Zolani Tete: Former world champion boxer shot dead outside home in South Africa
Zolani Tete, who produced the fastest knockout in world title history and twice fought in the UK, was ambushed by two armed men outside his home in Mdantsane on Friday; the 38-year-old's doping ban had ended just weeks ago and he had been planning a comeback
Saturday 22 August 2026 15:14, UK
Former world champion boxer Zolani Tete has been shot dead outside his home in South Africa at the age of 38.
Tete was arriving at his residence in Mdantsane, in the Eastern Cape, and waiting for his gate to open when two armed men wearing balaclavas got out of a vehicle and opened fire, police said.
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A 27-year-old woman travelling with him was shot multiple times and taken to hospital, according to Gayton McKenzie, South Africa's sports, arts and culture minister, who confirmed the boxer's death on Friday.
"I will not speculate about who did this or why," McKenzie said. Police have begun an investigation and the motive remains unclear.
Tete, known as "Last Born", is best remembered for his 11-second knockout of fellow South African Siboniso Gonya in Belfast in November 2017, which remains the fastest stoppage in a world title fight, and was delivered in defence of the WBO bantamweight crown he won that year and held until 2019.
The southpaw first became a world champion at junior-bantamweight, winning the IBF belt by beating Japan's Teiru Kinoshita in Kobe in 2014, having held the minor WBF flyweight title earlier in his career.
He was a familiar face to British fight fans after stopping Liverpool's Paul Butler at the city's Echo Arena in 2015, and Victor Ruiz at the same venue a year later. His professional record stood at 29 wins, including 22 knockouts, four losses and one no contest.
His death comes just weeks after the end of the four-year ban he received for testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol following his 2022 fight with Jason Cunningham. His suspension ended on July 29 and he had been planning a return to the ring.
The killing will renew attention on violent crime in South Africa which continues to have one of the world's highest murder rates despite a recent decline and it has struck a particular chord in Mdantsane, the township that has produced some of the country's most successful boxers.
