It was the first defeat of his professional career, but Rudomo Ramati was set to face the biggest fight of his life.
The South African faced Nick Ball for the WBC Silver featherweight title in Belfast last May.
The first three rounds were standard competitive action, but what happened next earned Ramati the nickname “The Miracle Man,” and for good reason.
In the fourth round, Ramati was grabbed behind the ear by the ball and realized something was wrong.
He fought until the 12th round, when his corner threw in the towel with one minute left.
It was a decision that saved his life: Ramati collapsed in the ring, and the next thing he remembers is waking up in Belfast Royal Infirmary with most of his skull embedded in his abdomen.
The 31-year-old will now return to his home country after recuperating in Northern Ireland for just under two months.
Ramati collapsed in the ring after suffering a stroke and was placed in a medically induced coma.
The decision to remove part of the skull was made to relieve pressure from a brain hemorrhage, and the skull was left in the abdomen for preservation, to be reattached when he was fit to recover.
Ramati now has a scar that runs the length of his head, from his forehead to his ear, which he says he looks after with “proud.”
It's a horrific reminder of the horrific events in Belfast, but also a sign of how lucky he is to still be alive.
“Even when you explain to people what happened it's hard for them to understand,” Ramati told BBC Sport NI.
“I had a stroke and that was it.
“They had to remove half my skull and put it in my stomach, and you know what that feels like?
“I felt like a pregnant woman, I know how they feel.
“Those doctors are really good people. They saved my life.”
“Hey, do you know what's going through your head?”
Once part of the skull was repaired, the membrane regenerated and no clips were needed to hold it in place.
His speech and brain functions were also unaffected, so doctors gave him a new nickname.
“They call me the miracle man for that. After the operation, they had to put everything back together so they were going to put clippers in my head.
“So the hair isn't cut, it's stuck on. After four or five years, you're going to have to check your head and get the clippers out.”
“I was very lucky to come out of it without any speech impediments or IQ problems.
“I feel like I'm getting better. I thought the situation had blinded me, but now I've grown and I see life differently.”
“To get out of that, I want to know that I'm still here for a reason, and what that reason is.”
Ramati says he received excellent care from the local boxing community while he recuperated in Belfast, including Carl Frampton and the Conlan family.
The bout with Ball took place on the undercard to the fight between Michael Conlan and Luis Alberto Lopez at the SSE Arena and, although he didn't realise it at the time, Belfast was about to become his second home.
His current wife, Chai Sias, and his mother Joyce flew to Belfast to watch over his recovery and Ramati would like to thank Steven Nelson and his family for their kindness during this difficult time.
“I remember waking up on the seventh day, but I can't remember. I'm trying to find out who I am,” Ramati added.
“I asked what happened in the fight, I knew something was wrong.
“I was high on drugs and I still remember some of the things we were talking about.
“Karl and I have spoken about coming back and boxing and I told him I would like to fight.
“He said, 'Hey! Do you know what's going through your head?'”
He said that even though he was injured in a foreign country and was with people he didn't know, he didn't feel like he was with strangers.
“I don't know if I'm hurt or not.”
Unsurprisingly, the severity of the surgery forced Ramati to hang up his gloves, and although the only loss of his professional career was his final one, Ramati described it as a “great experience.”
But he's still involved in the sport he loves (he's been boxing since he was eight years old), owns a gym and promotes in South Africa.
Ramati says it's now a dream come true to be promoting fights in Belfast, a city that gave him so much when he least expected it.
“Physically I feel good, mentally I feel good. I'm just keeping myself in shape and getting better every day.”
“Sometimes things don't go as planned and you have to have a plan B.”
He also plans to return to Belfast to see the “very good people” who have helped him and his family, both medically and with support.
Ramati, who visits former mixed martial artist turned psychiatrist Daniela Eliasov to “keep his mind clear”, admits he has always been aware of the dangers of boxing but says boxers are “trained” to deal with pain.
“You never know when to stop, you never know when you're going to get hurt,” he added.
“When you get hit in the back of the head, you lose balance and lose strength. It causes an impact to the brain.”
“You have to keep trying and dig deep to find a way, and you always will.”
“My psychiatrists said I was still fighting when I was in the coma. They even wrote that I would not be allowed to get up and walk because I would get up and walk out of the hospital.”
“Half of the skull was in my stomach, but I didn't think it was an injury. Looking back, it was unusual. It was a miracle.”
