South African sport has been rocked by yet another tragedy following the reported shooting death of former world boxing champion Zolani Tete on Friday night.
Tete, who previously held the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) bantamweight and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles, was allegedly travelling home from the gym when he was attacked.
It is that the 38-year-old was confronted by four armed men at his home in Mdantsane.
He was allegedly shot during the incident and pronounced dead at the scene, while another person was taken to hospital for medical treatment.
Tete’s death comes at a particularly painful time for his supporters, who had been looking forward to seeing him make his comeback to professional boxing.
The former champion had only recently completed a four-year suspension for a doping violation, with his ban officially coming to an end on 29 July.
The end of the suspension had opened the door for Tete to return to the sport and resume his quest for another world championship.
Tete, affectionately known in boxing circles as “Last Born”, had spoken openly about his desire to recover the years he lost and challenge for a third world title.
His career was brought to a halt after he returned a positive test for stanozolol, a banned anabolic steroid, following his July 2022 fight against Jason Cunningham.
Tete had stopped Cunningham in the bout, but the victory was later changed to a no-contest after the doping violation came to light.
News of his death has reverberated across the South African sporting community, with tributes expected to pour in for the former champion.