Former world champion boxer Zolani Tete shot and killed in South Africa

What the report says

South African boxer Zolani Tete, a former world champion, has been shot and killed at his home in Eastern Cape, according to Al Jazeera and statements cited from government officials and police. The 38-year-old was reportedly attacked in Mdantsane while arriving at his residence, when two armed suspects in balaclavas ambushed him. Officials said a 27-year-old woman in the vehicle was also shot and is being treated in hospital.

Al Jazeera reported that Tete won world titles in two weight classes during his career. He held the WBF flyweight belt from 2007 to 2008 and later became WBO bantamweight champion in 2017 and again in 2019. His rise included a 2014 points win in Japan over Teiru Kinoshita for the IBF junior-bantamweight title, and he also became known for an 11-second stoppage of Siboniso Gonya in a world-title fight.

Tete’s professional record ended at 29 wins, four losses and one no contest, with 22 knockouts. His most recent bout, in July 2022 in London, was a win over Jason Cunningham, although that result was later overturned after a positive test for stanozolol and he received a four-year suspension. Al Jazeera noted that the suspension expired in July and that he had been working toward a return to boxing. The killing has drawn attention not only because of Tete’s status in the sport, but also because of South Africa’s ongoing concerns about violent crime.