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Emma Gabaitsiwe Mathebula, the wife of boxing champion Peter “Terror” Mathebula, has died in the early hours of Thursday morning at the age of 65, TimesLive has reported.
It is reported that a memorial service for Peter was meant to take place on Thursday, when Emma suddenly died.
The cause of her “sudden” death has remained unknown.
READ MORE: SA’s first black world boxing champion Peter Mathebula dies, aged 67
Peter gained his prestigious title in Los Angeles in December 1980 after beating Korean Tae-Shik Kim on a split decision over 15 rounds to claim the WBA version of the flyweight title.
Santos Laciar of Argentina ended Mathebula’s reign at Orlando Stadium in Soweto in March 1981 after the first defence of Mathebula’s belt. Sowetan reports that this was due to Mathebula not training as seriously as he should have.
However, he enjoyed an illustrious career marked with many milestones including the alteration of rules that forbade black and white fighters from facing each other.
He died after a long battle with an illness in Mohlakeng, Randfontein on Saturday, 18 January.
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