Apartheid-Era South African Heavyweights

Of course I don´t know the history. That´s why I got it right and you wrong. :good

 

you got it right? Since when? You just expressed your opinion...

 

No, I wrote what I read.

 

Nkosana Mgxaji
maxwell malinga

 

Most of the whites in South Africa is descendent's of the English, and Dutch. The average Dutch man is 6' tall, and rather friendly. However put a minority group in a charged atmosphere and they are going to produce some quality fighters.

 

Louis Hendricks,,,,,,,,a decent heavyweight hopeful

How about the South African Heavyweight Killer,
American,,,,,Mike Koranicki

He beat 4 or 5 of those guys.

 

Black south african fighters got opportunities during apartheid. Peter Mathebula won the WBA flyweight title in 1980. For some reason they had alot of good lighterweight black fighters, but not black heavyweights. The Aparthied situation in South Africa was complicated politically and sociologically. The whites developed South Africa economically and blacks moved there from other countries in the southern part of africa to work there because they could get a better economic standard of living there then where they were from. It was similar to the southern blacks in the U.S. moving to the northern cities for manufacturing jobs. Eventually, the black population greatly out numbered the white population. In order to hold power, the whites instigated aparthied. If they had free elections, of course, they would have lost. They didn't want to give up what they had built. Imagine if the whites in the U.S. or some European county had been outnumbered by the blacks or indians. What do you think they would have done? I'm not saying it was right but sometimes you have to look from some one else's point of view.

 

Another guy not mentioned was Mike Bernardo. He was a prospect at one time just like the others. Kind of like a Tshabalala. On the rise. The next thing you knew, he was out of the sport and went to kickboxing. Big surprise at the time and he was a guy that was an up and comer and a guy to watch, like the others already mentioned. Then he was gone and it wasn't after a loss or anything, if memory serves correct. He may have been the first legit prospect or heavy anyway, to give up boxing to pursue kickboxing.

Anyone know the full story with him? Kind of like a south african Lee Canalito---remember him as a prospect?

 

yea some of these guys slipped off the boxing planet,Lee(the Italian Stallion) Canalito acually beat a couple of good journeyman and may have been good but Sly Stallone put him in an acting direction,and he lost a potential big match, Lee was 6"5 and 245, big for the time...Bernardo KO'd Peter McNeely in 1 then vanished