Zolani Marali, a former lightweight contender from South Africa, was found dead in his Johannesburg apartment on Friday night, according to local South African news outlets.

According to TimesLIVE, the speculation on the ground is that Marali’s death was the result of a hit job and that “those who knew him well believe this was not a random act of violence.”

The 44-year-old Marali, a charismatic southpaw who hailed from the Eastern Cape, was one of the top amateurs to emerge from South Africa in the late 1990s. He picked up a gold medal at the 1999 All-Africa Games as a featherweight, which qualified him for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He lost his spot on the team, however, after testing positive for marijuana.

As a professional, Marali won a slew of secondary and regional titles across several weight classes. Starting out as a featherweight, he ended his career fighting in the 140-pound class.

Marali began his career in the punch-for-pay ranks on February 25, 2001, against Andile Sota, winning by sixth-round stoppage. He followed that up with 11 straight wins, which earned him a shot at the vacant IBO junior featherweight title; Marali defeated Pastor Humberto Maurin by 12-round unanimous decision in Brakpan in 2003. Marali would lose the belt in his next bout the following year against countryman Thomas Mashaba, after refusing to come out of his corner for the ninth round.

Despite the stoppage loss, Marali would be known for climbing off from the canvas. In his next bout, he sustained two early knockdowns to defeat Bonani Hlwatika by 12-round unanimous decision to win a regional belt. He would go on to defend it twice successfully, before getting a shot at the WBF junior featherweight belt against Jean Marie Codet, whom he defeated by 12-round decision.

Marali would defend this title three more times, including one over Hevinson Herrera, in which Marali had to overcome yet another knockdown.

In 2008, Marali went on the road for the first time in his career to face Billy Dib in New South Wales, Australia for a shot at the vacant IBO junior featherweight title. He was unsuccessful in this bid, despite dropping Dib with a left in the third, losing controversially on points. Many pundits thought it was one of the worst decisions in recent memory. The IBO ordered an investigation and subsequently, upon review, called for an immediate rematch. Dib, however, decided to vacate the belt instead. Still, the IBO granted Marali the right to try his hand yet again at winning the title. This time he fared much better, turning back Gamaliel Diaz by 12-round unanimous decision on home soil.

Thereafter, Marali had a patchy record, going 4-4. He would lose the IBO belt in his following bout to South Korea’s Ji Hoon Kim by ninth-round technical stoppage.

But Marali’s most memorable moments arguably came in the same period. He earned a measure of revenge against countryman Ali Funeka in their junior welterweight rematch in 2012, winning a 12-round unanimous decision. That led to two more consecutive wins, including an entertaining bout against Kaizer Mabuza in 2014, which Marali won by split decision.

Marali called it a career upon losing on points to Julius Indongo in his next bout, capping a career that saw him notch a record of 24 wins, six losses, and 13 knockouts.