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. |
Muhammad Ali's 'Thrilla in Manila' trunks expected to sell for $10mHong Kong anthem bill passed amid protestWilmer Valderrama talks NCIS franchise's 1,000th episode, show's enduring legacySerious Fraud Office's appeal against NZ First Foundation acquittal dismissedJessica Boyce: Police offer $100k reward in Blenheim cold caseChanges to road user charges will see EV owners paying more, climate expert saysPlanes collide at Heathrow, no one hurtMozambique ferry disaster kills more than 90Protests over government's plans to repeal Smokefree legislation in Auckland and at ParliamentHong Kong news: Hong Kong police block Tiananmen Square candlelit vigil