South African boxer Dingaan Thobela, 'The Rose of Soweto,' dies aged 57
Time:2024-05-22 01:53:23 Source:entertainmentViews(143)
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.
You may also like
- Amir Khan's £11.5m luxury wedding venue finally hosts its first marriage: Bride arrives on horse
- Gunnar Henderson becomes youngest player to hit 10 homers before May 1 as Orioles defeat Yankees 2
- Lady Gaga and boyfriend Michael Polansky make a rare appearance as they step out for a low
- Seattle Kraken fire coach Dave Hakstol after leading the franchise for its first 3 seasons
- These hilarious notices will make you do a double take
- GOP leaders still can't overcome the Kansas governor's veto to enact big tax cuts
- Analysis: The NHL playoffs are off to an odd start, from the net out
- Arizona rancher accused of fatal shooting will not be retried, prosecutors say
- Eleanor Tomlinson puts on a leggy display in sparkly black minidress as she joins co