Zimbabwean boxer, Taurai Zimunya, has reportedly died shortly after he collapsed following a knockout on Sunday evening.
Zimunya, 24, a licensed professional boxer, collapsed in the third round of a six-round fight in a non-title bantamweight boxing match on Saturday against Tinashe Majoni.
Per the account of iharare.com, the now-deceased was knocked out by Tinashe Majoni of Charles Manyuchi Academy in a lightweight bout at the Rise of Champions fight series in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare.
He was treated at the ringside when he collapsed and later rushed to Parirenyatwa Hospital on oxygen support for further treatment.
He remained unconscious while doctors at Westend Clinic conducted scans to figure out the source of the injury but before the health workers could save him, Zimunya died in the early hours of Monday.
Although the doctors were not conclusive yet with what culminated in his death, everything pointed to the fact the severe injuries he sustained during the fight contributed to his death.
“A boxer has died after a referee failed to stop a fight where he was visibly unable to continue. Taurai Zimunya, 24, was hospitalised at Parirenyatwa Hospital following the non-title bout in Borrowdale on Sunday. The boxing board said it was ‘shaken’ by the incident,”.
This is the first time a boxer has died in Zimbabwe from injuries sustained in the ring. A video of the incident circulating on social media has raised questions about safety procedures in Zimbabwean boxing.
Boxing was temporarily suspended in the country during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and only returned after lockdown restrictions were eased.