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.
Ben Whishaw lights up the Croisette as he joins his co
China details regulations on non
You can't park there! Council builds new £51million 850
China's manufacturing hub sees 9.1 pct foreign trade growth in Q1
Supreme Court rejects an appeal from a Canadian man once held at Guantanamo
Travis d'Arnaud homers again and Bryce Elder shuts down Marlins in Braves' 3
Rays place struggling closer Pete Fairbanks on injured list with nerve
Lawmakers criticize CIA's handling of sexual misconduct but offer few specifics
Verona confirms Serie A status for another year after beating Salernitana
UN's commission on science and technology elects new chair
Young Boys seals 6th Swiss soccer league title in 7 years after rallying from firing coach Wicky
Stock market today: Asian stocks track Wall Street gains ahead of earnings reports