Gerrie Coetzee Vs. Michael Dokes - Pre Fight Details

Pre Fight Details

Michael Dokes had been the WBA's world heavyweight champion since December 10, 1982, when referee Joey Curtis stopped his fight with Mike Weaver 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 he had been impacted by Duk Koo Kim's death three weeks before, and a rematch was ordered. On May 20, 1983, Dokes and Weaver fought to a fifteen round draw (tie), with Dokes keeping the world title.

Gerrie Coetzee, meanwhile, had been a contender for many years, losing in previous title tries to Weaver and to John Tate. He had also lost a ten round split decision to Renaldo Snipes in a fight where he had sent Snipes down twice, in rounds one and four.

While the match-up itself could have been as racially provoking as 1982's Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney 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.

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 Coetzee, even as his two previous world championship attempts, held in South Africa, were against Tate and Weaver, who were Blacks as well.

One fact that was somewhat important for the fight to gain public interest was that, while not considered a "White hope", like Cooney had been before his fight with Holmes, Coetzee would be attempting to become the first White world Heavyweight champion since 1960, when Ingemar Johansson reigned after defeating Floyd Patterson.