Boxing legend Gerrie Coetzee has died

Former heavyweight boxer Gerrie Coetzee has died. He was 67.

Coetzee’s manager Thinus Strydom confirmed to News24 that he lost his battle with lung cancer on Thursday at his home in Cape Town.

Record-breaking giant

Born in Boksburg in April 1955, Gerhardus Christian Coetzee was the oldest of four children and his father Flip, an amateur boxing trainer, coaxed him into the sport by offering him pocket money every time he stepped into the ring.

Eventually developing a passion for boxing, Coetzee went on to enhance his skills throughout his youth, competing in nearly 200 amateur bouts for only seven defeats.

Graduating to the highest level, he made his professional debut in September 1974 at the age of 19, when he beat Chris Roos on points in a four-round contest.

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He went on to win another 21 successive fights over the next five years, and in June 1979, sent ripples through the boxing world when he dropped American giant Leon Spinks three times in the first round. He was given a technical knockout victory in Monaco, just nine months after Spinks had caused a spectacular upset by defeating esteemed countryman Muhammad Ali.

Having turned heads around the globe, Coetzee was given his big shot four months later.

He made history as the first fighter from Africa to contest for a heavyweight world title, and lost to John Tate in a battle for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) belt in Pretoria, and though he got another chance the following year, he fell to another American, Mike Weaver, at Sun City.

In September 1983, he made history once more when he knocked out Michael Dokes in the 10th round in Ohio, becoming the first fighter from Africa to win a global heavyweight crown, the WBA belt.

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‘Giant has fallen’

Tributes have been pouring in on social media media as South Africans share fond memories of the boxing legend.

“A boxing legend has fallen. Go rest high in that mountain Gerrie Coetzee. I remember how we used to wake up in the early hours of the morning, to see you fight. World Champion WBA. Nothing but love to your family,” wrote Jerome Samuels on Facebook, while Adriaan Harding shared: “R.I.P. oom Gerrie Coetzee. The last time I saw you you took me and Marlize Brits to our matric farewell…. will never ever forget that day.”

Additional reporting by Wesley Botton