Zolani Tete Dead at 38: Former World Champion Shot and Killed in South Africa, Latest Updates
By Real Combat Media Boxing Editorial Staff
Mdantsane, South Africa (August 22, 2026)– Zolani Tete, the South African boxer who became a two-division world champion and still holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest knockout in a title fight, was shot and killed outside his home on Friday night. He was 38.
What Happened
According to Eastern Cape police, Tete was arriving home in the NU17 section of Mdantsane at around 6:30 p.m. local time and waiting for his gate to open when two armed men wearing balaclavas got out of a vehicle and opened fire. A 27-year-old woman travelling with him was also shot multiple times and was taken to hospital, where she remains under medical care. Tete was declared dead at the scene. Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana confirmed the shooting and said a murder and attempted murder investigation is underway. No arrests have been announced and the motive is not yet known. South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, who confirmed the death, said he would not speculate about who was responsible or why.
A Two-Division World Champion
Tete, nicknamed “Last Born,” grew up in Mdantsane, a township that has produced generations of South African boxing talent, and started fighting at age eight. He turned pro and built a 29-4 record with one no contest, winning the IBF junior-bantamweight title in 2014 with a win over Japan’s Teiru Kinoshita in Kobe, then the WBO bantamweight title in 2017. He is best remembered for what he did with that belt on the line eight months later: an 11-second knockout of fellow South African Siboniso Gonya in Belfast, still recognized by Guinness World Records as the fastest knockout in a world title fight in boxing history. He lost the WBO belt to John Riel Casimero in 2019 and last fought in July 2022, a win over Britain’s Jason Cunningham in London that was later overturned to a no contest after Tete tested positive for the banned substance stanozolol. The UK Anti-Doping Agency handed him a four-year ban.
A Comeback That Won’t Happen
That ban expired on July 29, just three weeks before his death, and Tete had been training for a return to the ring, with a comeback fight reportedly being planned for November 29, according to his longtime manager Mla Tengimfene. He maintained throughout the ban that he was innocent, telling The Ring earlier this year that he did not accept the finding because he was “a clean and fair athlete.”
Tributes Pour In
Reaction from across the boxing world has been immediate. Boxing South Africa said it learned of his death “with profound shock and sadness,” calling Tete “more than a champion” and “an icon of South African boxing.” Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane said he was “devastated by the shocking and senseless killing of our champion.” John Riel Casimero, who took the WBO title from Tete in 2019, wrote on X that he was “shocked and heartbroken,” adding, “we shared the canvas and pushed each other to be our absolute best inside the squared ring.” Tete’s former promoter, Queensberry Promotions, also paid tribute on social media. Minister McKenzie summed up the loss simply: “South Africa has lost one of the finest fighters it has ever produced.”
Follow Real Combat Media on Facebook
Support Real Combat Media Charity Foundation
Shop at Real Combat Media Fight Store
COMMENTS
English