Larry Holmes vs Gerrie Coetzee, July 8th 1984, IBF & WBA unification

Could have been a good one this.
Holmes win s but might end up hurt, knocked down even but rally to stop coetzee.
Holmes wko 13

 

I’d favor Holmes by late stoppage. And I really wish this fight had happened. Beating Coetzee and capturing the WBA would have helped to solidify Holmes legacy.

 

Larry late stoppage, pity it didn't happen

 

Larry all the way, but Coetzee makes him work hard for it.

 

You'd have to favour Holmes on track record but Coetzee was a heavier and more accurate puncher than a dude like Snipes who sat Holmes down. He was a better boxer than Shavers who also sat Holmes down. Holmes likely wins this but I feel there's a healthy chance that he also gets knocked out.

 

Holmes gets hurt but he doesn't go down, he isn't at risk of getting knocked out, nothing like that... Between the time that he fought Snipes and Tyson (over 6 years) he never went down, and he faced PLENTY heavy punchers. (Witherspoon, Smith, Cooney, etc.) He was much more well balanced by this time, and got out of position much less often.

Cooney'll get stopped and Holmes will become a two-belt holder. I think that a much more interesting match at this time would be a Weaver - Coetzee rematch, as the South African had clearly improved since his war with Mike, and Gerrie might've just gotten himself revenge.

 

Holmes has a few scary moments, but Coetzee is getting knocked all over the ring in 11.