It is a sad night for South Africa! On Monday evening, authorities discovered the body of former SA boxing world champion Dingaan “Rose of Soweto” Thobela at his flat in Joburg.
Attempts to reach Thobela on Monday were unsuccessful
A report by Sowetan revealed that authorities found the 57-year-old Thobela dead in his flat in Mayfair, Johannesburg, on Monday evening after he had battled illness.
His childhood friend Eddie Mutungutungu confirmed the death of Thobela.
HIS FAMILY GAINED ACCESS TO HIS FLAT AND FOUND HIM
He said his family gained access to his flat after several unsuccessful attempts to contact Thobela.
“He was strangely unavailable on his mobile, and his family, accompanied by police, managed to gain access to his place of residence and found he had passed on,”
Mutungutungu told Sowetan.
HE HAD BEEN UNWELL FOR SOME TIME
The report furthermore stated that Thobela and his common-law wife, Sandra, had separated. They had two children together, Ntombi and Dingaan Thobela Junior.
It is believed that he had been unwell. His poor health prevented him from attending Boxing SA’s symposium at the Arena Holdings offices in Parktown last Friday.
HIS POOR HEALTH PREVENTED HIM FROM ATTENDING BOXING SA’S SYMPOSIUM
According to Mabaleng Sports Center, Thobela is a South African former professional boxer who competed between 1990 and 2006.
He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO lightweight title from 1990 to 1992, the WBA lightweight in 1993, and the WBC super-middleweight title in 2000.”
THOBELA IS A WORLD CHAMPION IN TWO WEIGHT CLASSES
Thobela enjoyed SA support beyond colour lines, as his victories outside SA brought traffic to a standstill and caused wild celebrations in townships.
In 2015, the Hawks arrested Thobela over his funeral parlour business.
According to an article by TimesLive, authorities arrested him for allegedly contravening the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.
THIS SA CHAMPION HAD SOME ISSUES WITH THE LAW
According to the SAPS statement‚ he stands accused of failing to register his funeral company as a financial service advisor entity as required by law.
Known as one of South Africa’s best boxers‚ Thobela has been running his Rose Funeral Parlour for many years‚ at least since the late 1990s.
TWO WEEKS AGO JOSEPH MAKARINGE ALSO PASSED AWAY
Meanwhile, just two weeks ago, Joseph Makaringe – the former SA welterweight champion – passed away after a short illness.
A report by SuperSport states he passed away at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg. He was 49 years old.
