Ugh I think McCall's chin could win this for him, even though Coetzee was probably better in most other aspects. Gerrie could gas out late in long bouts and that might spell doom. On the other hand if Coetzee opted to match McCall's lowish workrate, and box instead of trying to get him out of there, he'd have every chance of a points win.
I don’t get why guys with iron chins always seem to get the nod in fantasy fights by posters here. McCall lost 14 fights and Jake LaMotta 19, and many of these losses were to less-than-ATGs in their primes. No, Coetzee can’t knock Oliver out, but I surely think he can outpoint him. Lesser guys did.
I mean,when you pair it with a dude like Coetzee who's out to get you 24/7, it's possible McCall keeps his steam better,but if Coetzee manages to be patient,box and occasionally stagger McCall with that bionic right,UD for the South African.
I must confess to not knowing much about Gerrie. If he was that kind of fighter, it kinda makes Bruno's demolition of him impressive, no? Also remember him starching Pierre Coetzer who I used to love watching, guy just like a straightener, didn't he?
Coetzee was past it by the time he fought Bruno. Gerrie was a guy who relied quite a bit on good timing to catch guys, and when he did he was not shy about opening up the taps to try get them out of there. His good timing was accompanied by some real power in the right hand, and that's what won a lot of his fights.
Well, Coetzee was pretty much finished by '86. Only fighting once in the year after his loss to Greg Page, and then retired for 7 years after the fight with Frank. By '86, his chin was seemingly done in and he lost pretty much all of his athleticism. The man who previously fought brave and lasted long against guys like Tate, Weaver, Snipes, Thomas, and Dokes was now gone. He looked bad against James the year previous to this, but he didn't have any hope of lasting to Round 2 by the time that he faced Bruno. If you're unfamiliar with Coetzee, I'd watch his matches with Weaver, Dokes, Thomas, and Snipes before anything else. He was pretty underrated due to being mixed in that 80's heavyweight scene.
