Pierre Coetzer (born 6 December 1961) is a former

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

boxer from

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, South Africa. Coetzer's most notable fights include those against

Johnny du Plooy Johnny du Plooy (27 September 1964 – 12 April 2013) was a former South African heavyweight boxer best known for his win over former WBA World Heavyweight champion Mike Weaver. He challenged once for the WBO World Heavyweight title in 1989. ...

Riddick Bowe Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2008. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1992, and as an amateur he won a silver medal in the super heavyw ...

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...

and

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...

Professional career

Coetzer began his professional boxing career in 1983. After winning his first nine fights, he was matched up against American cruiserweight Bernard Benton. In their July 1984 ten-round bout in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, Benton won on points. In September 1984, he fought Benny Knoetze for the vacant South African Heavyweight Title, and knocked him out in the third round, after being dropped twice in round two. Over the next three years, Coetzer notched a dozen victories; including wins against Larry Frazier, Eddie "Young Joe Louis" Taylor, and

Alfredo Evangelista Alfredo Evangelista (born December 3, 1954) is a former Uruguayan-born boxer. He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. "The Lynx of Montevideo" Evangelista faced Muhammad Ali in a bout for the world heavyweight championship in 1977, losing by unani ...

. He also won his rematch bout with Bernard Benton on 28 September 1987, when he knocked him out in the first round. He then faced Puerto Rican

Ossie Ocasio Osvaldo "Ossie" Ocasio (born August 12, 1955) is a Puerto Rican former boxer who held the world cruiserweight championship. Nicknamed "Jaws", his peculiar nickname was the result of him accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring sessio ...

, who had won the WBA Cruiserweight Championship, and who had defeated boxers such as Jimmy Young,

Dwight Muhammad Qawi Dwight Muhammad Qawi (born Dwight Braxton; January 5, 1953) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1978 to 1998. He was a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC and ''Ring'' magazine light heavyweight title ...

, and Robbie Williams. On 6 March 1988, they had their first match at the

Good Hope Centre The Good Hope Centre in Cape Town, South Africa (1976) by Pier Luigi Nervi, is an exhibition hall and conference centre, with the exhibition hall comprising an arch with tie-beam on each of the four vertical facades and two diagonal arches support ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Ocasio won the ten-round bout on points, which gave Coetzer his first loss since the South African Heavyweight Title. However, after defeating Tim Anderson (U.S.) and Manoel De Almeida (Brazil), Coetzer faced Ocasio in a rematch at the Standard Bank Indoor Arena, and won the ten-round bout on points. After six more wins, Coetzer faced local heavyweight

, who had won 196 of his 200 amateur fights, and who had scored 17 knockouts in his first 20 professional fights. They met on 4 August 1990 at the Sun City Superbowl, in a bout billed "Once and For All". Du Plooy cut Coetzer with his first right punch, and had him down towards the end of the first round, but Coetzer dropped Du Plooy twice in the second round and won the fight by TKO. Coetzer went on to earn a number-one contender spot for

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...

's IBF world title, but was made to fight a WBA Heavyweight Title Eliminator, scheduled for 12 rounds, against the number-two contender,

. The bout took place on 18 July 1992 in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. During the fight, Bowe was ahead in scoring, although Coetzer disagreed. In the sixth round, Bowe hit Coetzer below the belt, for which the referee

Mills Lane Mills Bee Lane III (November 12, 1937 – December 6, 2022) was an American boxing referee and professional boxer, a two-term Washoe County, Nevada district court judge, and television personality. Lane was best known for having officiated sev ...

had deducted a point. In the seventh round, Bowe hit Coetzer with what appeared to be a right-handed low blow. Coetzer turned away, and anticipated that Lane would warn Bowe, however, he left his hands down, and Bowe delivered a jolting right uppercut. Bowe then followed with a left and right that drove Coetzer into the ropes, which caused Lane to step in and end the match with a TKO. "It definitely shouldn't have been stopped," said Coetzer. "It was a low blow." Coetzer fought

from London, England. The referee stopped the fight in the eighth round and Bruno was awarded a TKO. His final career bout was against

; he was knocked down briefly in the fourth round, but eventually lost by TKO when he was knocked down again in the eighth.

Professional boxing record

, - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 39 Wins (27 knockouts, 12 decisions), 5 Losses (3 knockouts, 2 decisions) , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="width:80px; border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Loss , 39–5 , align=left,

, TKO , 8 , 1993-01-16 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 39–4 , align=left,

, TKO , 8 , 1992-10-17 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 39–3 , align=left,

, TKO , 7 , 1992-07-18 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 39–2 , align=left, Carlton West , TKO , 1 , 1992-05-16 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 38–2 , align=left, Dan Murphy , TKO , 3 , 1991-10-19 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 37–2 , align=left, Jerry Halstead , PTS , 10 , 1991-07-27 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 36–2 , align=left,

José Ribalta José Manuel Ribalta (born March 31, 1963) is a Cuban former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1982 to 1999. He is best known for his fight against Mike Tyson in 1986. Early years Ribalta's family fled Cuba by wa ...

, PTS , 10 , 1991-05-11 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 35–2 , align=left, Ken Lakusta , TKO , 2 , 1990-12-16 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 34–2 , align=left, Kimmuel Odum , TKO , 10 , 1990-12-15 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 33–2 , align=left,

J.B. Williamson James Bennett Williamson (born December 18, 1956, in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a retired American Professional boxing, professional boxer who held the World Boxing Council, WBC light heavyweight title in 1985. Professional career Williamson tu ...

, PTS , 10 , 1990-11-08 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 32–2 , align=left,

, TKO , 2 , 1990-08-04 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 31–2 , align=left, Philipp Brown , TKO , 9 , 1990-06-09 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 30–2 , align=left, Everett Martin , UD , 10 , 1990-05-05 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 29–2 , align=left, Bobby Hitz , KO , 1 , 1989-09-09 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 28–2 , align=left, Michael Greer , KO , 6 , 1989-05-29 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 27–2 , align=left, James Pritchard , TKO , 8 , 1989-03-18 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 26–2 , align=left, Mike White , TKO , 8 , 1989-02-11 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 25–2 , align=left,

, PTS , 10 , 1988-11-26 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 24–2 , align=left, Manoel De Almeida , TKO , 4 , 1988-09-28 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 23–2 , align=left, Tim Anderson , KO , 2 , 1988-08-15 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 22–2 , align=left, Ossie Ocasio , PTS , 10 , 1988-03-06 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 22–1 , align=left, Bernard Benton , KO , 1 , 1987-09-28 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 21–1 , align=left,

, PTS , 10 , 1987-08-30 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 20–1 , align=left, Chris Jacobs , KO , 2 , 1987-03-08 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 19–1 , align=left, Luis Lozano , KO , 1 , 1986-09-27 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 18–1 , align=left, Kevin P Porter , TKO , 6 , 1986-05-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 17–1 , align=left, Tommy Franco Thomas , TKO , 2 , 1986-04-02 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 16–1 , align=left, Eddie Taylor , TKO , 9 , 1986-02-19 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 15–1 , align=left, Larry Frazier , PTS , 10 , 1985-09-30 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 14–1 , align=left, Dion Simpson , TKO , 8 , 1985-09-07 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 13–1 , align=left,

David Jaco David Lee Jaco (born January 24, 1954Steven Ponall (June 22, 2003). "The Fights of His Life". ''The Bradenton Herald'' (Database: NewsBank Retrieved January 26, 2014).) is a retired heavyweight boxer. He spent his career as a journeyman, fighting b ...

, KO , 6 , 1985-07-08 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 12–1 , align=left, Rocky Sekorski , PTS , 10 , 1985-05-13 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 11–1 , align=left, Mark Lee , PTS , 10 , 1985-03-25 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 10–1 , align=left, Bennie Knoetze , KO , 3 , 1984-09-22 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Loss , 9–1 , align=left, Bernard Benton , PTS , 10 , 1984-07-16 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Leroy Caldwell , PTS , 8 , 1984-05-21 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Felipe Rodriguez , TKO , 2 , 1984-03-31 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Billy Joe Thomas , TKO , 5 , 1984-01-28 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Steve Gee , PTS , 8 , 1983-09-03 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Ron Ellis , KO , 4 , 1983-07-04 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Louis Hendricks , TKO , 5 , 1983-06-11 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Jerry Shezi , PTS , 6 , 1983-04-23 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Caiphus Masondo , KO , 2 , 1983-03-14 , align=left, , align=left, , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Isaac Ndlamlenze , TKO , 1 , 1983-02-05 , align=left, , align=left,

References

External links

*
Pierre Coetzer
at sportspotter.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Coetzer, Pierre 1961 births Living people Sportspeople from Pretoria Heavyweight boxers South African male boxers