The Nelson Mandela Bay Boxing fraternity has described the two-time World Champion Zolani Tete as a beacon of hope to many young emerging boxers in the Eastern Cape.
Legends of the sport, including young emerging boxers, attended the memorial service for Tete, held at Nangoza Jebe Community Hall.
The 38-year-old was gunned down outside his home in Mdantsane last Friday, and four people have since been arrested for his murder.
Speakers have pleaded with local boxing promoters to forge strong relations with boxing fraternity from Mdantsane to have more boxing tournaments in the Nelson Mandela Bay Region, in an attempt to lure youth from the streets, and from social ills.
“We saw it as befitting to honour his contribution to boxing. Zolani Tete used to fight against our boxers and played an instrumental role. We were robbed of him in his death, not only his family but the entire boxing fraternity in the province. Hence, we opted to organise his memorial. He belonged to all of us,” says one of the coordinators of the memorial service, Luvuyo Oliphant.
One of the female emerging boxers Rezell Mohammed says Tete has inspired fellow boxers to put SA on the map.
“As a boxer in general, we always have to respect that he was coming back and becoming active. We were really excited about that, but all the boxers went ahead of us, actually, if we could put it like that, and put South Africa on the map. We are all committed, male or female boxers. You have to give respect to that.”
