Former Heavyweight World Champ Gerrie Coetzee Dies at Age 67
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Boksburg, South Africa (January 13th, 2023)– On the same day as the passing of Elvis Presley’s daughter and only child Lisa Marie Presley, former World Boxing Association World Heavyweight champion Gerrie Coetzee, also known as ‘The Bionic Hand’ and ‘The Boksburg Bomber’, has died in his native Boksburg, South Africa at age 67, on January 12, 2023, after a short illness of one week.
Coetzee’s professional boxing career rose up under the then South African apartheid regime, and along with the late Corrie Sanders, was one of the two most dominant South African heavyweights of his era. Fighting between 1974 and 1997, Coetzee compiled a record of 33-6-1 with 21 knockouts. He first came to prominence with his first round technical knockout of former World heavyweight champion ‘Neon’ Leon Spinks in June 1979 in a WBA elimination bout in Fontvieille, South Africa, dropping Spinks three times in a televised bout.
Coetzee had several surgeries on his right hand, leading some to call it a bionic right hand since he generated considerable power with the surgically altered right hand during his career. Leading into the Leon Spinks fight, Coetzee had defeated some well-known ‘B’ heavyweight veterans of the time, including Ron Stander, Jimmy Richards (twice), Mike Schutte (twice), Kallie Knoetze, Pierre Fourie, Randy Stephens, Ibar Arrington, Tom Prater and Johnny Boudreaux, but remained relatively unknown until he fought Spinks. Leon was coming off his two televised 15 round decision bouts with Muhammad Ali.
Coetzee, who held the South African Heavyweight title, was unsuccessful twice in his first two attempts to win the WBA World Heavyweight title, losing to Big John Tate (Lose 15), Mike ‘Hercules’ Weaver (KO by 13), then lost a horrible 10 round decision to contender Renaldo Snipes despite dropping him twice, then fought to a 10 round draw with 20-0 Pinklon Thomas.
In September 1983, Don King secured Coetzee a third attempt at the WBA World Heavyweight title, which he won in Richfield, Ohio, by tenth round knockout over 26-0-2 Michael ‘Dynamite’ Dokes, who was rumored to be on drugs at the time. In his first defense of the WBA title in December 1984, Coetzee got knocked out by Greg Page past the four minutes mark of the fourth round, as the bell had apparently intentionally not been rung. In September 1985, Coetzee won a 10 round decision over James ‘Quick’ Tillis, only to get knocked out in the first round by Frank Bruno at Wembley Arena in March 1986. Coetzee attempted a comeback seven years later, scoring three wins over no-name opponents, before a tenth round stoppage by Iran Barkley ended his career for good in June 1997 at age 42.
Between 1988 and 2012, Coetzee promoted boxing shows in South Africa. Coetzee also worked as a dental assistant. Coetzee vigorously opposed apartheid in South Africa. A movie about his life, entitled ‘Against All Odds’ (like the song by Phil Collins), was being filmed at the time of his passing, starring South African MMA star Dricus du Pleissis, directed by South African director Koos Roets.
Coetzee is survived by his wife Rina, his five children, and seven grandchildren. His daughter Lana told IOL Sport “As a human (being), he was second to none. He always talked about his (two) boxing matches against Mike Schutte. He remembered everything (every detail from those two fights for his life), as if it happened (yesterday).”
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