Probe Opens Questions to be asked about death of fighter

| Why did Phindile Mwelase die after fight?

ONE of the doctors who first attended to Phindile Mwelase in the ring after she was knocked out last month allegedly thought the felled boxer was merely “exhausted”.

Mwelase, suffering from bleeding on the brain, slipped into a coma and died two weeks later at a Pretoria hospital without regaining consciousness.

Sport minister Fikile Mbalula is launching an inquiry into Mwelase’s death and his spokesman Sello More this week said the terms of reference were being worked out.

Two sources have told the Sunday Times that they overheard Dr Solly Skosana, who was appointed by the regulator for professional boxing, Boxing SA (BSA), saying that he thought Mwelase was tired.

Mwelase had been competitive in the scheduled eightrounder until being caught by a single right-handed punch in the sixth round.

The boxer first sank to her knees and then toppled forward unconscious.

“He said: ‘she’s fine, she’s just exhausted’,” said one source on condition of anonymity. The second source, also not wanting to be named, confirmed hearing the same.

But the doctor denied this. “I did not say that. I don’t know where that comes from. How can I say that when a boxer is in that state?”

He did concede, however, that no diagnosis was made in the ring.

“I can say simply she did not look well. We did not diagnose anything inside her. It is only the hospital that can tell us what is wrong with her.”

Another doctor at ringside is said to have diagnosed bleeding.

Boxing insiders, including three former board members,

She had never won a fight, having four losses and a draw

say the biggest question Mbalula’s inquiry must answer is why Mwelase had been sanctioned to compete over eight rounds in the first place.

As a professional boxer she had never won a fight, having four losses and a draw before OUCH: Phindile Mwelase lands a blow to the head of Ndobayini Kholose during a bout her ill-fated bout against Liz Butler, who herself is struggling to cope with Mwelase’s death.

Novices are supposed to prove themselves in fourrounders before graduating to longer fights, which can go up to a maximum of 10 rounds for female fighters and 12 for men.

“It’s insane,” one former executive member said.

Exacerbating the problem in South Africa is the dearth of female boxers — there are a total of 37 fighters listed across all 17 weight divisions in the latest national rankings, and that means it’s difficult to find opponents.

In four of the 17 divisions there are no rated boxers, and in two there is just one.

Mwelase’s junior-middleweight class had three, excluding herself. The norm is 10 contenders to each champion.

BSA board member Dr Peter Ngatane said he was still awaiting the result of the postmortem, which would disclose whether Mwelase had suffered subdural bleeding or intracerebral bruising.

Subdurals, on the surface of the brain, are treatable if handled timeously.

But intracerebral bruising, usually the result of sustained punishment, is dangerous, having claimed the lives of many boxers, including two of SA’s big casualties of the 1980s, Jacob Morake and Brian Baronet.