SA boxing’s unfilled epic rivalry
Nearly 42 years ago in South African boxing history, a classic fight which the famed editor of Knockout magazine Reg Haswell described as probably the best heavyweight bout he had seen in this country took place at the Rand Stadium in 1976.
It featured the two best heavyweights of the generation in Gerrie Coetzee and Pierre Knoetze, who had fought each other six times as amateurs.
Knoetze won the first of these bouts, when Coetzee was 15 and Knoetze 17, and Coetzee the second.
A year later Knoetze won the third and in April 1973 won on a split decision in the final of the SA Games in Pretoria.
As an 18-year-old, Coetzee knocked out Knoetze in the third round of the final at the SA championships in Cape Town and two months later in Pretoria again knocked out Knoetze.
So the scene was set for their only professionals meeting on October 30, 1976, with history showing Coetzee winning on points over 10 rounds in a non-title fight.
However, when they met as professionals it was a different story. The crowd was disappointingly small for a ring battle that should have packed the stadium. The 22-year-old Coetzee was entering the ring for the 14th time in the professional ranks, boasting a record of 13-0 and Knoetze, 23, was gearing up for this eighth fight with his only loss coming in his last fight when he was disqualified against Raul Gorosito.
Just months prior to their meeting, Coetzee won the SA heavyweight title from Mike Schutte on a sixth-round disqualification in a foul-filled fight.
In what was too become an epic bout, Knoetze lost the early rounds and was knocked down in the third round when he was caught with a left hook from Coetzee and by the halfway stage was clearly behind.
He came on strong in the second half of the fight as Coetzee began to tire, but was warned on two occasions for kidney punches and once for butting with the head by referee Stan Christodoulou.
There was much controversy after the result was announced in favour of Coetzee as many at ringside were of the opinion that Knoetze should have got the decision. It was even reported after the fight that Coetzee went into the bout against medical advice due to a pulled back muscle.
Coetzee would go on to win his next eight fights which included a sensational first round stoppage win over former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks.
Then in a rather disappointing performance on October 20, 1979 at Loftus Versfeld he was beaten on points over 15 rounds by John Tate in a clash for the vacant WBA heavyweight title.
He had a second crack at trying to win the WBA heavyweight title but was stopped in the 13th round by Mike Weaver at Sun City.
Then on September 23, 1983 in what was a historic night in South African boxing he knocked out Michael Dokes in the 10th round at the Richfield Coliseum, in Richfield, Ohio to win the WBA heavyweight title.
Unfortunately, Coetzee and Knoetze never had a return fight as Knoetze went on to score a sensational second-round knockout over Mike Schutte to claim the vacant white SA heavyweight title.
Knoetze would win his next five fights inside the distance before facing John Tate at the Independence Stadium in Mmabatho on June 2, 1979, in an eliminator for the WBA heavyweight title.
In a rather lacklustre performance he was stopped in the eighth round when referee Isidro Rodriguez stopped the fight at 2:52 into the round.