Cape Town, Sept 25: South Africa's former world heavyweight boxing champion Corrie Sanders died on Sunday after being shot by armed robbers who burst into his nephew's 21st birthday party.
Sanders, 46, was hit in the arm and the stomach when the robbers raided a restaurant outside the town of Brits in North West Province on Saturday night where he and other family members were attending the party.
He was rushed to the hospital but died from his wounds in the early hours of Sunday.
"I was up at our main complex and some guys called me to say there was some shooting going on there. When I arrived there it was already over. And the guys there told me that the guys just walked in and shoot into the ground into the trees, into the air and I guess some of them obviously hit Mr. Sanders," said Johan de Jager, owner of the Thatch Haven Restaurant.
Sanders' ex-wife said he died a hero protecting his daughter from the bullets.
His death has shocked locals and left a deep void in the sporting and boxing communities of South Africa.
Rodney Berman, a key boxing promoter in South Africa and the man who was behind Corrie's world title shot with Ukraine's Wladimir Klitschko, was left in shock after learning of the death of the southpaw from Pretoria.
"It's unbelievable. I can never imagine that he is dead. He had incredible hand speed, incredible foot work and an incredible brain. He has to be the best South African heavyweight we've had," he said.
Sanders, nicknamed "The Sniper" because of his fierce left hand, won the World Boxing Organization heavyweight title in 2003 with a surprise knockout of Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko.
Out of his 46 professional fights, he lost only four. He retired in 2008 after being knocked out in the first round in a bout for the South African heavyweight title.
Tributes poured in on Sunday from admirers and fellow sports stars.
Police are still searching for the robbers.
South Africa's latest statistics have revealed that murder cases remain extraordinarily high in South Africa, although they are declining.
