso Buthelezi has died in hospital after suffering a brain injury

South African boxer Simiso Buthelezi has passed away after suffering a brain injury during his defeat on Sunday in Durban. The boxer was fighting for his life in hospital after his fight got stopped.

Buthelezi was en route to winning the WBF African Lightweight Title against Siphesihle Mntungwa last weekend. He dominated the contest over ten rounds. The South African unloaded a flurry of punches towards his opponent which resulted in Mntungwa falling through the ropes.

However, with seconds left in the contest, Buthelezi began punching in the direction of the referee before going to the corner and throwing shots as if he was shadow boxing. A video of the horrifying incident went viral on social media.

Replays have now shown that Buthelezi absorbed a strong jab to the chin from his opponent before he fell and briefly slumped onto the ropes. This could be why the lightweight lost his bearings and suffered a bleed on the brain.

The disturbing circumstances forced the referee to end the lightweight contest. He was initially put into an induced coma, but on Wednesday it was announced that the boxer had died.

A joint statement from Buthelezi's family and Boxing South Africa read:

“It is with great sadness for Boxing South Africa and the Buthelezi family to announce the passing away of Mr. Simiso Buthelezi who passed away last night the 7th June 2022 at hospital in Durban.”

The full statement was released by @robertmarawa on Twitter:

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Who was Simiso Buthelezi?

Buthelezi was a South African fighter who competed as a lightweight during his professional career. The 24-year-old had his entire career ahead of him as he was only four fights into his time as a boxer.

The young athlete was unbeaten before he suffered his tragic injury and was on course to add another victory to his resume. His record is 4-1 following his most recent encounter, where he ammassed 2 knockouts to his name.

Buthelezi fought for the vacant World Boxing Federation African Lightweight Title in only his fifth outing against Siphesihle Mntungwa, who had a record of 6-1-2.