“Dingaan Thobela: The Legacy of The Rose of Soweto”

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“Dingaan Thobela: The Legacy of The Rose of Soweto”

South African boxer Dingaan Thobela, who was a two-weight world champion nicknamed “The Rose of Soweto,” passed away at the age of 57, as announced by the ministry…

South African boxer Dingaan Thobela, who was a two-weight world champion nicknamed “The Rose of Soweto,” passed away at the age of 57, as announced by the ministry of sports on Tuesday.

Thobela won the WBO lightweight title in 1990 and the WBA lightweight title in 1993, where he defeated American Tony Lopez in a rematch.

In 2000, he moved up to super-middleweight and secured a 12th-round stoppage against Britain’s Glenn Catley for the WBC belt, marking his finest moment. Thobela had a professional record of 40 wins, 14 losses, and two draws.

Thobela was from the renowned Johannesburg township of Soweto and was widely admired in his home country, as his career coincided with the peak of South African boxing in the 1980s and 1990s.

He was among many top-class Black fighters who emerged in the final years of apartheid when boxing was among the few South African sports that allowed Black athletes to compete on the world stage and gain international recognition.

Thobela’s demise came a few days after South Africa celebrated the 30th anniversary of the end of the apartheid system of racial segregation, which was officially abolished in 1994.

Sports Minister Zizi Kodwa expressed his condolences, saying, “As we celebrate 30 years of South African democracy, we mourn the loss of an athlete who did so much to elevate South African sport through his success in boxing.

We also celebrate a champion boxer who inspired the nation, future boxers, and champions from Soweto, Mdantsane, Thohoyandou, and other parts of the country.”

No cause of death was announced. However, The Sowetan newspaper reported that Thobela was found dead in his Johannesburg apartment on Monday evening.

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