Kalli Knoetzee vs Earnie Shavers (WBA Title)

Fists, Red and Frank,,,,,,,

Your compliments are greatly appreciated....

On Muhammad Ali in all this,,,,,,

He was an invited guest to offer his commentary at the Spinks vs. Coetzee
bout in Monte Carlo, on June 24, 1979.

After John Tate burst part of the WBA/South African bubble by clobbering
Kallie Knoetzee (the pre-fight elimination favorite) earlier June 2, 1979, all eyes
were upon Coetzee to hold up one end of the South African charge.

There were suspicions about Coetzee's skills, as he had a hell of a time with
Randy Stephens earlier. The word was, according to Henry Grooms (Neon Leon's
trainer), that Coetzee was a 'lamb in a lion skin'. As soon as you hit him, he goes into
a shell.

Muhammad Ali went to several of Coetzee's sparring sessions in Monte Carlo.
And Ali was not too impressed with Coetzee's jab, but he did say that with
a right hand like that, Gerrie needs nothing else.

 

understood.

But you still have a guy coming off a loss and you are taking his act on the road. Why? And why Monte Carlo of all places? How much $$$ do you think Leon had left in his pockets after that fight? I bet he went through his money on par with what Mugabi did > Hagler.

And Gerry had much the faster hands than Knoetze and was still a much bigger hitter than the guys Leon faced prior. And a young winning fighter that was winning fights and not an old reflexes guy coming in of a loss. It was a tightrope act with Leon for sure and there were numerous guys he should not face back then like a prime Holmes. Shavers would have ate him up. Tate would have been a handful in 79. But I always thought tightrope meant careful with the handling of a guy.

 

But good politics and Spinks did the right thing. It was a low blow to the sport that the WBA continued to ignore the Gleneagles agreement.

 

Zad,,,,,

The scenario is simple...
#1 Kallie Knoetzee
#3 John Tate
#4 Leon Spinks
#5 Gerrie Coetzee

Leon Spinks would not fight in South Africa, and Kallie Knoetzee couldn't get out of the country due to the civil rights issue.

John Tate agreed to fight in South Africa versus Kallie Knoetzee.

Bob Arum, searching for a neutral venue, got Spinks and Coetzee to agree to
Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Coetzee would not go to the United States, as the aparthied issue in South Africa
was a hot topic, and he did not want to be part of a political tool.

I think, Spinks received $250,000 for the WBA Elimination bout.

As for Knoetzee or Coetzee, Henry Grooms felt that Coetzee was the easier opponent
for Leon.

 

neither had great stamina, Shavers more competitive with upper bracket of Talent, Knoetzee did nothing against Tate but blew out Bobick which Shavers would have done as well...Thing with Knoetzee was he could punch so he had a chance but Shavers should be able to beat him...I would not bet the house on Earnie but if I had to bet it would be him

 

If this bout was for the vacant WBA Title in May 1979,,,,,,,,,,,

I would go with Earnie by a 5th Round Knock-out.

But not without being shaken a few times though or maybe going down once.

A fight much like Earnie versus Jeff Sims.

Below, Kallie Knoetzee flattens Duane Bobick,,,,,,,,,as Duane goes down face first.

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Suggested veiwing.
Ernie vs Norton, not to mention Holmes and Ali.
This is a lot more fighter than the Dutchman.

 

Norton was made to order for Earnie. And Earnie had been gunning for him for a long long time before Kenny finally got in the ring with him.

The ex-rugby player would have destroyed Norton as well in 79 because Norton would have been backing up against him. And Knoetze certainly did not bother to jab his way in to create his openings. He slugged. Lateral movement was something Norton would not have been able to resort to in 1979 and he would have been in the guy's punching range at all times.

As for Holmes, did you watch the first bout between Earnie and Larry? And by 77, everyone was giving Ali troubles. After the third Norton bout, every fight was difficult for Ali and if a different opponent was in there instead of Shavers, that guy likely does well also.

 

On the Kallie Knoetzee vs. Earnie Shavers proposed bout for May 1979.

I believe quietly that Muhammad Ali was hoping that bout took place.

And Bob Arum was pretty sure that Kallie Knoetzee would win in South Africa.

Which would lead to a scenario, of Muhammad Ali coming back to fight
Kallie Knoetzee in late-1979.

Of course, Arum would paint it as a black vs. white issue,,,,,,,,and Muhammad Ali
would get an $8,000,000 guaranteed fight purse.

That information you can check,,,,

 

Nice pic of a prime Knoetze. I've actually been struggling to find some decent pics of the guy.

Time to do a few scans, I think.

To translate the caption: "Kallie becomes a world figure. (famous) Duane Bobick, the well-known American fighter, is on his way to the canvas after that overhand right destroyed his title aspirations."

 

Not too much on Kallie,,,,,,,

I do remember his bout with Bill Sharkey in Florida, in January 1979.

It was a televised fight, which I think was on NBC.

There were some protests of his fighting in the United States, as someone
did some digging about his previous problems.

Bill Sharkey was considered a pretty good prospect, and had a #10 WBA ranking.

Knoetzee walked right through the smaller Sharkey from the opening bell, and
pummelled him all over the ring.

 

Kallie did destroy Bill Sharkey, who fought to a split decision with Mike Weaver before Weaver fought Holmes

 

Going with Shavers. In 1979, he blasted out Ken Norton in one, and gave a peak Holmes fits. Of course, that may not account for whatever stylistic issues he might have had with Knoetze, but its enough to make him the favorite.

 

That's really playing connect the dots though. Weaver's fight with Sharkey came two years and 10 fights before Mike's meating with Holmes. I think Hercules had improved quite a bit, while Sharkey had diminished to **** by the time he fought Knoetzee