Peter Mathebula: Trailblazing South African Boxing Icon
Peter “Terror” Mathebula (July 3, 1952–January 18, 2020) was a South African flyweight boxer from Mohlakeng. In 1980, he became the first Black South African to win a world boxing title.
WBA flyweight champion
Mathebula turned professional in 1971 and won the South African flyweight title in 1978, followed by the bantamweight title in 1979. On December 13, 1980, he defeated South Korea’s Tae-Shik Kim by split decision in Los Angeles to take the WBA flyweight championship. The result made him the first Black South African world champion.
Mathebula’s reign ended in his first defense. On March 28, 1981, he was stopped by Argentina’s Santos Laciar in the seventh round at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg. He later worked as a boxing trainer and remained a significant figure in South African boxing history.
Mathebula died on January 18, 2020, aged 67. His world title victory took place during apartheid, when the sporting system in South Africa was divided by race.
Sources
- South African History Online, career and life dates
- Gauteng Provincial Legislature, tribute and title significance
- Open Boxing, WBA flyweight title chronology
- BoxRec, Mathebula–Laciar title bout result
Career records and reporting: boxrec.com.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
