I don't recall seeing this one offered...who wins it? Scheduled for 15 rounds for Coetzee's crown that he held in '83...
I'm assuming prime for prime. Chuvalo would have his chance to wear Coetzee down and taking a decision/late knockout after he handles a few explosive rounds when Coetzee lands his best shots. After that I think it's a question how well Coetzee handles Chuvalos pressure.
Coetzee was inconsistent most of the time, however, if he showed up at that 215 pounds like he did in Ohio upon KTFO of Dokes, who despite was accussed of being doped-up on Coke by Marty Cohen, yet looked buffed and good to rumble at 217 pounds when he blew his crown, I'd favor Coetzee to out-box Chuvalo over 10, 12 or 15 rds.... I'll lean towards Gerrie boy based on his better pawing jab and better right hand power.... Chuvalo was tuff as a dollar steak at a truck stop diner, but only moderately skilled overall.... Coetzee:bbb MR.BILL
I think a career best Coetzee would have reconciled that he was facing a legendary tough man in Chuvalo and would have resorted to a boxing strategy..with judicial use of his famed bionic right and would have basically played it safe with a conservative points win over George. Coetzee was capable of it when his head was on straight.
Gerrie could actually box and his right hand (along with those vicious left hooks he showed again Knoetze) would keep any heavyweight honest... granted we are speaking of prime Gerrie.
as usual, agree with cobra chuvalo worked best against smaller or similar sized fighters who would stand and trade with him. a stocky, come forward fighter would make him look good. or a fighter who should have outboxed him and decided to trade as patterson made him look good the best coetzee was neither. i agree with another post stating he was terribly inconsistent but in a best case, he takes george over 12. over 15, i'm much less confident
I think Gerrie decisions George over 15 in a tough fight, that bionic right doing no damage, and Coetzee having to box Chuvalo to keep him off at times.
Gerrie would be looking to box all the way in this one. Tate and Weaver were opponents he had seen previously get knocked out. He wouldn't attempt this with Chuvalo. Idolizing Ali, Coetzee would be more likely to apply that template to deal with George.
I didn't think much of Chuvalo other than him being a tough workhorse, can anyone convince me otherwise?
If you can't take it to the body, forget about beating Chuvalo. He was a terrific body puncher. In a short distance fight this strategy did not always pay off though against well-conditioned opponents. Basically he was a dangerous fighter to anybody. His style worked about as well against top world class fighters as it did against some journeymen depending on style. If you tried to punch him out, you were in for a long night. Unlike an Oliver McCall though, Chuvalo did not go to a shell but tried to win throughout the fight and his constant body punching and pressure made him especially dangerous late in fights. Watch him draw in Mike DeJohn and beat him to the punch with a counter left hook: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRFACJDD6lo[/ame] 1:15 He had a few "slick" moves, but usually he was too slow on foot and reflexes to pull them off against faster opponents. One of his major mistakes was trying to box Zora Folley behind a jab and try to deflect the punches with a shoulder roll type of maneuver. Not likely to work against a great jabber with a pin-point accurate right hand and it didn't. Crafty footwork was essential to beat Chuvalo, to prevent him from landing his combinations. He wasn't afraid to trade punches because he believed he could take a greater punch than the opponent. The left hook was by far his best punch and he relied on it a great deal. If you took away the punch, it nullified much of his offense. He could double it up to the body and head and all in all it was just a very, very good punch for him. Against an opponent without the necessary footwork he could throw some impressive looking combinations. [dm]xidvzt_george-chuvalo-vs-cleveland-williams_sport[/dm] Ali called him his toughest fight during the first part of his career and that's probably true. The problem is he didn't really have the speed of foot to trap Ali against the ropes more consistently as a Joe Frazier could. A very difficult feat still to move around against Chuvalo for 15 rounds, almost comparable to a marathon. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2ut_2v4npU[/ame] Coetzee could not be in anything but his peak condition to be able to beat Chuvalo in a 15 round fight. He faded badly against Weaver and Page.
1) When did McCall exactly go into a shell ? 2) Was it your twisted way of perceiving that McCall was actually defensively better than Chuvalo ?