Gerrie Coetzee was commonly known for being the first African citizen to ever fight for the heavyweight title and also the first to win it. He was nicknamed the bionic hand, mainly due to injuries that required surgical instalation of parts in his right hand. He was know as a heavy right hand puncher, but for some unknown reason suffered from stamina issues. He was unbeaten in some 21 fights before challenging Big John Tate for the WBA title. Along the way he beat guys like Leon Spinks and Kallie Knoetze. Following the Tate loss He would soon get another shot against Mike Weaver resulting in a late round TKO. He would later lose one of the most controversial decsions of the decade to Renaldo Snipes, who Coetzee floored numerous times. Finally, in 1983, Coetzee fought Dokes for the WBA crown and managed to win by knockout, I believe in the 10th round. Injuries and Politics kept Coetzee out of the ring for 15 months, and was originally signed to fight Larry Holmes, but his hand injury as well as poor business dealings forced Coetzee to back out of the bout. He signed to fight Greg Page, and was defeated in round 8 in controversial fashion, as the 8th round stretched a minute too long, and Coetzee was flooered, denying him the opportunity to survive the end of the round. Nevertheless, the WBA crown went to Page. Coetzee attempted to launch comebacks on two occasions, but was not very successful in either attempt. Personally, I don't know if Coetzee deserved so many repeat shots at the world title, especially the WBA, which he failed on 2 previous occasions to capture. He was also unsuccessful at scoring a win against a young Pinklon Thomas, resulting in a draw. Some people like the guy I guess, and perhaps his career contains some substance. Below is youtube footage of his victory over L. Spinks and his loss to Frank Bruno. Both only lasted a single round, so if you have time, I suggest taking a gander, unless you've already seen them. Have a nice day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vluzMIpjtB0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2XPH9Xhrto
Thanks Mr. Magoo. I don't have a problem with all the title shots Coetzee got, he seemed to always give his best and could wack pretty hard with that right hand. Remember in the 80s the division stunk, with out of shape fighters like Tubbs, Page and Witherspoon seemingly swapping the title every fight. He was so far past his prime when he fought Bruno, I don't really take that fight into account.
Personally, I think that guys like Tubbs and Witherspoon were better than Coetzee, but that's just me.
Yeah, Coetzee....strange dude in many ways. He had a lot of natural ability, he really did. His problem (like so many South African heavyweights really) was that he was simply too naive and unprofessional for his own good sometimes. For large parts of his career he let his dad train him, even when people were literally begging him to get a decent trainer. His hatred of roadwork was also legendary. Coetzee did not have naturally good stamina to begin with, as he was an asthmatic as a child. As you know, he had severe hand trouble and that was caused by him breaking both his hands on Mike 'The Tank' Schutte's hard head. Actually, Schutte adopted a cross-armed defense in their two fights and this contributed to Coetzee's later hand trouble. In my mind, his brittle hands definitely played a part in him not fully realizing his potential. Did he deserve three title shots? Well, he deserved two of them, imo. The ones against Tate and Dokes. The 2nd shot against Weaver was maybe down to some shrewd manipulation behind the scenes from W. Klopper and Stan Christodoulou (the HOF referee) who both had significant clout in the WBA at the time, but Coetzee did somewhat justify the title shot by giving Weaver a great fight.
A couple of little facts about Gerrie 1. He was actually a boxer early career and wasn't noted at all for power. After injuring his right hand they fused some bones together and in his words it was like they took the "padding" out. Opponents started to drop like flies. 2. Thru most of his career he suffered from extreme lack of confidence and self doubt. He overcame this vs Dokes, tho Dokes condition is debatable.
Dear John Thomas Kind Regards As always, I enjoy your input on the alphas of the 80's, Page Coetzee, Dokes, etc. You have a bit more knowledge on the subject than most. There are many who take a dim view on these men, deeming most of them as underacheivers, However I have always considered them to be a bit better than we gave them credit for. I often wonder if some of them had been better trained, managed and justly promoted, if they're careers would have flourished differently. Perhaps a book should be written soley devoted to the alpha holders who's careers stretched from say 1979 to 1987. Not sure if it would be a best seller, but at least we know a few who would take interest. Kind regards. P.S Moral man has recently been reintroduced into ESB after a temporary period of banment. I couldn't help but respond to you in a moralesque type fashion.
Hahahaha, no worries mate. I'll reply properly to your post after work tomorrow but you've nailed the era right on the head.
