We all know coetzer got jobbed out of his title shot, bowe was good and maybe more deserving, the only HW I like more than bowe in the early 90's is coetzer, I'm supprised bruno beat him, and to some degree I thought he might outbox foreman. My question is did coetzer make more from the bowe, bruno and foreman fights than he would of from fighting holyfield?
He was not 'jobbed'. Bowe/Coetzer was billed as an eliminator for a shot at Holyfield. If Coetzer had won, he would of got a deserved fight at Holyfield. As for Coetzer/Foreman and Coetzer/Bruno: I think you are looking at the South African with rose tinted glasses. Coetzer was a very solid contender, who was capable of beating anyone outside the top 10 in his pomp. But his resume shows, the fighters with that bit of ability to be 'legitimate' top 10 fighters, always beat the tough South African.
He got jobbed a bit versus Bowe in that Bowe was allowed to lowblow Pierre into submission when the mustachioed feather fisted Boer didn't follow script and fold.
Bowe got away with so many fouls. Coetzer did well vs. Bowe and he should have gotten time to recover from low blows. The stoppage was set up with foul shots. Foreman and Bruno straight up whipped his ass.
I love that Mickey Duff quote about the guy where he says he loves guys like Coetzer. They fight just good enough to lose.
The eliminator should have been Ruddock/Bowe. How Bowe got a title shot based off beating a guy like Coetzer I'll never know. I do know that Ruddock challenged Bowe on numerous occasions, but the Bowe camp never responded.
Coetzer was tough as nails and fought his heart out against Bowe. Yes he was hit low and Referee Lane made an error when he stopped the bout. Coetzer should have been given a recovery period. That said, I think Bowe was eventually going to stop him. He fought hard and put up stiff competition, but he was getting beaten up and gradually worn down. I give Foreman credit for fighting Coetzer, and credit for a beautiful KO victory. That was one of George's more impressive comeback wins, particularly given the respect I had for Coetzer.