When Zolani Tete was eight, he walked into Rising Stars Boxing Club in Mdantsane. Nobody could have known that the boy from the township would one day travel the world and return home carrying world championship belts.
Boxing quickly became more than a sport for Tete. It became his livelihood, his identity and eventually a way of inspiring the next generation of fighters.
Tete, 38, was shot dead outside his Mdantsane home on August 21, 2026, bringing to an abrupt end the career of one of the Eastern Cape’s most accomplished boxers.
His family says the arrest of suspects has brought some relief, although it cannot ease the pain of losing their youngest son.
His father, Zolile Tete, said that although Zolani was the youngest of his children, he had contributed immensely to the family.
The boxer’s former trainer, Dr Loyiso Mtya, said his death had robbed them of future plans.
“We were looking to break a final record of him as the oldest boxer to win a world title,” Mtya said.
The comeback was something Tete had been working towards after years of setbacks.
The boxer’s career had taken him from Mdantsane to world championship fights in Belfast, Liverpool, Birmingham and Yekaterinburg.
The defining moment came in Belfast in November 2017. Tete needed just six seconds to land the punch that floored Siboniso Gonya in their WBO bantamweight title fight.
The referee stopped the contest five seconds later, at 11 seconds. It became the fastest knockout in a championship boxing fight, breaking a 17-second record that had stood since 1994.
Yet Tete was almost apologetic about the brevity of the fight.
“I’m very happy for the new world record but I did not fight,” he said.
The knockout became part of Tete’s legend. As did the jokes and speculation about the source of his punching power, including questions about whether he used muti.
Tete laughed off the suggestion, saying he had nothing against muti but it was, in fact, hard work that was behind his success.
His record stands at 29 wins, four losses and one no contest from 34 professional fights, including 22 knockouts.
Tete turned professional on May 27, 2006, at the age of 18, stopping Andile Solani in the first round at East London’s Orient Theatre. He had been influenced by fighters such as Vuyani Bungu and Welcome Ncita, who showed young boxers in the Eastern Cape that it was possible to leave the township and compete on the world stage.
Former world champion Xolisile Mabhuti Sinyabi grew up with Tete after the two met at church. Sinyabi remembers him as committed, dedicated and loyal to boxing.
“He used to refer to boxing as his persal because that is what he did for a living,” Sinyabi said.
Tete also became a mentor to younger fighters.
Hlumelo Gingxana, 25, who works closely with Tete’s boxing stable, said they saw the champion as evidence that boxing could provide financial independence. “We saw in him that there are no barriers,” Gingxana said.
Even during his four-year suspension after an adverse finding for prohibited substance stanozolol, Tete remained involved in boxing.
He maintained that he had not knowingly taken the substance.
The suspension followed his 2022 fight against Jason Cunningham, which was later changed to a no contest.
Instead of walking away, Tete continued training and helping young boxers.
His mother, Nomonde, remained an important part of his story. After she lost a leg, Tete spoke about his intention to get her a prosthetic limb. His story reached businessman Patrice Motsepe, who pledged to assist.
Nomonde died in May 2022 and now her youngest son is gone too.
For the people of Mdantsane, the world champion was also the boy who grew up among them. The nickname “Last Born” came naturally. He was the youngest of Zolile and Nomonde’s four children and, later, according to Bungu, the name followed him into the gym because he was the last to join Mzimasi Mnguni’s stable.
His story had come full circle.
The boy who entered a boxing gym at eight became a world champion, a record-holder and a mentor. And when his career was finally beginning to look towards another comeback, his life was violently interrupted.
Tengimfene, the trainers who worked with him to his death, put the boxer’s career in its proper context: “Behind every champion, there’s a trainer.”
Behind Tete, there was also a family, a township and generations of Eastern Cape boxers who saw in him what he had once seen in Bungu and Ncita.
The manner in which he died will remain a painful part of his story.
But it should not overshadow the life that came before it, the life of a boy from Mdantsane who believed he could reach the world and did.
- Zolani Tete, a world champion boxer from Mdantsane, was shot dead outside his home on August 21, 2026, at the age of 38.
- Tete held a record for the fastest knockout in a championship boxing fight, knocking out Siboniso Gonya in 11 seconds during the 2017 WBO bantamweight title fight in Belfast.
- His professional boxing record included 29 wins, four losses, one no contest, and 22 knockouts from 34 fights, with a career starting in 2006.
- Tete faced a four-year suspension after testing positive for the prohibited substance stanozolol following a 2022 fight, which was later ruled a no contest.
- Despite setbacks, Tete was a mentor to younger fighters in Mdantsane and was planning a comeback as the oldest boxer to win a world title before his death.
When Zolani Tete was eight, he walked into
Tete, 38, was shot dead outside his Mdantsane home on August 21, 2026, bringing to an abrupt end the career of one of the Eastern Cape’s most accomplished boxers.
His family says the arrest of suspects has brought some relief, although it cannot ease the pain of losing their youngest son.
His father, Zolile Tete, said that although Zolani was the youngest of his children, he had contributed immensely to the family.
“We were looking to break a final record of him as the oldest boxer to win a world title,” Mtya said.
Yet Tete was almost apologetic about the brevity of the fight.
“I’m very happy for the new world record but I did not fight,” he said.
Tete laughed off the suggestion, saying he had nothing against muti but it was, in fact, hard work that was behind his success.
His record stands at 29 wins, four losses and one no contest from 34 professional fights, including 22 knockouts.
Tete turned professional on May 27, 2006, at the age of 18, stopping
Former world champion Xolisile Mabhuti
“He used to refer to boxing as his persal because that is what he did for a living,”
Tete also became a mentor to younger fighters.
Even during his four-year suspension after an adverse finding for prohibited substance stanozolol, Tete remained involved in boxing.
He maintained that he had not knowingly taken the substance.
Instead of walking away, Tete continued training and helping young boxers.
His mother,
For the people of Mdantsane, the world champion was also the boy who grew up among them.
His story had come full circle.
But it should not overshadow the life that came before it, the life of a boy from Mdantsane who believed he could reach the world and did.
