Yeah, it's not even an exaggeration. Both fights were filthy. Coetzee was throwing knees at Schutte in some clinches. He also broke both his hands on Schutte's head. Schutte was alright. A crude brawler with just enough punch and ability to make him an interesting curiosity for those that weren't familiar with him. He got flattened by Kallie Knoetze in a round, which pretty much finished him as a fighter. But he could be quite entertaining.
Good points. While I’d still favor Morrison, Bobick had the sort of power to hurt Tommy with as well. He also had some decent boxing skills which may enable him to land early too.
Always wondered about Mike Schutte. Never saw him fight but his record suggests he was tough. He looks like a tank in the photos I’ve seen.
Yeah, he wasn't bad. By no means world-class, but he could be a rough customer. I only saw a handful of his fights myself. By the way, I thought Knoetze knocked him out in one round, but I see it was two rounds. (failing memory ) It was quite a colourful era because you had Schutte, Coetzee, Knoetze, a fighter called Jimmy Richards who was from a previous era but still around, and another called Jimmy Abbott who came at the tail end of that era and smashed Knoetze to defeat inside a round. All were quite fun to watch, though as you know only Coetzee managed to make a name for himself at international level. Schutte eventually became a wrestler, where he enjoyed success at a local level.
Agree, as you wrote pretty much what I was going to post. Bobick seemingly regressed as a pro, as turned just a plodder. As an amateur we actually had fairly good movement. Duane's chin was always going to be an issue. Ron Lyle KOed Bobick in amateurs, as Bobick was unconscious for few minutes, though that fight kind of had a man vs boy scenario as Lyle was something like 27 coming out of prison. Anyway, back to the topic, I'd pick Morrison to KO Bobick. Tommy had a better chin (you don't hear that one very often).
There were a lot of tough guys in that South African circuit and of course a few who came later. Johnny Duplooy, Corrie Sanders, Pierre Coetzer and Frans Botha were all fun fighters to watch who had a lot of guts
Thanks for saying that. Unfortunately, it's unlikely you'll hear of any more. Boxing is such a minority sport here now, and some promoters are trying to get out of the game altogether. The amateur program is also almost nonexistent these days.
I think it’s pretty much that way everywhere my friend. Boxing in the US is still somewhat alive but nothing like it was 30 plus years ago
