Credit: Twitter
Ludumo Lamati, the South African boxer, collapsed in the ring and got taken to the hospital, after his trainer threw in the towel against Nick Ball in Belfast, Ireland on May 27. The Englishman got the win over his undefeated opponent in the 12th round via the technical knockout at the SSE Arena in a Luis Alberto Lopez-Michael Conlan undercard fight.
During the grueling bout, Ball, a 5-foot-2 boxer, landed the harder of the punches on his much taller and longer Lamati. In the final round, after a stiff left by the Englishman snapped back the South African boxer’s head, his trainer had seen enough and threw in the towel to make the referee Kevin Parker put a stop to the action.
Once Ludumo Lamati had collapsed in the ring, he received immediate medical assistance. But, since the SSE Arena didn’t have an ambulance on site, the trip to the hospital for the 31-year-old was delayed after he got stretched off while receiving oxygen.
Watch the video here:
According to BT Sport, Lamati was “doing OK” and in a conscious state and talking after suffering a scare against Ball in his 23rd professional bout. This was the first-ever loss in the boxing career for Lamati, who previously boasted a formidable record of 21 wins and 1 draw, including 11 via knockout.
Meanwhile, his opponent, Nick Ball, refused to celebrate his 18th straight win, 11th via knockout, during the post-fight interview. He was quoted as saying, "The main thing is Lamati’s health. I hope he’s alright. I will be even more happy when I know that because boxing is no joke. You have got some people not taking it seriously and you can lose your life in here, so the main thing is his health."
Speaking about the fight, Ball remarked, "I knew he (Lamati) was a tricky fighter from how the fight started. And I knew he was gonna start the rounds well."