'Tragedy': World champion dies at just 38, 'shock' indiscriminate shooting incident "Ambushers suddenly..."

*This content was translated by AI.

It is a tragedy. Zolani Tete of South Africa, a former two-division world boxing champion and holder of the Guinness record for the shortest time to a title fight knockout victory in history, was shot by an assailant in front of his home and passed away at the age of 38.

The British outlet 'The Sun' reported on the 22nd (Korean time) that "South African world champion boxer Tete died in a tragic shooting incident outside his residence."

According to local South African broadcaster 'eNCA' and others, the incident occurred around 6:30 p.m. on the 21st in front of Tete's home located in Mndeni, Eastern Cape province, South Africa. A local police spokesperson stated that Tete had driven his car to his residence and was waiting for the gate to open when he was ambushed by two unidentified armed assailants wearing masks.

'The Sun' explained that "the assailants got out of their vehicle and indiscriminately opened fire on a 27-year-old woman who was riding with Tete." It added, "Tete attempted to drive his car into the yard to evade the barrage of bullets but suffered fatal gunshot wounds and died at the scene. The female passenger traveling with him also sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was urgently transported to a nearby hospital for intensive treatment."

Tete served as the WBF flyweight world champion from 2007 to 2008. He was a two-division world champion who held the WBO bantamweight world title belt from 2017 to 2019. Notably, he is a legendary boxer who set a Guinness World Record for the shortest time to a knockout victory in a title fight in boxing history by defeating Siboniso Gonya just 11 seconds into the first round in 2017.

His last match was a super bantamweight title fight against Jason Cunningham held at Wembley Arena in London, UK, in July 2022. At that time, Tete secured a fourth-round knockout victory. However, the result was later declared void after he tested positive for the banned substance stanozolol. Subsequently, he received a four-year suspension from the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD).

With his four-year competition ban set to expire in July 2026 last month, Tete had been preparing to return to the ring. However, he tragically ended his life before realizing his dream of returning due to an unexpected shooting assassination. In the wake of this sudden tragic news, the global boxing community and fans are expressing deep condolences via social networking services (SNS).

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*This content was translated by AI.