Namibian boxing promoter Nestor Tobias has remembered his friend and former world champion Dingaan ‘The Rose of Soweto’ Thobela, who passed away aged 57.
Soweto-born Thobela’s lifeless body was found at his Langlaagte, Johannesburg, flat on Monday. And it looked like he had been dead for a few days by the time it was discovered that he was gone.
“It’s very sad news. I had known Dingaan for a long time and he was like my brother. We called each other and had long chats on the phone. He was here in Namibia when I opened my academy. He inspired a lot of Namibian boxers. Normally, I would invite him to my tournaments here in Namibia. He sent me an Afrikaans prayer on the 19th of this month,” Tobias said.
Thobela’s star shone brighter after he defeated Mexican boxer Mauricio Aceves in Brownsville, United States of America (USA) to annex the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) lightweight title in September 1990.
Almost three years later, Thobela won the World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight title following a win over American boxer Tony Lopez in June 1993.
“I came to Johannesburg just before his second fight against Tony Lopez at Sun City. I went to camp with him before he fought against Orzubek Nazarov in 1993. I stayed in a flat in Hillbrow and he stayed in Kelvin. We visited each other and played pool together,” Tobias said.
Thobela won the World Boxing Council (WBC) super-middleweight when he stopped Glenn Catley from the United Kingdom at Carnival City in Brakpan September 2000. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
