Pierre Coetzer
Encyclopedia
Pierre Coetzer is a former Heavyweight
(Over 200 lbs/90,71 kg) boxer from Pretoria
, South Africa
. Coetzer’s most notable fights were probably those against Johnny DuPlooy
, Riddick Bowe
, Frank Bruno
and George Foreman
.
who was rated at cruiserweight. Although Benton out-pointed Coetzer over 10 rounds in their July 1984 bout in Durban
, revenge would come for Coetzer when he knocked Benton out in the first round at Ellis Park Indoor Arena
, Johannesburg
on 28 September 1987, 3 years later.
His next fight was for the vacant South African Heavyweight Title against Benny Knoetze in September 1984. Pierre KO’d Benny in round 3 to take the vacant title.
Over the next 3 years Pierre notched up 12 victories; including wins against Larry Frazier, ‘’Young’’ Joe Louis, Alfredo Evangelista and Bernard Benton. It was at this point where he came up against the Puerto Rican Ossie Ocasio
. Ocasio was a fighter of great potential and during his career had already won the WBA Cruiserweight Championship of the World, and defeated such men as Jimmy Young (boxer)
, Dwight Muhammad Qawi
, Robbie Williams (boxer) and "Young" Joe Louis. In their first fight on 6 March 1988, Good Hope Centre, Cape Town
, Ocasio out-pointed Coetzer over 10 rounds. This was Pierre’s first loss since winning the vacant South African Heavyweight Title. But after defeating Tim Anderson (USA) and Manoel De Almeida (Brazil) in his next two fights, he set up a re-match with Ocasio (26 November 1988, Standard Bank Indoor Arena, Johannesburg). This time Coetzer won on points over 10 rounds.
He went on to win 6 more fights before facing up against local heavyweight Johnny Du Plooy. Du Plooy had won 196 of 200 amateur fights and scored 17 knockouts in his first 20 fights. Both men had defeated a host of former world champions and name fighters en route to the top but everybody wanted to see them in action against each other.
They met on August 4, 1990 at Superbowl, Sun City in a bout billed “Once and For All.” Du Plooy started off well and cut Coetzer with the very first right he threw and had his man down towards the end of the first round, but the extremely strong Coetzer dropped Du Plooy twice in the second round and won the fight by TKO.
Coetzer went on to earn a #1 contender spot for Evander Holyfield
's IBF world title, but was made to fight a WBA Heavyweight Title Eliminator (scheduled for 12-rounds) against the #2 contender Riddick Bowe
. The bout took place on 18 July 1992 (Las Vegas, Nevada
), and although at the end of the fight Bowe was ahead on the scorecards of all three judges, Coetzer disagreed. Bowe had hit him below the belt in the 6th for which the referee Mills Lane
had deducted a point, and again in the7th with what appeared to be a right-handed low blow. On this occasion Coetzer turned away, anticipating that Lane would deliver a warning to Bowe and left his hands down and absorbed a jolting right uppercut. Bowe then followed with a left and right that drove Coetzer into the ropes and Mills Lane stepped in and waved an end to the match. "It definitely shouldn't have been stopped," said Coetzer. "It was a low blow." Bowe had claimed a controversial 7th round TKO.
Coetzer then fought Frank Bruno
(from London, England). The referee stopped the fight in the eighth round and Bruno was awarded an 8th round TKO.
The last bout of his career was against George Foreman
. Coetzer was knocked down in the 4th and 8th rounds and Foreman was awarded a TKO in round 8 of 10.
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
(Over 200 lbs/90,71 kg) boxer from Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, South Africa
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...
. Coetzer’s most notable fights were probably those against Johnny DuPlooy
Johnny DuPlooy
- Boxing career :The tall 6`3 South African boxer started his career in 1985 and beat 17 opponents. He then was stopped cold after losing to ex-champ Mike Weaver by 7th round KO...
, Riddick Bowe
Riddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
, Frank Bruno
Frank 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...
and George Foreman
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
.
Professional career
Coetzer began his professional boxing career in 1983. After winning his first 9 fights he was matched up against the American Bernard BentonBernard Benton
-Professional career:Known as "The Bull", Benton turned pro in 1981 and won the WBC cruiserweight title with a decision win over Alfonso Ratcliff in 1985. He lost the belt in his first defense to Carlos De León via decision the following year. He retired in 1995....
who was rated at cruiserweight. Although Benton out-pointed Coetzer over 10 rounds in their July 1984 bout in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, revenge would come for Coetzer when he knocked Benton out in the first round at Ellis Park Indoor Arena
Standard Bank Arena
Standard Bank Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The capacity of the arena is 5,000 people.A large number of sports events and concerts have occurred in this arena.- External links :*...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
on 28 September 1987, 3 years later.
His next fight was for the vacant South African Heavyweight Title against Benny Knoetze in September 1984. Pierre KO’d Benny in round 3 to take the vacant title.
Over the next 3 years Pierre notched up 12 victories; including wins against Larry Frazier, ‘’Young’’ Joe Louis, Alfredo Evangelista and Bernard Benton. It was at this point where he came up against the Puerto Rican Ossie Ocasio
Ossie Ocasio
Osvaldo Ocasio, , better known as Ossie Ocasio and nicknamed Jaws, is a Puerto Rican who was a boxer and world Cruiserweight champion. He got his peculiar nickname after accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring session...
. Ocasio was a fighter of great potential and during his career had already won the WBA Cruiserweight Championship of the World, and defeated such men as Jimmy Young (boxer)
Jimmy Young (boxer)
Jimmy Young was a fast highly skilled Philadelphia heavyweight boxer who had his greatest success during the 1970s, when he most notably beat George Foreman, and many fans felt also Ali . He also fought many top names...
, Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi is a former world boxing champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions...
, Robbie Williams (boxer) and "Young" Joe Louis. In their first fight on 6 March 1988, Good Hope Centre, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, Ocasio out-pointed Coetzer over 10 rounds. This was Pierre’s first loss since winning the vacant South African Heavyweight Title. But after defeating Tim Anderson (USA) and Manoel De Almeida (Brazil) in his next two fights, he set up a re-match with Ocasio (26 November 1988, Standard Bank Indoor Arena, Johannesburg). This time Coetzer won on points over 10 rounds.
He went on to win 6 more fights before facing up against local heavyweight Johnny Du Plooy. Du Plooy had won 196 of 200 amateur fights and scored 17 knockouts in his first 20 fights. Both men had defeated a host of former world champions and name fighters en route to the top but everybody wanted to see them in action against each other.
They met on August 4, 1990 at Superbowl, Sun City in a bout billed “Once and For All.” Du Plooy started off well and cut Coetzer with the very first right he threw and had his man down towards the end of the first round, but the extremely strong Coetzer dropped Du Plooy twice in the second round and won the fight by TKO.
Coetzer went on to earn a #1 contender spot for Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...
's IBF world title, but was made to fight a WBA Heavyweight Title Eliminator (scheduled for 12-rounds) against the #2 contender Riddick Bowe
Riddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
. The bout took place on 18 July 1992 (Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
), and although at the end of the fight Bowe was ahead on the scorecards of all three judges, Coetzer disagreed. Bowe had hit him below the belt in the 6th for which the referee Mills Lane
Mills Lane
Mills Bee Lane III is a retired boxing referee, a former boxer, was a two term Washoe County District Court Judge, and television personality...
had deducted a point, and again in the7th with what appeared to be a right-handed low blow. On this occasion Coetzer turned away, anticipating that Lane would deliver a warning to Bowe and left his hands down and absorbed a jolting right uppercut. Bowe then followed with a left and right that drove Coetzer into the ropes and Mills Lane stepped in and waved an end to the match. "It definitely shouldn't have been stopped," said Coetzer. "It was a low blow." Bowe had claimed a controversial 7th round TKO.
Coetzer then fought Frank Bruno
Frank 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...
(from London, England). The referee stopped the fight in the eighth round and Bruno was awarded an 8th round TKO.
The last bout of his career was against George Foreman
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
. Coetzer was knocked down in the 4th and 8th rounds and Foreman was awarded a TKO in round 8 of 10.