Reports coming out of South Africa have revealed that former two-weight boxing world champion Zolani Tete has been killed in a shooting outside his home in Mdantsane.
Police say the 38-year-old was ambushed while waiting for his gates to open, which led to the fatal shooting, along with the wounding of a 27-year-old woman who was with Tete.
South African authorities have opened the murder investigation, however, no arrests have been made as of yet.
Police Statement After Zolani Tete Shot Dead
Eastern Cape police spokesperson, Brigadier Nobuntu Gatana, revealed the incident took place at around 18:30 on Friday night. He also revealed that Tete had been waiting for his gate to open before he was ambushed by two balaclava-wearing suspects.
The spokesperson said: "In an attempt to escape the bullets, the deceased drove his vehicle into the yard.
"He unfortunately succumbed to his injuries and was declared deceased at the scene."
Gatana also detailed the injuries of the 27-year-old woman who was with Tete.
"The female passenger sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. She remains hospitalised."
Zolani Tete's Boxing Career
The legacy that Tete leaves behind speaks for itself. In a 16-year professional career, the boxer only lost on four occasions, two of which came in world title fights.
Tete picked up his first-ever world championship back in 2007 in just the eighth bout of his career following a win over Vicky Tahumil. The win meant he claimed the WBF flyweight title for the first time in his career, a title that he would go on to pick up once more later down the line.
In September 2010, Tete defended his flyweight title in a bout against Moruti Mthalane, however, he was defeated via fifth-round TKO and was, therefore, handed the first loss on his record.
It was in 2014 that marked the beginning of yet another significant period in Tete's career. After a stretch of three losses in six fights in the years prior, the South African finally had the chance to claim back some gold.
Tete beat Japan's Teiru Kinoshita for the vacant IBF world superfly title, but after one successful defence, he decided to vacate the title and move on.
Frank Warren then signed Tete in December 2015, which marked another major step in the late boxer's career.
The following years included a jump to bantamweight where he claimed yet another world title.
Tete claimed the WBO bantamweight interim title after defeating Arthur Villanueva in 2017. He was later elevated by the organisation to become the WBO's official champion, thus making him a two-weight world champion.
He then wrote himself in the history books once more during his first defence of that title. The boxer faced Siboniso Gonya in Belfast and landed his first shot in five seconds. The shot sent Gonya down and the fight was stopped by the 11th second.
The win marked the quickest stoppage in title fight history and Tete's record was officially registered by Guiness World Records.
The next few years of his career included a few successful defences before he faced John Riel Casimero in 2019 and lost his world title after a third-round stoppage.
In 2023, the former two-weight world champion was handed a three-year doping ban for an anti-doping violation which was caused by a positive test for Stanozolol.
Tete's ban expired less than a month ago, and it was reported that the 38-year-old was targeting a return to the ring later this year, before his tragic death was announced following the shooting outside his home.
