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Right," so named because it was so often broken, it was surgically fused as a solid fist, giving
Coetzee a supposedly unnaturally powerful punch. While it was indeed broken and operated upon often, it was actually just a repaired hand with no club-like qualities) following left jabs flicked out, but which were used more for mere effect. In this bout, Coetzee threw a great number of left hooks while applying his trademark pressure. Dokes' smooth boxing and speed of hand and foot were not resulting in controlling the bout, and Coetzee was not wearing down.
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Dokes v. Coetzee was seen as the continuation of the ascension of
Michael Dokes into a true Heavyweight star. While he drew in his rematch with Weaver, he had all the markings of a real legitimate Heavyweight titlist. He was fluid, fast and had good power. He looked the part in the post-Ali landscape
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Dokes began to back up, and while he landed several hooks, Coetzee weathered them. Coetzee struck again in the 10th, hurting Dokes and pinning him against the ropes, raking him with right hands. He connected with another hard right that sent Dokes to the canvas again, this time with his body rolling
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But, there was one fact that did not allow for the fight's promotional stage to take on a racial tune as did Holmes-Cooney one year before: Coetzee was openly opposed to
Apartheid, publicly suggesting that he was not racist. As a matter of a fact, it is believed that most South African Blacks backed
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in the first round. It was a controversial stoppage: Weaver and his management team, led by Hector "the Toe" Carlson, formally filed a complaint to the WBA's investigation committee, based on their opinion that Weaver was in condition to keep fighting when the fight was halted. Curtis declared that
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Coetzee, unlike in the Tate and Weaver bouts where he was considered a real threat, was a decided underdog in the odds, as well as in the opinion of the fight crowd. For the first few rounds the script played as it was written, as Dokes flashed his impressive hand speed, and combined head and body
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Coetzee was a two-time loser in title shots, while Dokes was looked on as a young gun destined (perhaps?) to challenge long-time pro Larry Holmes' supremacy in the
Heavyweight ranks. Dokes entered the ring by throwing flowers and blowing kisses to the ladies present at the event (a customary thing
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Unlike in his previous high-profile bouts, Coetzee gained confidence instead of fading. Previously, Coetzee would dominate the early rounds against top opposition, only to 'hit a wall.' He also had been a virtually one-armed fighter, relying almost solely on big right hands (the so-called "Bionic
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stepped in to save the promotion, only to back out. Coetzee and Holmes both wanted the bout, with
Coetzee even willing to relinquish the WBA title to have the bout come off. Don King's grip on Coetzee's management and promotion also was an impediment. Coetzee re-injured his right hand during
516:. In the interview immediately following the bout, Dokes protested the stoppage as being premature, and demanded a return match with Bowe. Dokes subsequently had run-ins with the law, and would ultimately succumb to liver cancer in August 2012, dying the day after his 54th birthday.
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as the "Best
Heavyweight fight of the 1980s." In 1993, after having beaten a string of mostly fringe contenders, he received a shot at recovering the WBA title, (and gain the IBF world title on the process), but he was
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for him to do before his fights) . Dokes' self-image of the lady killer was reminiscent of
Gorgeous George, the wrestler. Coetzee didn't preen or pose but walked to the ring in the more traditional style.
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until he could grab one of the ring's ropes with his right hand glove. Dokes was not able to get up, and
Coetzee became the first White boxer in 23 years to win a world Heavyweight title, and the first
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fight, it was not. Most boxing fans and critics considered Holmes the legitimate world
Heavyweight champion, and there were different views concerning the Black versus White factor on this fight.
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after the WBC stripped him. The bout's particulars never came off due to JPD Sports, the backer of the bout, failing to deliver the money for the bout.
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for the highly anticipated unification bout, forcing it to be cancelled. Holmes had been deposed by the WBC for failing to defend his title against
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Coetzee, even as his two previous world championship attempts, held in South Africa, were against Tate and Weaver, who were Blacks as well.
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had been before his fight with Holmes, Coetzee would be attempting to become the first White world
Heavyweight champion since 1960, when
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of jabbing, fleet-footed big men. The flip-side of the angle of the bout was this would likely be the last shot for the South African.
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He was not able to fight for a year and two months after winning the title. He was scheduled to have a unification bout with deposed
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shots to keep Coetzee off balance. In the fifth round, however, things changed when Coetzee connected with a right hand to Dokes'
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One fact that was somewhat important for the fight to gain public interest was that, while not considered a "White hope", like
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Coetzee broke his right hand with the same punch that he knocked Dokes out with. Five days later, he underwent surgery in
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Gerrie Coetzee, meanwhile, had been a contender for many years, losing in previous title tries to Weaver and to
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in Las Vegas. Dokes had several comebacks, notably during the late 1980s and the early 1990s. His
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Michael Dokes had been the WBA's world heavyweight champion since December 10, 1982, when referee
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While the match-up itself could have been as racially provoking as 1982's
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in a fight where he had sent Snipes down twice, in rounds one and four.
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At the time of the stoppage Dokes was ahead on all three scorecards.
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outpointed Snipes over ten rounds, and future world champion
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where he was stopped after 10 exciting rounds, was named by
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Dokes also faced trouble after the fight, in his case, with
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champion Holmes, who had been accepted as champion by the
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World Boxing Association heavyweight championship matches
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match that took place on September 23, 1983, at the
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287:Dokes and Weaver fought to a fifteen-round draw
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221:Coetzee defeated Dokes via 10th round KO
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369:'s ten-round decision win over future
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892:Boxing matches in the United States
711:"Michael Dokes vs. Gerrie Coetzee"
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166:6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
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207:No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight
177:215 lb (98 kg)
174:217 lb (98 kg)
64:Heavyweight Championship
50:Richfield Township, Ohio
877:1983 in sports in Ohio
504:in the first round by
240:", was a professional
238:The Buckeye Homecoming
20:The Buckeye Homecoming
510:Madison Square Garden
381:challengers in which
857:talk about the fight
200:Heavyweight Champion
57:Title(s) on the line
792:September 23, 1983
765:September 23, 1983
383:Alfredo Evangelista
260:heavyweight title.
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753:vs. Mike Weaver II
631:Ronnie Nathanielsz
485:Randall "Tex" Cobb
336:Richfield Coliseum
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37:September 23, 1983
16:Boxing competition
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109:"The Bionic Hand"
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371:Aaron Pryor
359:Puerto Rico
283:Duk Koo Kim
278:Mike Weaver
270:Joey Curtis
256:for Dokes'
193:Recognition
118:Akron, Ohio
866:Categories
715:boxrec.com
697:References
403:HBO Boxing
373:conqueror
264:Background
106:"Dynamite"
799:Greg Page
789:'s bouts
555:Australia
520:Undercard
474:Greg Page
440:Aftermath
399:televised
348:Cleveland
330:The fight
294:John Tate
128:Transvaal
824:The Ring
762:' bouts
721:22 March
717:. BoxRec
604:Televisa
535:Country
470:training
395:Don King
355:knockout
272:stopped
188:Orthodox
185:Orthodox
124:Boksburg
114:Hometown
103:Nickname
806:Awards
502:stopped
431:African
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577:Canada
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379:Holmes
316:Cooney
242:boxing
216:Result
171:Weight
160:Height
830:1983
626:MBS 4
512:, in
508:, at
489:fight
481:drugs
344:Akron
276:with
182:Style
78:Boxer
42:Venue
839:vs.
797:vs.
778:vs.
723:2024
687:and
231:vs.
120:, US
34:Date
676:HBO
651:ITV
461:IBF
457:WBC
419:jaw
361:'s
338:in
258:WBA
248:in
204:WBA
197:WBA
149:Age
62:WBA
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