Gerhardus Christian " Gerrie " Coetzee (born April 8, 1955) is a former South African professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1986, and in 1993 and 1997. He was the first boxer of the African continent who had fought for, and won, the world heavyweight championship, having held the WBA title from 1983 to 1984. One of Coetzee's nicknames, "The Bionic Hand", came into being with a persistent problem with his right hand , which requires insertion of some corrective items for three operations. His nickname in Afrikaans is "Seer Handjies", or "Little Sore Hands", named by fellow South African boxing Kallie Knoetze great.
Video Gerrie Coetzee
Professional career
Upgrade to championship contest
Coetzee started professional boxing on the night of September 14, 1974, when he defeated 19 War veterans and fellow Christian Roos South Africa with four decisions. He followed the win with 21 straight wins to a 22-0 record before battling for the WBA heavyweight title for the first time. Among the victories was a win over Roos in a rematch, which was won by Coetzee with a knockout in three rounds; winning over former world title challengers, Ron Stander, Randy Stephens, and Pierre Fourie; South African heavyweight championship victories against amateur rivals Kallie Knoetze (unanimous decision at 10) as well as first-round knockout former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks. With the exception of the Spinks fight, held in Monte Carlo, the remainder of the Coetzee fights during its early run in South Africa originally.
Spinks attack Coetzee and hit him, throwing punches from various angles and trying to roll South Africa. Coetzee calmed down and his right hand delivered to the Spinks temple knocked down the former world champion. Coetzee went on to drop Spinks two more times to record a technical knockout. The win enhanced Coetzee's reputation as a real title threat in the post-Ali landscape of the heavyweight division.
First world degree effort
Coetzee faces John Tate for the WBA heavyweight title left vacant by Muhammad Ali. Coetzee became the first African-born heavyweight to ever challenge for a world title. Coetzee fought against tentatively and, after holding his own early, faded from the midpoint of the ensuing battle. Tate won the decision for 15 rounds. Coetzee would reveal later in his career that in the early years of his struggle, he struggled with confidence, especially in measuring up to the American fighter.
The first major boxing event in South Africa to change the face of sport in apartheid South Africa was a battle between Bob Foster and Pierre Fourie on December 1, 1973. This laid a solid foundation for the fist of a racial mix in front of a mixed racial audience. The mixture battle between South Africa was passed in 1977, but the last remnants of the colored trunk disappeared just two years later when the white, black and top titles were abolished.
The first multiracial SA fights were held at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg on 27 November 1976 when Gerrie Coetzee and Elia 'Tap Tap' Makhatini became undisputed champions.
Second world degree effort
Tate only lasted a short time as a WBA world titlist, as he KOd in spectacular last-minute fashion by Mike Weaver in his first title defense. Meanwhile, Coetzee has maintained his status as a highly rated competitor with a win over Mike Koraniki in the first round to keep his title alive. Weaver traveled to South Africa in 1980 to defend his title against Coetzee, fighting in front of a very large crowd. Coetzee dominated the early part, and made Weaver hurt several times. On the 8th, Weaver is in trouble but Coetzee can not take advantage of it.
With a chance to finish Weaver, Coetzee looked sluggish. Weaver started time to punch Coetzee for the counter. In the 12th round of the fight almost happened, with the South African lead has evaporated. Weaver survived the onslaught of Coetzee and the currents changed. Stamina Coetzee made it fail and he started throwing fewer punches after the 9th round. Coetzee now leans back and mauls more and gets hit more often with his unprotected head held high. Weaver accelerates and gets a better exchange when the battle goes on. Coetzee was beaten for the first time in his career and came out with a big counterattack in the 13th round.
The path to the third title battle
Less than 5 months after the defeat against Weaver, Coetzee returned to the ring and defeated suburban competitor George Chaplin before facing Renaldo Snipes. Coetzee dropped Snipes early and seemed to dominate the action. However, the fight was scored by a round rather than a point, which meant a round of wins widely with knockdown no more valuable than a thin losing loophole, and he lost a ten-round decision considered one of the worst in decades.
Coetzee has won 5-1 in 6 fights since Weaver's fight. Among the wins was one of Scott Le Doux's title challengers to the battle with future WBC champion Pinklon Thomas. Once again, Coetzee held the lead in the first half of the fight but Thomas came together to hold Coetzee for a draw. After losing to Snipes and drawing with Thomas, Coetzee is not considered a strong title contender.
WBA heavyweight champion
Coetzee received his third world title against WBA champion Michael Dokes. Now known as someone who can not win "The Big One", the fate Coetzee predicted in this fight was to show the ability and status of Dokes that Don King promoted as a new star.
The fight took place on September 23, 1983 at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio. Coetzee dominated Dokes after several rounds of fighting. South Africa leads with aggression but also uses counter punching. Coetzee's serenity was clear, and he was more agile than usual by using left hooks again while still avoiding many defense ways, disguising anything Dokes could land and score knockdown. Coetzee got rid of Dokes in the tenth round to become holders of South Africa's first world heavyweight title. He also became the first heavyweight Caucasian world champion in 23 years. The fight was KO Magazine's "Upset of the Year" for 1983.
It turns out that the blow that dropped Dokes further hurt Coetzee: his right hand was broken and had to be operated five days after the fight, in New York City.
Unity and defeat failed
There has been much talk of unification battles with the best recognized fighters in the division and now the International Boxing Federation Champion, Holmes, in 1984, and the contract for a profitable bout was signed. Holmes has only one of 3 belt titles but is recognized by most as a real, bonafide champion.
Financial problems arise when supporters of the fight, JPD Sports out of Dallas, Texas, can not raise the original wallet as needed. Caesar's Palace talks about saving a promotion, but it fails. Don King's involvement as a Coetzee promoter, as well as Larry Holmes's previous split with King also contributed to a fight that was not done. Holmes wants to save the fight that will earn him and Coetzee a huge sum of money. Coetzee is personally willing and eager for the fight. He even shows he is willing to go through the fight even though he is likely to enter the ring without a WBA title. The WBA has stated that for the fight to take place with the blessing, it required Holmes to fight as a competitor for the Coetzee belt. Or, the WBA will require Coetzee to drop his belt to qualify as a challenger to Holmes.
Holmes saw no reason for the WBA to lead the fight between the two men. The WBA insisted that Coetzee could not face Holmes, despite the fact that Holmes has been recognized as the world's best heavyweight since 1978. In every event, Coetzee again injured his hand during the training camp, requiring further surgery, and the fight was canceled.
Upon returning to the ring, after being absent, Coetzee paired with Greg Page (original competitor # 1 David Bey, refused to go to South Africa as described in "Only in America: Don King's Life and Crime" by Jack Newfield, Bey became # 1 by showing Greg Page more than 12 rounds). Page is even more stigmatized for failing to win a big fight than Coetzee. He is seen as a very talented person and like many fighters in the post-Ali era soon, his size, speed and coordination are considered to signify great expectations of achievement. Although Page can look very impressive, as does James Tillis for example, he also looks lazy and unmotivated.
In this fight less posing than usual, and do more battles with energetic performance. Coetzee looks too confident, and can be seen conveying a lot of nonsense and doing less punches and trying more verbal intimidation as he uses in battles against Tate and Weaver. But Page was in much better shape than when he lost to Bey. Coetzee on his side was dangerous and reckless, taking home his own shots. The strong chin of the challenger extinguishes the power of Coetzee to some extent. Both momentum are exchanged. Coetzee's resilience was clearer than usual, and he was a sitting duckling for Page counters and his once failing chin stunned him and was often hurt. His rights were ineffective, but he scored with his left hand. He was dropped after the 6th round bell for committing an offense; and the 7th legally. Page takes advantage of Coetzee's carelessness. Instead after the exchange as an on-going attack, it is Coetzee, "puncher", losing the battle and being hurt. He was knocked out in Round 8. But there was controversy.
Coetzee's camp protested that not only the eighth round was too long, but also that when Coetzee was on the canvas, the bell had rang and the referee count should have been released. Generally, this will allow Coetzee to continue at least one more round. The 8th, the questionable round actually runs almost a minute too long. Nonetheless, the WBA acknowledged the result when it happened, and confirmed Page as the winner by a knockout at eight. Coetzee and his camp demanded an immediate rematch. Instead, Page goes to face Tony Tubbs whom he has defeated several times in amateurs.
Post-championship career
After losing his title, Coetzee made a token attempt at the comeback. He defeated the former title contender and at that time the middle-level enemy James "Quick" Tillis with a decision in ten. Next is a trip to England to counter big rival Frank Bruno. Soon it will be a shot in the WBA title, as it is dropped by Page. Coetzee crashed out in the first half. After the fight, he announced his retirement, but returned twice during the 1990s, winning by a knockout in three against both Dave Fiddler and Wes Turner in 1993, and then winning against Dan Komiscki in three. Coetzee lost to former lightweight and lightweight Iranian middle class Barkley with a knockout at ten, after dropping him in the second half, for the WBB heavyweight belt.
Maps Gerrie Coetzee
Professional boxing record
References
External links
- Professional boxing record for Gerrie Coetzee from BoxRec
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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