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. |
Extraordinary video captures moment epileptic woman's dogs spot her seizure and run to the rescueBee Game: Dodgers and Diamondbacks delayed due to bee swarmPolice clear proLife coach Michelle Elman, 30, will address breakWe shall slight them on the beaches! Cafe on Normandy's Omaha beach stormed by the Allies during DThe Wanted stars Max George and Siva Kaneswaran are reuniting for a new tour of IndiaLele Pons reveals she was attacked by pit bull while defending her dog from being mauledDrury, Noesen help Hurricanes beat Islanders 6Raúl Ruidíaz scores two goals and the Sounders beat the Union 3Bee Game: Dodgers and Diamondbacks delayed due to bee swarm