Image: Gallo Images
The young female fighter, brain injured and fighting for her life in hospital, has taken a turn for the worse.
Her condition is now being described as "critical".
A nurse in the intensive care unit at Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria, said yesterday that Phindile Mwelase's condition had deteriorated to such an extent that ''it is very alarming now".
''Her brain is swollen to [the extent that] the circulation of blood [is restricted]".
Mwelase had surgery on Monday to stem bleeding on the brain.
She was knocked out in a professional fight in Pretoria on Friday night.
She has been in a coma since slumping to the canvas after being caught by a punch from opponent Liz Butler in the sixth round of their bout.
''I have been a fight supervisor for 25 years and I have never been in a situation like this before," ringside doctor Solly Skosana said.