Tell me More about Gerrie Coetzee

He was physically very good with a good chin and somewhat wild in his younger days. He was always a very hard hitter and his hands suffered as a result. Kallie Knoetze, another shattering puncher, called him "klein seer handtjies" (little sore hands) iirc. Had some classic wars against certain guys that are a fun watch even today for example against "tank" Abbott. He became a more measured boxer as he aged and developed some very good timing. His downfall was a typical SA heavyweight downfall, which is that his conditioning wasn't always what it should have been and it cost him when his big punch failed to get the KO for him. He actually trained as a dentist and iirc went back to dentistry after boxing. I see him as the second best SA heavyweight after Corrie Sanders.

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Here you can see the young scrawny version of Coetzee in action against Kallie Knoetze

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Gerrie Coetzee is a typical representative of the "lost generation of the 80s". The longer I study these boxers, the more I think they got the right nickname - the lost generation of the 80s.
Gerrie Coetzee showed that Leon Spinks was after all just a meteor that shone and died.
Except for the victory over Michael Dokes, Gary lost to almost all representatives of the lost generation of the 80s (except for the draw with Thomas).
It's a pity that Larry Holmes didn't strive for the undisputed title of world champion, because it would have been much better to see "who's who" in the first half of the 80s.
P.S. We have no problem with South Africans on the forum. Members wrote about Frans Botha, without banning or protest from anyone.

 

He had a great right hand and not so great luck. Plus as others said he was sometimes not in shape. Except versus Larry Holmes, or except Muhammad Ali in 1975-76, however, I would not bet against him.

 

LOL yep!

 

That and apparently he had self confidence problems. His father was a very negative person and used to say encouraging things like "I don't see how Gerrie can beat this guy" before important fights which must have played havoc with his mental state.

 

LOL I thought they looked similar too!!!!

I liked Tete but also Jacob Matlala., Brian Mitchell (not Black of course but an excellent lower weight performer) Mbulelo Botile....

 

Good fighter, the second best SA heavyweight after Corrie Sanders. BTW, how the hell did Pierre Coetzer get fights against Bruno, Bowe and Foreman? He was ranked by a couple of the major governing bodies, and who did he ever beat to get ranked?