Zolani Tete, a two-time world champion boxer and one of South Africa’s most celebrated fighters, has been shot and killed outside his home.
Tete, 38, was fatally attacked Friday evening in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, in what authorities described as an apparent ambush.
Police said Tete had just arrived home and was waiting for his gate to open when two armed men wearing balaclavas approached.
The suspects allegedly got out of a vehicle and opened fire on Tete and a 27-year-old woman who was inside the car with him.
Tete was struck multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The woman also suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she remained under treatment.
Police said Tete tried to escape the gunfire by driving his vehicle into the yard.
The two suspects fled and were still at large.
Tete was one of South Africa’s most successful boxers and a two-division world champion.
He held the WBO bantamweight title from 2017 to 2019 and also captured the IBF junior-bantamweight championship earlier in his career.
He also earned a place in the Guinness World Records after scoring one of the fastest knockouts ever seen in a world title fight.
In 2017, Tete stopped Siboniso Gonya in just 11 seconds.
South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie mourned Tete’s death and called him one of the country’s finest fighters.
“South Africa has lost one of the finest fighters it has ever produced,” McKenzie said.
He also pleaded for anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
“Somebody in that community knows who did this,” he said.
Tete had not fought professionally since 2022, when he knocked out Jason Cunningham in London.
That result was later changed to a no-contest after Tete failed a drug test.
He was later handed a four-year ban by UK Anti-Doping after testing positive for stanozolol.
Tete maintained that he was a clean athlete and disputed the finding.
His suspension ended on July 29, and he had been preparing for a return to the ring.
His manager, Mlandeli Tengimfene, said Tete was training for a comeback fight scheduled for Nov. 29.
Earlier this year, Tete made it clear that he believed his boxing career was not finished.
“My plan is still unfinished,” he told The Ring.
News of his killing triggered an outpouring of grief throughout the boxing world.
Boxing South Africa described Tete as an icon who inspired an entire generation of fighters.
“Zolani Tete was more than a champion,” the organization said. “He was an icon of South African boxing.”
The group praised his accomplishments, including becoming a two-weight world champion and setting the record for an 11-second world title defense.
“The sport has lost a true warrior and ambassador,” Boxing South Africa said.
Police have not announced a motive for the shooting.
Authorities are continuing to search for the two gunmen.
Bet the Brits did it.