Two-time world boxing champion Zolani Tete has been shot dead outside his home in South Africa.
The 38-year-old former champion was killed in an apparent ambush in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, on Friday.
According to officials, Tete was sitting in his car and waiting for the gate of his home to open when two armed men wearing balaclavas emerged from another vehicle and opened fire.
The attackers reportedly fired “multiple shots” at Tete and a 27-year-old woman who was travelling with him. The woman survived the attack and is receiving treatment in hospital.
South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, paid tribute to the boxer, saying: “South Africa has lost one of the finest fighters it has ever produced.”
The two suspects fled the scene after the shooting, with authorities launching an investigation into the killing.
Tete won the IBF super-flyweight world title in 2014 before claiming the WBO bantamweight championship in 2017, which he held until 2019.
He also made eight appearances in the United Kingdom, including a 2015 victory over Liverpool’s Paul Butler.
The South African holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest knockout in a world title fight after stopping Siboniso Gonya in just 11 seconds in 2017.
Tete’s final professional bout came in July 2022, when he defeated Britain’s Jason Cunningham by knockout in London.
However, the result was later changed to a no-contest after he tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol.
He subsequently received a four-year ban from the UK Anti-Doping Agency, which expired on 29 July 2026.
Following his death, his manager, Mla Tengimfene, confirmed that Tete had been preparing for a return to the ring.
Tete finished his career with 29 victories from 34 fights, alongside four defeats and one no-contest.
