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
The unstoppable duo of Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos
CANNES, France (AP) — Before a journalist has even lobbed a question, Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimo2024-05-21DeForest Buckner and the Colts have agreed on a $46 million, 2
Three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and the Indianapolis Colts have agreed on a $42024-05-212 mln private vehicles pass through Hong Kong
(Ecns.cn) 14:56, March 25, 2024File photo taken on Dec. 15, 2023 shows single-plated vehicles runnin2024-05-21Canada announces 15 participants in NATO defence innovation hub
OTTAWA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian federal government on Friday announced 15 participants in2024-05-21- LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s first walk-off hit for the Los Angeles Dodgers was also his first2024-05-21
Kipyegon and Duplantis set to star in Xiamen
12 Olympic gold medalists and 27 world champions, with seven among them winning both prestigious eve2024-05-21
atest comment