South African three-time world champion boxer Dingaan Thobela better known as ‘The Rose of Soweto’ has died at age 57.
Thobela was found dead on Monday in his apartment by members of his family and police after numerous attempts to contact him failed.
According to South African media outlets, Thobela was battling illness.
At his peak, Thobela held the three world titles in two weight divisions: The WBO title from 1990-1992, the WBA title in 1993 and the WBC super-middleweight title, which he won in 2000.
Veteran sports journalist, Carlos Kambaekwa said in a report that Thobela played an instrumental role in the establishment of professional boxing in Namibia.
“I was part of the delegation that went to South Africa to set the wheel in motion with leather trading heavyweights from that neck of the woods. Thobela continued to assist Namibian boxing in many ways afterwards, may his gentle soul rest in ancestral power son of the soil,” said Kambaekwa.
Report: Martin Endjala