Soweto bids farewell to boxing champ, Dingaan Thobela

JOHANNESBURG - Multiple world champion boxer, Dingaan Thobela, has been laid to rest. 

Mourners paid their last respects to the Rose of Soweto at a funeral service held in Chiawelo, where he grew up.

A special official provincial funeral was held on Thursday morning to honour the three-time world champion.

Hundreds of mourners filled the Dlamini multi-purpose hall to say a final goodbye to one of the most famous stars to come out of Soweto. 

Thobela was described as ambitious, talented and humble by friends and family but his legacy is that of a world champion who showed what was possible in the new South Africa.

His daughter, Ntombi Thobela, praised her father for overcoming the challenges he faced in apartheid South Africa to become a world champion in 1990 and an inspiration to many.

"Despite growing up in a once racially torn nation, he became a unifying symbol, rising above the circumstances he faced."

The Rose of Soweto was laid to rest in the Heroes Acre at West Park Cemetery.

He's survived by his elderly parents, nine siblings, 14 children and nine grandchildren.