Darius Dhlomo

Who is Darius Dhlomo?

Darius Mfana Temba Dhlomo is a South African former footballer, boxer, musician and a political activist.

Born in Durban, he was the son of Rolfes Robert Reginald Dhlomo, a pioneer in black South African writing. He began competing in non-white boxing contests in apartheid-era South Africa. A victory in Durban in 1956 over Gilbert Petros brought him the Natal non-white middleweight title and then, by defeating Ezrom Ngcobo, he became the non-white South African cruiserweight champion.

Alongside his budding boxing career, he was the captain of both the Baumannville City Blacks football team and the Natal national football team. Further to this, he also sang in a jazz quintet – a fact which led Drum, a national magazine aimed at the black South African market, to publish a feature on him titled "Darius Dhlomo, Man of Many Talents". He decided to move to the Netherlands having signed a professional football contract with Heracles Almelo in 1958, joining up with Steve Mokone who was the first black South African to play in the European leagues.