Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
GERRIE - SUMMARY
GERRIE COETZEE
© GERRIE COETZEE 2010-2018
Gerhardus Christian Coetzee (born April 8, 1955 in Boksburg), better known as Gerrie Coetzee,
is a South African former boxer. He
made
history
two
times:
He
was
the
first
African
ever
to
fight
for
the
world's
Heavyweight
title,
and
the
first
to
win
the
world
Heavyweight
title.
His
nickname
was
The
Bionic
Man,
because
he
always
had
trouble
with
his
right
hand,
and
had
a
few
corrective
items put in it during three surgeries.
REAL NAME:
RATED AT:
NATIONALITY:
BIRTH DATE:
BIRTH PLACE:
TOTAL PRO-FIGHTS:
WINS:
WINS BY KO:
LOSSES:
DRAWS:
Gerhardus Christian Coetzee
Heavyweight
South African
April 8, 1955
Boksburg, South Africa
40
33
20
6
1
GERRIE COETZEE
RISE TO CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION
Coetzee
started
boxing
professionally
on
the
night
of
September
14,
1974,
when
he
beat
19
fight
veteran
Christian
Roos
by
a
decision
in
four.
He
followed
that
win
with
21
more
consecutive
wins
to
reach
a
record
of
22-0
before
fighting
for
the
World
Heavyweight
Championship (WBA version) for the first time.
Among
those
wins,
there
was
one
over
Roos
in
a
rematch,
which
Coetzee
won
by
a
knock-out
in
three;
wins
over
former
world
title
challengers
Ron
Stander,
Randy
Stephens
and
Pierre
Fourie;
a
South
African
Heavyweight
championship
winning
effort
against
Kallie
Knoetze
(unanimous
decision
in
10)
as
well
as
a
first
round
knockout
of
former
world
Heavyweight
champion
Leon
Spinks.
With
exception of the Spinks bout, held at Monte Carlo, the rest of Coetzee's fights during his early run were held in his native South Africa.
Coetzee had displayed impressive right-hand power, speed and composure in the Spinks win, legitimizing his reputation as a title-threat.
FIRST ATTEMPT AT A WORLD TITLE
He
was
able
to
challenge
John
Tate
for
the
WBA's
world
Heavyweight
title
that
had
been
left
vacant
by
Muhammad
Ali.
The
fight,
according
to
many
South
African
historians,
did
cause
some
social
impact
because
it
reunited
135,000
people
to
watch
an
event
between
a
Black
(Tate)
and
a
White
(Coetzee)
in
a
South
Africa
that
was
split
by
Apartheid.
It
was
one
of
the
first
major
public
events
where
Blacks and Whites could join together in public since that ideology had taken over in South Africa.
Gerrie
Coetzee
became
the
first
African
Heavyweight
ever
to
challenge
for
a
world
title,
but
his
dream
of
becoming
the
first
African
world
Heavyweight
champion
had
to
wait,
because
he
was
beaten
by
Tate by a decision in 15 rounds.
Coetzee
fought
lethargically
and
his
stamina
and
pace
were
lacking.
Such
would
be
the
story
of
much
of
his
career.
Aggressive
and
willing,
Coetzee
nonetheless
seemed
to
have
no
Plan
B
if
he
didn't
KO
his
opponent.
In
future
matches,
his
self-awareness
of
his
stamina-issues seemed to play on his performances.
SECOND ATTEMPT AT A WORLD TITLE
Tate,
however,
lasted
shortly
as
world
champion,
as
he
was
dethroned
by
Mike
Weaver
in
his
first
title
defence. Coetzee, by his part, knocked out Mike Koraniki in the first round to keep his lofty status.
Then,
Weaver
travelled
to
South
Africa
to
defend
against
Coetzee,
once
again,
fighting
in
front
of
a
very
large
crowd.
Coetzee's
dream
was
almost
reached
in
this
fight,
as
his
pressure
and
aggression
saw
him
leading
through
8
rounds,
but
Coetzee's
stamina
failed
him
and
he
began
to
throw
less,
lean
and
maul
more
and
get
hit
more often coming in with his unprotected head high.
He was KO'd by a counter right-hand in the 13th round.
ROAD TO A THIRD TITLE SHOT
Undaunted,
Coetzee
went
back
to
boxing
soon
and
beat
fringe
contender
George
Chaplin
before
facing
with
Renaldo
Snipes,
a
man
who
later
would
be
seconds
away
from
becoming
world
champion
when
he
dropped
Larry
Holmes
in
a
title
challenge.
Coetzee
dropped
Snipes
multiple
times
and
seemed
to
dominate,
but
the
fight
was
scored
by
rounds
and
not
on
points,
and
he
lost
a
ten
round
decision
that
was deemed one of the worst in the decade.
Coetzee
racked
up
four
victories
between
1981
and
1983,
including
a
defeat
of
former
world
title
challenger
Scott
Le
Doux.
He
faced
future
world
champion
Pinklon
Thomas,
who
held
him
to
a
draw
in
a
bout
where
Gerrie Coetzee again had an early lead.
THE THIRD TITLE SHOT
Despite
the
outcome
of
the
Thomas
fight,
(or
perhaps
because
of
it)
Coetzee
received
his
third
world
title
try
against
WBA
title-holder
Michael
Dokes.
By
now
known
as
someone
who
couldn't
win
"The
Big
One"
the
third
time
turned
out
to
be
the
charm
for
Coetzee.
In
front
of
a
road
crowd
in
Akron,
Ohio
and
a
HBO
Boxing
audience,
Coetzee
dominated
Dokes,
counter
punching
and
utilizing
his
rarely
used
left
hand
in
knocking
out
Dokes
in
the
tenth
round
to
become
South
Africa's
first
World
Heavyweight
Champion
ever.
He
also
became
the
first
Caucasian
world
Heavyweight
champion
in
23
years
(Gerrie
Coetzee
vs.
Michael
Dokes).
The
fight
was
KO
Magazine's
Upset
of
The
Year
for
1983.
It
turned
out
that
the
punch
that
knocked
out
Dokes
hurt
Coetzee
even
more:
his
right
hand
was
broken
and
required
his
second
surgery
(at
least),
a
metal
implanting
surgery, five days after the fight, in New York.
SHORT CHAMPIONSHIP REIGN
There
was
much
talk
about
a
unification
bout
with
the
other
world
Heavyweight
champion,
Holmes,
in
1984,
and
a
contract
was
signed
for
that
bout.
There
were
massive
financial
issues
when
the
backer
of
the
bout
couldn't
raise
the
original
purse
necessary,
not
to
mention
Coetzee
re-injured
his
hand
during
training
camp, requiring another surgery. Thus cancelling the fight.
When
he
was
able
to
get
back
in
the
ring,
Coetzee
was
paired
with
Greg
Page
(the
real
#1
contender
David
Bey,
refused
to
go
to
South
Africa
as
described
in
"Only
in
America:
The
Life
and
Crimes
of
Don
King"
by
Jack
Newfield, Bey became the #1 by outpointing Greg Page over 12 rounds).
In
a
give
and
take
match
highlighted
by
Coetzee's
total
lack
of
form
and
apparent
overconfidence
as
well
as
Page's
strong
chin,
the
two
exchanged
momentum.
It
was
clear
however
that
Coetzee
was
a
sitting
duck
for
Page's
counter-punching
and
his
once
dependable
chin
seemed
to
fail
him.
Coetzee
lost
his
world
title
when
he
was knocked out by a left in round eight. This proved to be another controversial bout.
Coetzee's
camp
protested
that
while
Coetzee
was
on
the
canvas,
the
bell
had
sounded
and
the
referee's
count
should
have
been
waved
off,
which
would
have
allowed
Coetzee
to
continue
for
at
least
one
more
round.
The
round
in
question
actually
went
for
almost
a
minute too long. Despite this, the WBA decided to leave Page as the winner by a knock-out in eight.
POST CHAMPIONSHIP CAREER
After
this
fight,
Coetzee
made
token
attempts
at
a
comeback.
He
beat
Mike
Tyson
rival
James
"Quick"
Tillis
by
a
decision
in
ten,
and
went
to
England
to
fight
future
world
Heavyweight
champion
Frank
Bruno,
losing
by
a
knock-out
in
one.
After
that
fight,
he
announced
his
retirement,
but
came
back
twice
during
the
1990s,
winning
by
knock-out
in
three
against
both
Dave
Fiddler
and
Wes
Turner
in
1993,
and
then winning against Dan Komiscki in three.
Gerrie Coetzee has stayed retired ever since.
His overall record stands at 33 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw, with 20 wins by knockout.
