Zolani Tete, 38, a two-time world boxing champion, was ambushed and killed on Friday outside his home in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Police reported that two armed suspects approached his residence and opened fire.
Tete became the IBF super flyweight world champion in 2014 after defeating Japan's Teiru Kinoshita in Hyogo, Kobe, Japan, and the WBO bantamweight world champion after defeating Filipino Arthur Villanueva at Leicester Arena in Leicestershire, England, in 2017. He also set a Guinness World Record for the fastest knockout in a WBO bantamweight world championship fight, lasting only 11 seconds, when he defeated fellow countryman Siboniso Gonya at The SSE Arena (Odyssey Arena) in Northern Ireland, Belfast.
Tete had a professional career between 2006 and 2022 with a record of 29 wins (22 KOs) and 4 losses, facing opponents such as Moruti Mthalane, Juan Alberto Rosas, Roberto Domingo Sosa, Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr., Teiru Kinoshita, Paul Butler, Jether Oliva, Arthur Villanueva, Omar Andres Narvaez, John Riel Casimero, and Jason Cunningham, among others.
A devastating loss for the boxing community. “South Africa has lost one of the best boxers it has ever produced,” said fans and the South African press on social media and news outlets. “Zolani 'Last Born' Tete is a devastating loss.”
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