In 1983, these two fought to an entertaining draw, a year and half later, both were world champions. If Thomas were in the ring against Gerrie in late '84, with both titles at stake, could he have beaten Coetzee at that time?
In the fight they had both were competitive, Coetzee was the heavy puncher but was not complete,Jackie McCoy did a great job with Gerrie and thus the Dokes victory and Gerrie showing a hook, unfortunately with Pinklon he was toying with drugs again on and off but with $ came the habit again by the time he fought Berbick
Absolutely. Gerrie took over a yr. off after being a drug addled Dokes. If Page could fairly easily knock him out, Thomas, who was better than Page at the time, would also have disposed of a fading Coetzee. Thomas was probably at the peak of his powers in late 84. BTW, I never read at the time before or after Thomas lost to Berbick that he was back on drugs, but it makes sense because his performance against Trevor was pretty bad. But I don't think he was on drugs in 84 and 85 when he beat Witherspoon and Weaver.
I've never ever read a credible source that says Thomas was on drugs again when he lost to Berbick. He was going through a divorce, and was also (insanely) trying to launch himself as a pop singer, and managing his own career, and I think he got of Angelo Dundee for that fight ? ... but I haven't seen any evidence or confessions that Thomas was back on hard drugs in 1985 or '86. I've read a lot of people on this forum saying it, but never seen it backed up by any credible source. Thomas has said he went back on drugs (after being an addict in his teens) in late 1988, just after the Holyfield fight. And he seems completely open about his drug troubles and other troubles. Or perhaps I'm wrong, and missed the whole story.
That's quite interesting information:good How did you score his fights vs Coetzee and Trevor Bernick?
I thought the official decisions were about right. The Coetzee fight was close either way, and the draw was the fairest possible result. Berbick deserved the decision against Thomas. It was close but clear. Thomas deserved 5 rounds at the most. Berbick won at least 6.
I think Thomas probably would have won the rematch. Coetzee faded pretty fast after 1983 while Pinklon still had a few good fights ahead of him.
Thomas would have taken it. He would have netted the win the first time except that he lacked assertiveness.
their fight was pretty evenly matched and I think a draw was a fair verdict, Coetzee became a better fighter under Jackie McCoy and beat Dokes with Jackie in his corner. Gerrie had great power but was technically weak before McCoy, Pinklon had a elite Jab and was solid but this would always be a toss-up
I always thought Thomas was quite a lazy fighter. Maybe he had stamina problems but I always thought that he should have thrown a lot more punches that he actually did. Instead he seemed content just using the jab, which was powerful but not that fast, I thought.