"The right move" - Dr. David Abbasi breaks down viral incident of South African boxer Simiso Buthelezi losing consciousness during fight; lauds referee
Ringside physician Dr. David Abbasi has weighed in on a disturbing video that shows boxer Simiso Buthelezi becoming disoriented and confused during a championship bout.
Buthelezi was fighting Siphesihle Mntungwa for the vacant WBF African Lightweight title when Mntungwa fell through the ropes halfway through the 10th round. After the referee stood Mntungwa up, Buthelezi turned around and started punching at the air. The referee clearly saw something was wrong and waved the fight off immediately.
🏼 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 titleVery 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 https://t.co/YhfCI623LB
In a new video with TMZ Sports, Florida commission ringside doctor David Abbasi gave his thoughts on how the incident was handled. He said:
"As the ringside doctor at these fights what we're concerned about is symptoms of concussion, but what we can never rule out is something more severe like a brain bleed. So the right move after something like this when you're visualizing these types of symptoms is to send that fighter immediately to the hospital to get a head scan, something like a CT scan, the make sure there's not something serious that could be life threatening like a brain bleed."
@TimBoxeo Very strange situation. He should be taken to hospital for a head scan ASAP.
"More than likely what this fighter was exhibiting was signs of a concussion, and so we see him acting disoriented, we see the delayed response, not really knowing where he is. That could be something consistent with something like a concussion. But again, we can't rule out something more serious like a brain bleed."
Watch Dr. David Abbasi's video to TMZ Sports below:
Immediately following the fight, Simiso Buthelezi was taken to the hospital where he is reported to be in stable condition. Previous claims that he was placed in a medically induced coma have not been confirmed.
Dr. David Abbasi claims Aleksandar Rakic's injury wasn't caused by Jan Blachowicz's kicks
UFC Vegas 54's light heavyweight showdown between Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic ended prematurely after Rakic suffered a freak ACL injury a minute into the third round. While Rakic claimed to have suffered a similar injury in training, supporters of Blachowicz argued that it was the Polish fighter's kicks that injured Rakic, making the win more legitimate.
According to Dr. David Abbasi, that's not the case. In addition to being a ringside physician, Abbasi is also an orthopedic surgeon and knows his way around knee injuries. In a YouTube video on the fight finish, he said:
"It was a non-contact injury. Which means it didn’t occur from somebody coming and clipping him from the outside of the knee or from the inside part of the knee. Now there was a lot of questions whether or not Blachowicz’s calf kicks could have caused this or led up to this ACL injury? The answer to that is no. That would not have caused a ligamentous injury to the knee."
Watch Dr. David Abbasi weigh in on Aleksandar Rakic's knee injury below:
Shortly after Abbasi's video came out, Rakic confirmed that it was indeed his ACL which tore during the fight. That injury could put him on the sidelines for nine to twelve months.
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