Former WBO heavyweight champion Corrie Sanders has been shot dead, The Sun reported.

Sanders, 46, died in hospital in his native South Africa after being caught up in an armed robbery while enjoying a family meal in northern Johannesburg.

The southpaw stunned the boxing world in 2003 by ripping the WBO title from Wladimir Klitschko’s grasp.

Despite taking the fight at short notice, Sanders floored the Ukrainian twice in the opening round before the bout was stopped in the second.

Sanders vacated the belt the following year in order to fight Wladimir’s older brother Vitali for the vacant WBC crown.

But he was stopped in the eighth round and boxed just four more times before retiring in 2008.