A novice boxer taken to the hospital after trying to punch an imaginary opponent, showing signs of disorientation

• Alarming scenes in an African boxing title match caused an immediate end to the bout.
• Simiso Burthelezi appeared disorientated, abandoned boxing his opponent, and punched thin air.

A novice boxer was taken to the hospital after seemingly becoming so disorientated in the middle of a fight, he abandoned his opponent and began punching an imaginary fighter instead.

The alarming scene took place Sunday during a WBF African lightweight title match at the Greville Convention Centre in Durban, South Africa.

Simiso Buthelezi fought Siphesihle Mntungwa for the title and even appeared to have the upper hand in the bout when he punched him through the ropes in the 10th round.

Video footage shows that Mntungwa actually connected with a shot of his own as he was going backward, and he rose to his feet with little-to-no problem.

When the referee called for the action to resume, it was clear Buthelezi was unfit to continue.

He appeared confused, and his eyes were all over the place, as he swung his fists at thin air, seemingly trying to box the turnbuckle.

The referee immediately called an end to the contest.

The Mirror reported that Buthelezi was rushed to a hospital.

Watch footage of the incident right here:

—Tim Boxeo (@TimBoxeo) June 5, 2022

Tim Boxeo reported that Buthelezi would likely have won a 10-round decision had he fought until the final bell. The WBF postponed the award ceremony for Mntungwa, who won by referee's stoppage.

Dr. David Abassi, a ringside doctor, called the situation "very scary" in a video sent to TMZ Sports.

"The ringside referee immediately stops the fight, and I think that's absolutely the right call," said Abassi.

"As a ringside doctor at these fights, what we're concerned about is the symptoms of concussion, but what we can never really rule out is something more severe, like a brain bleed."

He continued: "The right move after something like this, when you're visualizing these symptoms, are to send that fighter immediately to a hospital to get a head scan, to make sure there's not something very serious which can be life-threatening, like a brain bleed.

"More than likely what this fighter was exhibiting would be signs of a concussion. And so we see him acting disorientating, delayed response, not knowing where he was.

"That can be something consistent with a concussion, but again we can't rule out something more serious like a brain bleed."