South African boxer Dingaan Thobela, 'The Rose of Soweto,' dies aged 57
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African boxer Dingaan Thobela, a two-weight world champion known as “The Rose of Soweto,” has died, the ministry of sports said on Tuesday. He was 57.
Thobela won the WBO lightweight title in 1990 and the WBA lightweight title in 1993, when he beat American Tony Lopez in a rematch. He moved up to super-middleweight and beat Britain’s Glenn Catley for the WBC belt with a 12th-round stoppage in 2000, his finest moment.
He finished with a professional record of 40 wins, 14 losses and two draws.
Thobela hailed from the famed Johannesburg township of Soweto and was widely popular in his home country as his rise coincided with South African boxing’s heyday in the 1980s and 1990s.
He was one of several world-class Black fighters to emerge during the last years of apartheid, when boxing was one of the few South African sports to allow Black athletes to compete on the world stage and gain international recognition.
Related articles
Medics remove 150 MAGGOTS from a woman's mouth after dental procedure left her with rotting tissue
A team of shocked medics removed 150 maggots from a woman's mouth that had appeared after a dental p2024-05-22Yemen's Houthis say they targeted Western ships
By Muhammad Al Gebaly, Hatem Maher and Tala Ramadan, for ReutersHouthi followers protest to condemn2024-05-22- Mitch East, 28. Photo: Supplied via LinkedIn / AFP2024-05-22
China's real estate giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here2024-05-22- Kid Rock wielded a gun, hurled racial slurs, and instigated a physical altercation with a reporter,2024-05-22
'We will not be silenced': Gisborne council backs Māori wards
Maori Wards Councillors stand outside Council. "We will not be silenced" one says after recent gover2024-05-22
atest comment