Former world champion boxer Zolani Tete has been shot dead outside his home in South Africa at the age of 38.
The former WBO bantamweight champion was reportedly arriving at his residence in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, when two armed men wearing balaclavas emerged from a vehicle and opened fire as he waited for the gate to open, police said.
A 27-year-old woman who was travelling with Tete was also shot several times and rushed to hospital for treatment.
South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, confirmed Tete’s death on Friday and expressed caution over speculation surrounding the circumstances of the shooting.
“I will not speculate about who did this or why,” McKenzie said, as police launched an investigation into the incident. The motive for the attack has not been established.
Tete, popularly known as “Last Born,” enjoyed a successful career at the highest level of professional boxing. He made history in November 2017 when he knocked out fellow South African Siboniso Gonya in just 11 seconds in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The stunning victory remains one of the fastest stoppages in a world title fight and came during Tete’s reign as WBO bantamweight champion, a title he won earlier that year and held until 2019.
The southpaw had previously captured a world title at junior-bantamweight, defeating Japan’s Teiru Kinoshita in Kobe in 2014 to claim the IBF belt. Earlier in his career, he had also held the WBF flyweight title.
Tete’s death comes shortly after he completed a four-year suspension imposed following a positive test for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol after his 2022 bout against Jason Cunningham.
His ban officially ended on July 29, and the boxer had reportedly been preparing for a comeback to professional boxing before his life was tragically cut short.
