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I spent several hours last week
reading through old South
African boxing monthly
magazines. Some of these
magazines went as far back as
the late 1970s but for me the
most interesting stories
revolved around the heavyweight
scene in South Africa over these
past few decades.
Gerrie Coetzee, Kallie Knoetze,
Mike Schutte, Jimmy Abbot,
Pierre Coetzer, Johny Du Plooy,
Bennie Knoetze, Corrie Sanders
and even my good friend Francois
Botha. Nine of the toughest
heavyweight fighters ever to
grace the shores of South Africa
and each one, capable on their
day of destroying the very best
in the world.
One of the most hilarious
stories ever told was indeed by
Francois Botha who claims he was
hurt even with blows that Mike
Tyson missed.
So back to this talented group
of South African heavyweights
over the years. How would they
fare against the Klitchkos,
David Haye, a younger Evander
Holyfield, the Mike Tyson in his
prime to mention but a few. If
all these fighters were at their
best, we would have seen some of
the greatest and most exciting
heavyweight clashes ever. The
heavyweight division
romantically remains the
prestigious and most focused
upon division, always wetting
the immense appetite of fans,
and some of the above proposed
matchups would have been as
mouth watering as they could
have. I was asked a while ago
to rate my top South Africa
heavyweights in order from the
group mentioned above, and while
this is sure to cause much
debate, discussion and heated
arguments in South Africa, I
herein select my top order with
a short comment on each.
1. - Gerrie Coetzee the man
with the bionic right hand.
Massive power, great speed and
his fight against Dokes probably
edges him into top spot
sometimes sadly lacked self
belief and self confidence.
2. - Corrie Sanders the
southpaw with incredible speed
and power victory against
Klitschko puts him into second
place
3. - Kallie Knoetze vicious
puncher, great charisma,
arguably the most powerful
puncher in the history of South
African boxing
4. - Johny Du Plooy
unquestionably the most talented
of the lot, but never realized
his full potential crowds
absolutely adored him
5. - Francois Botha very
underrated but very experienced
and been in with the very best
great speed, suspect stamina but
very charismatic a much better
fighter than sometimes given
credit for
6. - Mike Schutte
entertaining fighter someone
not to be messed with, he wore
his heart on his sleeve, and had
some of the most brutal and
bloody fights ever in South
Africa. Who can forget his war
with Gerrie Coetzee in Durban?
7. - Pierre Coetzer the
policeman with the long reach
and the huge heart, fought every
fight as if his life depended on
it
8. - Jimmy Abbot always
overweight but with a deceptive
stamina and a big right hand
9. - Bennie Knoetze younger
brother of Kallie, but more of a
boxer than puncher, also was
involved in several wars
In conclusion Gerrie Coetzee at
his best v Mike Tyson, Evander
Holyfield, Vitali and Vladimir
Klitschko at their best. I
cant say for sure who would
have emerged victorious but I
can say for sure they would have
been some incredible and
unforgettable fights.
Until next time, keep boxing.
Howard Goldberg
PRESIDENT: World Boxing
Federation
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