Cornelius Johannes "Corrie" Sanders (7 January 1966 – 23 September 2012) was a South African
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 1989 to 2008. He won the
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
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 W ...
title in 2003 after knocking out
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
in two rounds, which was considered one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history; ''The Ring'' magazine named it the Upset of the Year. In 2004, having vacated the WBO title, Sanders faced Wladimir's brother
Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of KyivWBC and ''Ring'' heavyweight titles. He also held the WBU heavyweight title from 1997 until 2000. Sanders' other notable achievements include holding the South Africa national heavyweight title in 1991, defeating former cruiserweight champions
Carlos de León
Carlos may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Carlos, Alberta, a locality
;United States
* Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County
* Carlos, Minnesota, a small city
* Carlos, West Virginia
;Elsewher ...
and
Bobby Czyz
Robert Edward Czyz ( ; born February 10, 1962) is an American retired boxer and commentator. Czyz was a two-division world titlist at light heavyweight and cruiserweight.
Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey. He grew up in Wanaque, New Jersey a ...
by first round and second-round knockout respectively, and losing in a close slugfest fight with future unified and two-time world heavyweight champion
Hasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified World Boxing Council, WBC, International Boxing Federation, ...
(Rahman and Sanders both knocked each other down during the bout, and Sanders was ahead on the judges' scorecards prior to the stoppage).
Nicknamed The Sniper, Sanders was a southpaw with a long
reach
Reach or REACH may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Reach plc, formerly Trinity Mirror, large British newspaper, magazine, and digital publisher
* Reach Canada, an NGO in Canada
* Reach Limited, an Asia Pacific cable network company ...
, and was known for carrying formidable
knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
labeled Sanders the hardest puncher he ever faced in a December 2014 interview with ''Ring'' magazine, saying: "I’ve been in boxing for 25 years and I never fought anybody in this game that punched like Corrie Sanders."
Hasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified World Boxing Council, WBC, International Boxing Federation, ...
said of Sanders following their match: "I've never been hit that hard in my life."
He died in a hospital in the early hours of 23 September 2012 after being shot during an armed robbery.
Early life and amateur career
Sanders grew up in Brits, South Africa, and was of
Afrikaner
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cast ...
descent. Having been introduced to boxing by his uncle, Sanders finished his
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist.
History
...
career in the late 1980s with 180 wins and 11 losses.
Professional career
Sanders made his professional debut in 1989 with a first-round
knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...
of King Kong Dyubele on 2 April 1989. He went on to win his next 22 bouts, 14 by knockout. Among the fighters he defeated during that streak were Steve Zouski, Art Card, future WBO cruiserweight champion
Johnny Nelson
Ivanson Ranny "Johnny" Nelson (born 4 January 1967) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005, and has since worked as a boxing analyst. He is currently the longest reigning world cruiserweight champion of all time ...
, and future world title challenger
Bert Cooper
Bertram Cooper (January 10, 1966 – May 10, 2019), nicknamed Smokin' Bert Cooper, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2012. He fought Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer, Chris Byrd, Ray M ...
. In his 24th bout, on 21 May 1994, Sanders suffered his first defeat, at the hands of Nate Tubbs via a second-round knockout.
He fought 12 more times over the next five years, including a first-round knockout over former world cruiserweight champion
Carlos De León
Carlos may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Carlos, Alberta, a locality
;United States
* Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County
* Carlos, Minnesota, a small city
* Carlos, West Virginia
;Elsewher ...
and a second-round knockout over another former world champion,
Bobby Czyz
Robert Edward Czyz ( ; born February 10, 1962) is an American retired boxer and commentator. Czyz was a two-division world titlist at light heavyweight and cruiserweight.
Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey. He grew up in Wanaque, New Jersey a ...
. A stoppage loss to future
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 W ...
champion
Hasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified World Boxing Council, WBC, International Boxing Federation, ...
in a bout Sanders was winning confirmed his ability and also his vulnerability. Returning to the ring in 2001 he scored a quick win over
Michael Sprott
Michael Sprott (born 16 January 1975) is a British former professional boxer. He held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles in 2004 and the EBU European Union heavyweight title twice between 2005 and 2007. He was the winner of the 14 ...
and then followed this up with a defeat of Otis Tisdale in 2002. Corrie Sanders' biggest weapons were his southpaw fast hands that he used to knock fighters out early.
WBO heavyweight champion
Despite the fact that he had fought only three rounds in the last two years, the
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
sanctioned a challenge to their heavyweight champion
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
. On 8 March 2003, Sanders provided a stunning upset in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, by dropping Klitschko four times to snatch the Ukrainian's belt by a second-round knockout.
WBC heavyweight title challenge
Sanders vacated the
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
title in December 2003 after refusing to fight the organization's No.1 contender Lamon Brewster. He then signed a contract to fight for the vacant WBC belt. The fight took place on 24 April 2004, against Wladimir's older brother, Vitali. Sanders was stopped by Vitali in the eighth round of the fight in the
Staples Center
Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it w ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. After Sanders death, Vitali went on to pay his respects to Sanders by calling this the hardest fight of his career.
Eight months later, Sanders knocked out Alexei Varakin in the second round of a contest in Soelden,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in December 2004. He briefly retired after that bout.
Sanders returned to action after two years in November 2006 to score a second round stoppage win over the Australian heavyweight champion Colin Wilson at the Convention Centre in
Mafikeng
Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa.
Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg. In ...
. He had signed with Golden Gloves Promotions, and won another bout in South Africa against Brazilian Daniel Bispo in May 2007. His last bout, of the South African heavyweight title, was a loss to Osborne Machimana, a bout he took despite being injured beforehand. Sanders' final record was 42 wins (31 by knockout) and 4 losses.
Death
On 22 September 2012, Sanders was fatally shot in an armed robbery at a restaurant called Thatch Haven in Brits, South Africa, where a function was being held for his nephew's 21st birthday. Sanders was taken to a hospital in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...
, where he died in the early hours of 23 September 2012 of his wounds. Sanders' widow, Suzette Sanders, said Corrie died a hero, using his body to protect his daughter from oncoming bullets.
Sanders had been near the entrance of the restaurant talking to his daughter Marinique and a cousin when three robbers entered firing their guns, striking Sanders in the stomach and arm as he moved in front of his daughter to protect her. Sanders was already bleeding from his wounds when he pulled her to the ground and told her to pretend she was dead.
On 27 September 2012, following a tip-off, North West police arrested three men in Oukasie near Brits, charging them with the murder of Sanders. All three were citizens of
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
. At one address, two suspects were apprehended and police recovered a cellular phone, a vehicle key, a purse and cash stolen during the robbery. Police then went to a second address, arrested a third suspect, and recovered a handbag also stolen in the robbery. The trial was postponed until August 2013 as investigators attempted to use a fourth suspect, now serving a 30-year sentence in Zimbabwe for killing a police officer, to locate the gun used in the crime.
On 11 February 2015 at a High Court in Pretoria, Judge Ferdi Preller sentenced Paida Fish, Chris Moyo and Samuel Mabena each to 43 years' imprisonment, of which they have to serve 30, on charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...