Gerrie Coetzee
Encyclopedia
Gerhardus Christian Coetzee (born April 8, 1955 in Boksburg), better known as Gerrie Coetzee, is a South Africa
n former boxer. He made history twice: he was the first boxer from the African continent ever to fight for the World Heavyweight Title, and the first to win the World Heavyweight Title. His nickname was The Bionic Hand, because he always had trouble with his right hand, and had a few corrective items put in it during three surgeries. His Afrikaans nickname was "Seer Handjies" or little sore hands, named so by fellow South African boxing great Kallie Knoetze
.
in three rounds; wins over former world title challengers Ron Stander
, Randy Stephens and Pierre Fourie; a South African Heavyweight championship victory against amateur rival 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.
Spinks as was his style, attacked Coetzee and pressured him, throwing punches from many angles and generally trying to steam-roll the South African. Coetzee composed himself and a short right hand delivered to Spinks' temple knocked down the former World Champion. coetzee proceded to drop Spinks two more times to record a TKO in an upset that catapulted Coetzee into the boxing consciousness. Coetzee had displayed impressive right-hand power, speed and composure in the Spinks win, enhancing his reputation as a real title threat in the post-Ali landscape of the Heavyweight division.
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 united 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. Coetzee became the first African born heavyweight ever to challenge for a world title, but his dream of becoming the first person from Africa to win the world Heavyweight champion had to wait, because he was beaten on points over 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 did not knock out his opponent. In future matches, his self-awareness of his stamina issues seemed to play on his performances.
In the Tate-Weaver bout, Tate was the star and was seen by some few as the rival claimant, along with Holmes to the true legitimate Heavyweight title now fractured since Ali's retirement. Tate boxed neatly against the muscular Weaver. Unlike in his bout against Holmes, Weaver wasn't enjoying much success. Going into the 15th and last round, Weaver needed a miracle. In a spectacular finish, Weaver knocked out Tate with a home run left hook depositing Tate face down. The end of the count over Tate came with 15 seconds left in the bout.
In the meantime, Coetzee had maintained his status as a highly rated contender with a keep-busy knock out over Mike Koraniki in the first round to keep his title hopes alive. Weaver duly traveled to South Africa in 1980 to defend his title against Coetzee, fighting in front of a very large crowd. As usual, Coetzee dominated the early portions, and had Weaver hurt several times. It was Coetzee that was both the aggressor and the dynamic, fluid fighter. In the 8th, Weaver was in desperate trouble but Coetzee was sloppy and and did not place his punches to finish him off.
With the missed opportunity to finish Weaver gone, Coetzee seemed to wilt. Weaver was beginning to time Coetzee's punches for counters. By round 12 the fight was close to even, with the South African's lead having evaporated. Weaver had survived Coetzee's onslaught and the tide had turned. Coetzee's stamina failed him and he began to throw fewer punches by round 9. Coetzee was now leaning and mauling more and was getting hit more often coming in with his unprotected head held high. Weaver was accelerating and was getting the better of exchanges as the bout wore on.
Spent, exhausted and unable or unwilling to box and move to ride out the storm, Coetzee was frozen and knocked out by a big counter punch in the 13th round.
, a man who later would be seconds away from becoming world champion when he landed a huge right hand bomb that knocked down and seriously hurt Larry Holmes
in a title challenge. Coetzee dropped Snipes early and seemed to dominate the action. However, the fight was scored by rounds and not on points, meaning a round won widely with knockdowns was no more valued than a round lost narrowly, and he lost a ten round decision that was deemed one of the worst of the decade. Interestingly Coetzee lost the last few rounds confirming seemingly his reputation as a '6 round fighter'. Though some are ok with the scoring, this fight is routinely cited by boxing fans as one of THE 'worst decisions ever'.
Coetzee had gone 5-1 in the 6 fights since the Weaver bout. Included those half dozen fights was a win over former title challenger Scott Le Doux.
He next faced the up and coming and the future World Boxing Council 'world' champion Pinklon Thomas
. Again, Coetzee held the edge in the first half of the bout but Thomas, possessing a very good chin and a snappy left jab, weathered Coetzee's early offense and rallied to hold the big South African to a draw. While the bout didn't severely damage Coetzee's reputation, it seemed to confirm the cieling of Coetzee's abilities. That being not quite title material. 5 years on the world scene and two lost title shots. The 'loss' to Snipes, and now the draw with Thomas. Coetzee was still viable but seemingly was going nowhere.
. By now known as someone who could not win "The Big One", Coetzee's predicted fate in this bout was to show-case Dokes' abilities and status as a rising star. The third time trying for a title turned out to be the charm for Coetzee. In front of a crowd in the Richfield Coliseum in Akron, Ohio
and a HBO Boxing
audience, Coetzee dominated Dokes after a few rounds of even fighting. The South African lead with aggression but also used counter punching as well. Coetzee's poise was apparent, and he boxed more deftly than usual employing more left hooks while still eschewing much in the way of defense, sponging anything Dokes could land and scoring a knockdown. The culmination of years of frustration came when Coetzee knocked out Dokes in the tenth round to become South Africa's first world Heavyweight title holder. He also became the first caucasian world Heavyweight titleist in 23 years. The fight was KO Magazine's Upset of The Year for 1983. Dokes for his part became perhaps the first fighter Don King stepped over (literally). King doing so to congratulate Coetzee.
It turned out that the punch that knocked out Dokes hurt Coetzee even more: his right hand was broken and required another surgery five days after the fight, in New York
.
There were massive financial issues when the backer of the bout, JPD Sports out of Dallas, Texas, could not raise the original purse necessary. Caesar's Palace spoke of saving the promotion, but it fell through. Don King's involvement as Coetzee's promoter, as well as Larry Holmes' split with King previously also contributed to the bout no tbeing made. Holmes, shopped to save the bout which could have meant 15 Million for him and a significant amount for Coetzee. Coetzee was personally willing and eager for the bout. He even indicated he was willing to go through with the bout though he would likely enter the ring without the WBA title. The WBA had stated that for the bout to take place with it's blessing, it required Holmes (absurdly, as is their wont) to apply for consideration to be rated as a contender by the WBA. Why the WBA's blessing was needed or what benefits would be realized by having the WBA invloved is well known to many frustrated fans of boxing.
Holmes and most followers of the sport knew there was no reason for him to diminish his status by being the 'challenger' for Coetzee's far-less legitimate stake in the world 'title'. Not to mention Holmes saw no reason for the WBA to preside over a bout between the two men. The WBA insisted Coetzee could not face Holmes, despite the fact Holmes had been recognized as the best Heavyweight in the world since 1978. In any event, Coetzee re-injured his hand during training camp, requiring another surgery. The fight was cancelled. The WBA was, of course, willing to allow Coetzee to face the fighters they rated (read: collected fees from when they fought for WBA belts) regardless of their own true abilities, none of which of course was as legitimate claimant to competing for the "World" Title as was Holmes.
On his return to the ring, after an extended absence, 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). Page was even more stigmatized by failing to win big fights than was Coetzee. He was seen as supremely talented and like many fighters in the immediate post-Ali era, his size, speed and coordination supposedly portended great expectations of achievement. While Page could look extremely impressive, as against James Tillis for example, he also was seen as lazy and unmotivated. The loss to the rather limited Bey along with his being handled and defeated by former Holmes challenger Tim Witherspoon for the vacant World Boxing Council (stripped from Holmes incidentally) title in 1984 seemed to underscore Page looked the part of dominant Heavyweight more than fought like one.
In this bout Page did less posing than normal, and did more fighting putting on an energetic performance. The bout was exciting, with a lot of give-and-take. Coetzee seemed overconfident, and can be seen delivering a lot of the trash-talking and doing less punching and trying more verbal intimidation such as he used in bouts against Tate and Weaver. What was evident though was his lack of form as well as Page being on top of his game. This Page wasn't the man outworked by David Bey. Page was fighting and displaying those composite skills many had expected him to deliver consistently. Coetzee for his part was denagerous and while sloppy, was getting his own shots home. The challenger's strong chin nullified Coetzee's power to some extent. The two exchanged momentum. Coetzee's lack of defense was more evident than usual, and he was a sitting duck for Page's counter-punching and his once dependable chin seemed to fail him, being stung and hurt often. His right was not effective, but he was scoring withchis left hand. He was dropped after the bell of the 6th round (a foul normall); and in the 7th legitimately. Coetzee's somewhat subpar offense was hurting his chances against the long-armed and motivated Page. In exchange after exchange as the bout wore on, it had been Coetzee, the puncher, losing the skirmishes and being hurt and he was knocked out by a crushing left hand in Round 8. But, there was controversy. .
Coetzee's camp protested that not only had the 8th round run too long, but also 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 did run for almost a minute too long. Despite this, the WBA recognized the result as it happened, and affirmed Page as the winner by a knockout in eight. Coetzee and his camp demanded an immediate rematch. Instead, Page went on to face Tony Tubbs whom he had beaten several times in the amateurs.
. In the offing would be a shot at the WBA title, since dropped by Page. Coetzee looked fleshy and was strangely unaggressive. Bruno stalked the South African and caught him with a big right hand, decking him shortly into the bout. Bruno would mop up and KO Coetzee in one. After that fight, he announced his retirement, but came back twice during the 1990s, winning by knockout in three against both Dave Fiddler and Wes Turner in 1993, and then winning against Dan Komiscki in three. Coetzee lost to former world Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion Iran Barkley
by a knockout in ten, after dropping him in round two, for a bogus, minor Heavyweight belt.
Coetzee has remained in retirement ever since.
His overall record stands at 33 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw, with 21 wins by knockout.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n former boxer. He made history twice: he was the first boxer from the African continent ever to fight for the World Heavyweight Title, and the first to win the World Heavyweight Title. His nickname was The Bionic Hand, because he always had trouble with his right hand, and had a few corrective items put in it during three surgeries. His Afrikaans nickname was "Seer Handjies" or little sore hands, named so by fellow South African boxing great Kallie Knoetze
Kallie Knoetze
Kallie Knoetze was a South African heavyweight boxer.-Boxing career:...
.
Rise to championship contention
Coetzee started boxing professionally on the night of September 14, 1974, when he beat 19 fight veteran and fellow South AfricanChristian Roos by a decision in four. He followed that win with 21 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 was one over Roos in a rematch, which Coetzee won by a knockoutKnockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
in three rounds; wins over former world title challengers Ron Stander
Ron Stander
Ron Stander is a boxing referee and former professional boxer from Council Bluffs, Iowa, who was once a challenger for the heavyweight championship of the world....
, Randy Stephens and Pierre Fourie; a South African Heavyweight championship victory against amateur rival Kallie Knoetze
Kallie Knoetze
Kallie Knoetze was a South African heavyweight boxer.-Boxing career:...
(unanimous decision in 10) as well as a first round knockout of former world Heavyweight champion Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks
Leon Spinks is a former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world...
. With exception of the Spinks bout, held at Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, the rest of Coetzee's fights during his early run were held in his native South Africa.
Spinks as was his style, attacked Coetzee and pressured him, throwing punches from many angles and generally trying to steam-roll the South African. Coetzee composed himself and a short right hand delivered to Spinks' temple knocked down the former World Champion. coetzee proceded to drop Spinks two more times to record a TKO in an upset that catapulted Coetzee into the boxing consciousness. Coetzee had displayed impressive right-hand power, speed and composure in the Spinks win, enhancing his reputation as a real title threat in the post-Ali landscape of the Heavyweight division.
First attempt at a world title
Coetzee was tabbed to face John TateJohn Tate (boxer)
John Tate was an American prizefighter and Olympic boxer, who briefly held the World Boxing Association heavyweight title from 1979 to 1980.-Amateur career:...
for the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
's world Heavyweight title that had been left vacant by Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
. The fight, according to many South African historians, did cause some social impact because it united 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. Coetzee became the first African born heavyweight ever to challenge for a world title, but his dream of becoming the first person from Africa to win the world Heavyweight champion had to wait, because he was beaten on points over 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 did not knock out 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 lasted only a short time as WBA world titleist, as he was beaten by Mike Weaver in his first title defense. Weaver had risen to world challenger from a very uneven early stage of his career. He had several losses and was a late bloomer to some degree. He achieved notoriety when as a huge underdog he gave a spirited challenge to Larry Holmes in 1979.In the Tate-Weaver bout, Tate was the star and was seen by some few as the rival claimant, along with Holmes to the true legitimate Heavyweight title now fractured since Ali's retirement. Tate boxed neatly against the muscular Weaver. Unlike in his bout against Holmes, Weaver wasn't enjoying much success. Going into the 15th and last round, Weaver needed a miracle. In a spectacular finish, Weaver knocked out Tate with a home run left hook depositing Tate face down. The end of the count over Tate came with 15 seconds left in the bout.
In the meantime, Coetzee had maintained his status as a highly rated contender with a keep-busy knock out over Mike Koraniki in the first round to keep his title hopes alive. Weaver duly traveled to South Africa in 1980 to defend his title against Coetzee, fighting in front of a very large crowd. As usual, Coetzee dominated the early portions, and had Weaver hurt several times. It was Coetzee that was both the aggressor and the dynamic, fluid fighter. In the 8th, Weaver was in desperate trouble but Coetzee was sloppy and and did not place his punches to finish him off.
With the missed opportunity to finish Weaver gone, Coetzee seemed to wilt. Weaver was beginning to time Coetzee's punches for counters. By round 12 the fight was close to even, with the South African's lead having evaporated. Weaver had survived Coetzee's onslaught and the tide had turned. Coetzee's stamina failed him and he began to throw fewer punches by round 9. Coetzee was now leaning and mauling more and was getting hit more often coming in with his unprotected head held high. Weaver was accelerating and was getting the better of exchanges as the bout wore on.
Spent, exhausted and unable or unwilling to box and move to ride out the storm, Coetzee was frozen and knocked out by a big counter punch in the 13th round.
Road to a third title bout
Less than 5 months after the disappointment versus Weaver, Coetzee returned to the ring and beat fringe contender George Chaplin before facing Renaldo SnipesRenaldo Snipes
Renaldo Snipes, born Reenaold Snipes on August 15, 1956 in Houston, Texas, is an accomplished American boxer, best known for his title championship bout with Larry Holmes.-Amateur career:...
, a man who later would be seconds away from becoming world champion when he landed a huge right hand bomb that knocked down and seriously hurt Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
in a title challenge. Coetzee dropped Snipes early and seemed to dominate the action. However, the fight was scored by rounds and not on points, meaning a round won widely with knockdowns was no more valued than a round lost narrowly, and he lost a ten round decision that was deemed one of the worst of the decade. Interestingly Coetzee lost the last few rounds confirming seemingly his reputation as a '6 round fighter'. Though some are ok with the scoring, this fight is routinely cited by boxing fans as one of THE 'worst decisions ever'.
Coetzee had gone 5-1 in the 6 fights since the Weaver bout. Included those half dozen fights was a win over former title challenger Scott Le Doux.
He next faced the up and coming and the future World Boxing Council 'world' champion Pinklon Thomas
Pinklon Thomas
Pinklon Thomas is a retired heavyweight boxer and former WBC heavyweight champion whose trademark pink boxing trunks and a left jab were key distinguishing characteristics....
. Again, Coetzee held the edge in the first half of the bout but Thomas, possessing a very good chin and a snappy left jab, weathered Coetzee's early offense and rallied to hold the big South African to a draw. While the bout didn't severely damage Coetzee's reputation, it seemed to confirm the cieling of Coetzee's abilities. That being not quite title material. 5 years on the world scene and two lost title shots. The 'loss' to Snipes, and now the draw with Thomas. Coetzee was still viable but seemingly was going nowhere.
Third title bout
Despite the outcome of the Thomas fight, (or perhaps because of it) Coetzee received his third world title try against WBA title-holder Michael DokesMichael Dokes
Michael Marshall Dokes is a former American boxer in the heavyweight division, nicknamed "Dynamite."-Amateur career:...
. By now known as someone who could not win "The Big One", Coetzee's predicted fate in this bout was to show-case Dokes' abilities and status as a rising star. The third time trying for a title turned out to be the charm for Coetzee. In front of a crowd in the Richfield Coliseum in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
and a HBO Boxing
HBO Boxing
HBO World Championship Boxing is a sports television series, premiering in January 1973 that has shown a number of significant boxing events in the last three decades....
audience, Coetzee dominated Dokes after a few rounds of even fighting. The South African lead with aggression but also used counter punching as well. Coetzee's poise was apparent, and he boxed more deftly than usual employing more left hooks while still eschewing much in the way of defense, sponging anything Dokes could land and scoring a knockdown. The culmination of years of frustration came when Coetzee knocked out Dokes in the tenth round to become South Africa's first world Heavyweight title holder. He also became the first caucasian world Heavyweight titleist in 23 years. The fight was KO Magazine's Upset of The Year for 1983. Dokes for his part became perhaps the first fighter Don King stepped over (literally). King doing so to congratulate Coetzee.
It turned out that the punch that knocked out Dokes hurt Coetzee even more: his right hand was broken and required another surgery five days after the fight, in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Failed Unification and a Short championship reign
There was much talk about a unification bout with the recognized best fighter in the division and now International Boxing Federation Champion, Holmes, in 1984, and a contract was duly signed. The bout would be wildly lucrative, and a win for Coetzee would legitimize his standing as perhaps the 'real' heavyweight champion. Holmes himself though possessing only one of now 3 title-belts was recognized by most as the real, bona fide, 'champion'.There were massive financial issues when the backer of the bout, JPD Sports out of Dallas, Texas, could not raise the original purse necessary. Caesar's Palace spoke of saving the promotion, but it fell through. Don King's involvement as Coetzee's promoter, as well as Larry Holmes' split with King previously also contributed to the bout no tbeing made. Holmes, shopped to save the bout which could have meant 15 Million for him and a significant amount for Coetzee. Coetzee was personally willing and eager for the bout. He even indicated he was willing to go through with the bout though he would likely enter the ring without the WBA title. The WBA had stated that for the bout to take place with it's blessing, it required Holmes (absurdly, as is their wont) to apply for consideration to be rated as a contender by the WBA. Why the WBA's blessing was needed or what benefits would be realized by having the WBA invloved is well known to many frustrated fans of boxing.
Holmes and most followers of the sport knew there was no reason for him to diminish his status by being the 'challenger' for Coetzee's far-less legitimate stake in the world 'title'. Not to mention Holmes saw no reason for the WBA to preside over a bout between the two men. The WBA insisted Coetzee could not face Holmes, despite the fact Holmes had been recognized as the best Heavyweight in the world since 1978. In any event, Coetzee re-injured his hand during training camp, requiring another surgery. The fight was cancelled. The WBA was, of course, willing to allow Coetzee to face the fighters they rated (read: collected fees from when they fought for WBA belts) regardless of their own true abilities, none of which of course was as legitimate claimant to competing for the "World" Title as was Holmes.
On his return to the ring, after an extended absence, Coetzee was paired with Greg Page
Greg Page (boxer)
Greg Page was a boxer from Louisville, Kentucky. He was the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion from 1984 to 1985...
(the real #1 contender David Bey
David Bey
David Bey is a former USBA heavyweight champion who challenged the legendary Larry Holmes for the world title in 1985....
, 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). Page was even more stigmatized by failing to win big fights than was Coetzee. He was seen as supremely talented and like many fighters in the immediate post-Ali era, his size, speed and coordination supposedly portended great expectations of achievement. While Page could look extremely impressive, as against James Tillis for example, he also was seen as lazy and unmotivated. The loss to the rather limited Bey along with his being handled and defeated by former Holmes challenger Tim Witherspoon for the vacant World Boxing Council (stripped from Holmes incidentally) title in 1984 seemed to underscore Page looked the part of dominant Heavyweight more than fought like one.
In this bout Page did less posing than normal, and did more fighting putting on an energetic performance. The bout was exciting, with a lot of give-and-take. Coetzee seemed overconfident, and can be seen delivering a lot of the trash-talking and doing less punching and trying more verbal intimidation such as he used in bouts against Tate and Weaver. What was evident though was his lack of form as well as Page being on top of his game. This Page wasn't the man outworked by David Bey. Page was fighting and displaying those composite skills many had expected him to deliver consistently. Coetzee for his part was denagerous and while sloppy, was getting his own shots home. The challenger's strong chin nullified Coetzee's power to some extent. The two exchanged momentum. Coetzee's lack of defense was more evident than usual, and he was a sitting duck for Page's counter-punching and his once dependable chin seemed to fail him, being stung and hurt often. His right was not effective, but he was scoring withchis left hand. He was dropped after the bell of the 6th round (a foul normall); and in the 7th legitimately. Coetzee's somewhat subpar offense was hurting his chances against the long-armed and motivated Page. In exchange after exchange as the bout wore on, it had been Coetzee, the puncher, losing the skirmishes and being hurt and he was knocked out by a crushing left hand in Round 8. But, there was controversy. .
Coetzee's camp protested that not only had the 8th round run too long, but also 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 did run for almost a minute too long. Despite this, the WBA recognized the result as it happened, and affirmed Page as the winner by a knockout in eight. Coetzee and his camp demanded an immediate rematch. Instead, Page went on to face Tony Tubbs whom he had beaten several times in the amateurs.
Post-championship career
After losing his title, Coetzee made token attempts at a comeback. He beat the former title challenger and at that time mid-level foe James "Quick" Tillis by a decision in ten. Next was a journey to England to fight the big-punching contender (and future World Boxing Council titleholder) Frank BrunoFrank Bruno
Franklin Roy Bruno MBE is an English former boxer whose career highlight was winning the WBC Heavyweight championship in 1995. Altogether, he won 40 of his 45 contests...
. In the offing would be a shot at the WBA title, since dropped by Page. Coetzee looked fleshy and was strangely unaggressive. Bruno stalked the South African and caught him with a big right hand, decking him shortly into the bout. Bruno would mop up and KO Coetzee in one. After that fight, he announced his retirement, but came back twice during the 1990s, winning by knockout in three against both Dave Fiddler and Wes Turner in 1993, and then winning against Dan Komiscki in three. Coetzee lost to former world Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion Iran Barkley
Iran Barkley
Iran Barkley is a retired American professional boxer who held world titles at three different weights—middleweight , super middleweight and light heavyweight .- Professional career :...
by a knockout in ten, after dropping him in round two, for a bogus, minor Heavyweight belt.
Coetzee has remained in retirement ever since.
His overall record stands at 33 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw, with 21 wins by knockout.