Pierre Coetzer | |
---|---|
Statistics | |
Rated at | Heavyweight |
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Nationality | South African |
Born |
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa |
6 December 1961
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 44 |
Wins | 39 |
Wins by KO | 27 |
Losses | 5 |
Draws | 0 |
No contests | 0 |
Pierre Coetzer (born 12 June 1961) is a former heavyweight boxer from Pretoria, South Africa. Coetzer's most notable fights include those against Johnny du Plooy, Riddick Bowe, Frank Bruno and George Foreman.
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, 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.
Over the next three years, Coetzer notched a dozen victories; including wins against Larry Frazier, Eddie "Young Joe Louis" Taylor, and Alfredo Evangelista. 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, who had won the WBA Cruiserweight Championship, and who had defeated boxers such as Jimmy Young, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, and Robbie Williams. On 6 March 1988, they had their first match at the Good Hope Centre in Cape Town. 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 (USA) 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 Johnny du Plooy, 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.