Dingaan Bongane Thobela is a professional
boxerBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in the
Super MiddleweightSuper Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds .- 1960s–1983 :There was interest in a division between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...
(168
lbThe pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
) division.
"Rose of Soweto" The Dingaan Thobela story (Penguin books), the intimate biography written by Internationally renowned Deon Potgieter is available for order through all leading on-line stores world wide e.g.; Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kalahari.net etc.
Professional career
After compiling an amateur record of 80–3, Thobela, known as "The Rose of Soweto", turned pro in 1986 and won the WBO Lightweight Title in 1990 after beating
Mauricio AcevesMauricio Aceves was a Mexican boxer in the Light Welterweight division. He was the first ever WBO Lightweight Champion.-Professional career:...
. After defending the belt three times, he relinquished the title and then challenged WBA Lightweight Title holder
Tony LopezTony "The Tiger" Lopez , is a former professional boxer from Sacramento, California. He was a 3-Time World Boxing Champion. He is remembered for his victory in the 1988 The Ring Fight of the year by decision over Rocky Lockridge. He fought against Julio César Chávez in 1994 in Monterrey. He lost...
in 1993, but lost a hotly disputed decision. Later that year he rematched Lopez, and won a decision to win the title. Battling to make the weight, he lost the title in his first defense to
Orzubek NazarovOrzubek Nazarov is a Kyrgyz boxer, who won the bronze medal at the 1986 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Reno...
, and lost a rematch to Nazarov in 1994. He stopped WBF junior welterweight champion Kenny Vice in a non-title fight shortly after that.
Thobela later moved up significantly in weight class, and in the twilight of his career in 2000 took on WBC Super Middleweight Title holder
Glenn CatleyGlenn Catley is a professional boxer and former World Champion in the Super Middleweight division....
, winning the belt via a 12th-round KO in only his second fight at the higher weight limit. He again lost the title in his first defense to Dave Hilton Jr via controversial split decision. The loss to Hilton was the beginning of the end for Thobela, who lost his next five fights, including a TKO loss to
Eric LucasÉric Lucas is an active professional boxer of height 183 cm.Lucas turned pro in 1991 and came up short in his first two title shots, against WBC Light Heavyweight Title holder Fabrice Tiozzo in 1996 and IBF Super Middleweight Title holder Roy Jones Jr later that year...
for the WBC Super Middleweight Title in 2001 as well as later champions
Mikkel KesslerMikkel Kessler is a Danish professional boxer and former two time WBA & WBC Super Middleweight champion. In his professional career he has a record of 44–2 with 33 knockouts...
and
Lucian ButeLucian Bute is a Romanian-Canadian professional boxer, currently based in Montreal, Canada. Bute is the current IBF Super Middleweight champion...
.
Comeback
Thobela returned to the ring at the age of 40 and after an absence of nearly two years on October 27, 2006 when he challenged Soon Botes for the South African light heavyweight title at the Wembley Indoor Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa. He had defeated Botes back in 2000 to win the South African Super middleweight title. Many were surprised that the bout was sanctioned as Thobela failed to make the weight and his inactivity and age. Although Thobela dropped Botes he was clearly not conditioned to fight and did not come out for the tenth round.
See also
External links