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.
Shooting injures 2 at Missouri high school graduation ceremony
CSX profit drops 10% despite railroad delivering 3% more freight in first quarter
Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor are confirmed to make Broadway debuts in Romeo + Juliet
Lawmakers vote down bill that would allow some Alabama death row inmates to be resentenced
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
New BYU basketball coach Kevin Young focused on building NBA pipeline with Cougars
Zardari wins Pakistan's presidential election
Dancing With The Stars pro Cheryl Burke CONFIRMS showmances with THREE of her celebrity partners
Inside Victoria Beckham's extensive wardrobe as she turns 50: From multi