Former South African featherweight champion Khanyile ‘Man Dee’ Bulana has opened up about a near-death experience after he collapsed at a Cape Town hotel more than a week ago.
This happened a few hours after Bulana was stopped in the fourth round by reigning SA junior-lightweight champion Lunga Sitemela at the Vibrant Sports Centre in Ottery, Cape Town.
The 31-year-old Bulana was rushed to Groote Schuur Hospital where he was operated on to remove a blood clot in the brain.
“You will remember that I had a car accident in August last year. The doctor who attended to me didn’t pick up that there was a blood clot in my brain. During my fight against Sitemela, he kept on hitting me on the back of my head and that’s when things became bad for me,” Bulana said.
“I was rushed to hospital around 1am after the fight. They operated me and removed a blood clot on my brain. That was a very scary experience. I thought I was going to die. Thankfully, I’m back home now. I’m going to concentrate on getting better now.”
The loss to Sitemela was Bulana’s second successive defeat. Bulana was stopped in the first round by former International Boxing Organisation (IBO) junior-lightweight champion Michael Magnesi in Italy in April last year.
Meanwhile, Bulana’s problems started when he together with his team got stuck at the King Phalo Airport in East London a day before the Sitemela clash after fight promoter Jackie Brice of Jackie Brice Boxing Promotions failed to secure tickets for them on time.
They were forced to return to their respective homes and only flew to Cape Town on the day of the fight and went straight to the tournament venue after landing in the Mother City.
