Pinklon Thomas v Gerrie Coetzee

Check out Page's wins vs Evangelista and definitely Marty Monroe.

 

no... this ruined Thomas.....
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5RI3n9mUeU[/ame]

 

I thought it was a close fight. Thomas was a threat to Holmes and you could see in the upset Berbick fight that something was wrong with Pinklon. I think Thomas would have upset Holmes and I think Larry knew it as well. There were rumors that Pink went back on herion before the Berbick fightand I found out later it was true. Shame he had one of the best jabs, decent speed and power and took a solid shot (TYSON

 

Pinky Thomas had TWO good yrs as a fighter...... 1983 thru '85......... After that, he went to hell---FAST!!! His loss to Berbick was close, but his two ass-beatings' by "Tyson and Holy" pretty much finished him off as a serious threat........ The '90 KO loss to Bowe was extra icing on his cake........

Coetzee pretty much went to hell after his title win over Dokes in 1983........ After Coetzee was stopped by Page in '84, Coetzee never really amounted to much after that..... His first round KO loss to Bruno convinced me he was shot........

NOW! I wish I had a copy of Coetzee's fight with "Thomas and Snipes." I missed both of them fights back in the 80s cuz I was working or spaced off....... DAMMIT!
:fire

MR.BILL

 

Good s****. I thought Thomas pulled off a SD victory. Coetzee was pretty fun to watch back then... very limited & predictable.... but very powerful.

 

Agreed!

 

Coetzee looked like a million dollars vs Leon Spinks...man, I though he was the real deal for sure...and not because Leon was anything special, it's just the commanding way he disposed of Spinks.

 

I sparred one round with Pink in 1992 when he was on his run of 13 wins against "bring-your-own-opponent" backwoods fights on the club circuit after being stopped by Tommy Morrison.

I was about 180 pounds, give or take, and he stopped by our gym a couple of days before his fight to shake loose and offered to go a light round. I jumped at the chance.

He pretty much sat back and let me lead and I went in and out and did what I could. With about 30 seconds left I stuck out a southpaw jab (me being a lefty) and hit him square in the left eye while it was open. He started blinking and got a sour look on his face and I'm thinking "Oh sh--, I've done it now."

He spent the rest of the round mostly peppering me with the jab, probably not at full strength but they certainly stung. I needed to do something so I loaded up my best overhand left and ... he ducked right under it and dropped a right to the body that knocked every bit of air and willpower out of me, then stepped over and hit me with a right to the jaw.

I wouldn't have lasted any longer probably but the bell rang.

(And believe me, I know the score -- if he had wanted me out of there in the first 20 seconds he could have done it without breaking a sweat.)

He was a great guy afterward, said he hoped he didn't hurt me and said "You got me with that jab." He posed for pictures with everyone in the gym after he finished a light workout and we all went to the fight (I was going anyway because I knew a couple of guys on the card).

EDIT: I forgot to add, my ribs were a little sore for a day or two but my jaw after that felt like it was on a hinge. I could feel it pop or something all the time for like a week or 10 days after. I had decided that it must be broken and that I needed to go to a doctor, and just about that time it stopped. Didn't swell up but he did some damage for sure.

I still have two pictures from that day on my fridge, one of Pink with his arm around my shoulder and one that a friend snapped right when that right hand sunk about a foot deep into my body, haha.

It's something I fondly remember and a good story I get to tell from time to time. I always liked Pink and rooted for him before that, but I've of course been a bigger fan since that day. I hope he's doing well.

 

I think you've over rated Thomas. To his credit he quit heroin and it is a huge accomplishment. His jab was strong but not as fast as Holmes. He seemed pretty one handed to me. Putting aside the Weaver KO I don't remember him stopping too many guys. He also was a big disappointment losing his crown so soon to Berbick.

 

I always thought Coetzee and Monroe were Pages best fights. I expected much more from Monroe in that fight. Both fights really came down to styles, as neither Coetzee or Monroe could handle Page's movement.

I also agree with Mr. Bill that Razor Ruddock was the most overrated fighter of that era.

 

I like this story. Not many of us here can claim to have been punched in the face by a heavyweight champion. There's real cache' there.

Last I heard, Pinklon was indeed doing well, working as a counselor for wayward youths or something.

 

In the face AND the body!!!

:ko

 

Razor probably was, but he could certainly crack.Good point you made about Greg's movement, never look at it from that angle.Snipes was also a good win for Greg, arguably one of his last good ones.