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00:00:00♪♪
00:00:02You're watching America's leading pay-TV network, HBO.
00:00:07♪♪
00:00:10♪♪
00:00:14The heavyweight division in the 60s and 70s was dominated by Muhammad Ali.
00:00:19His flamboyance in and out of the ring revitalized the sport of boxing.
00:00:23But by the late 70s, as the greatest lost his luster,
00:00:28a new champion waited in the wings.
00:00:30Larry Holmes emerged as the WBC heavyweight champion in 1978
00:00:35after a brutal 15-round decision with Ken Norton.
00:00:38Now, five years later, he is on the verge of retirement.
00:00:41And another champion, Michael Doach, who won the WBA heavyweight title
00:00:45with a first-round knockout of a Mike Weaver, seeks public recognition.
00:00:50But first, he must get by the man with the bionic fist, Jerry Coetzee.
00:00:54The WBA's number one contender has one of the most feared knockout punches in boxing.
00:00:59Maybe I can't talk as good as I thought, but I can sure promise you
00:01:04I'll fight better than what I talk.
00:01:06The only way I can see Coetzee will be victorious is to kill me.
00:01:10♪♪
00:01:18You're the boss out there. Give me that. Give me that. Give me that.
00:01:21I want that on me.
00:01:24♪♪
00:01:31Tonight, Michael Doach takes on Jerry Coetzee
00:01:34in the second-defensivest WBA title.
00:01:37♪♪
00:01:42We're in the heartland of America, the Midwest,
00:01:45the picturesque state of Ohio near the banks of Lake Erie and the city of Cleveland.
00:01:52And if you travel about 70 miles south, you'll come to Akron, Ohio,
00:01:56known as the tire capital of the world.
00:01:59Akron not only manufactures automotive accessories,
00:02:02it also produces champions like Michael Doach.
00:02:05And halfway between these cities sits the rural town of Richfield,
00:02:09which is the home of a beautiful arena.
00:02:14And we're live from the Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio,
00:02:17where HBO Sports presents World Championship Boxing.
00:02:21The main event, WBA heavyweight champion Michael Doach
00:02:24defends his crown against the number-one contender Jerry Coetzee.
00:02:28We're down the road from the champions' hometown at Akron,
00:02:31and his avid supporters have made the short trip
00:02:33and are ready to rock this beautiful arena with vocal support for their hero.
00:02:40Hello, everybody. I'm Barry Tompkins.
00:02:42What's more, along with Sugar Ray Leonard and Larry Merchant,
00:02:45Coetzee and Doach, a fight about which there are a number of question marks.
00:02:48Is Michael Doach coming back too soon from a tough 15-round fight just four months ago?
00:02:53How is the right hand of Jerry Coetzee really?
00:02:56And another big question mark, the stamina of both fighters.
00:02:59Ray Leonard, one thing that is not at all a question mark.
00:03:01We know both these men are going to come out firing at the opening bell.
00:03:04Well, Barry, as a parent, both men can punch.
00:03:06We might just see a replay of what took place when Doach stopped Weaver, the first encounter.
00:03:11How do you see this fight going, and what do you think about the fact
00:03:14that Michael Doach is coming back just four months after a tough fight,
00:03:17not unlike your own with Roberto Duran?
00:03:19Well, the second fight that Michael Doach had with Mike Weaver,
00:03:21it was a very physical fight. It took a lot out of Michael Doach.
00:03:24But Michael Doach is a young fighter, a very aggressive fighter,
00:03:27and youth is always an advantage.
00:03:30We know these two guys might be the original odd couple.
00:03:33For all their differences, they are alike.
00:03:35For all their similarities, they are different.
00:03:38Each can win for a different reason.
00:03:46He's a tough one because he's quick, he's young, and he's still fresh.
00:03:51He just won the title. He doesn't want to lose it in his second defense.
00:03:56It's going to be difficult.
00:03:58I was always competitive.
00:04:00I always wanted to do a little bit better than what my friends did.
00:04:06Meet Jerry Coetzee, a man with many goals.
00:04:09Jerry Coetzee was born and raised in South Africa,
00:04:13a soft-spoken private family man who as a child was taught to reach for the highest goals.
00:04:19He's been a dental technician, a racehorse owner, and the proprietor of a tire dealership.
00:04:24But Jerry is best known as a boxer,
00:04:27a career that began with some prodding from the medical profession, of all things.
00:04:33I had severe asthma, and the doctor recommended that I should take a sport.
00:04:41And because my father has been a fighter, he took me to the gym.
00:04:47He took to the gym as though he was born there.
00:04:50With his father by his side, Coetzee racked up 235 amateur and professional fights.
00:04:58Recurrent injuries to his right hand produced a scientific phenomenon.
00:05:03Since I had my first problem back in 77, I had 15 hand operations.
00:05:12What they've done, they've done a fusion right across, this way and sideways.
00:05:20It's one solid piece of bone in the hand.
00:05:24And, well, if I was younger, I would have had my left hand being done the same as my right hand,
00:05:32and I would have had two Bahami cans.
00:05:34Well, the difference is that he is a power and a killer, and I'm a speed and I'm a thriller.
00:05:42Besides a common boxing interest, the only similarities between Coetzee and Dokes are their differences.
00:05:48A 25-year-old flamboyant bachelor, he calls himself Dynamite,
00:05:52and credits his mother as being the most influential person in his boxing career.
00:05:56He grew up 10,000 miles from South Africa, in Akron, Ohio,
00:06:00virtually another world when compared to the apartheid homeland of Jerry Coetzee.
00:06:04At the age of 12, he began his boxing career and excelled as an amateur,
00:06:08along with fellow American teammates Sugar Ray Leonard, Aaron Pryor, and Leon Spinks.
00:06:13Before each fight, he carries a trademark to the ring, different from any other boxer.
00:06:19I throw roses prior to every fight in tribute to my mother,
00:06:23and also to all the females that come to the fight to patronize the fight.
00:06:29The show is just not a barbaric sport, it's more of an artistic type of thing.
00:06:34Managed by Don King's son, Carl, Michael has refined his art at King's Boxing Camp in Orwell, Ohio.
00:06:42On December 10th, in a controversial ending, Dokes stopped WBA champion Mike Weaver,
00:06:4863 seconds into the first round of a championship fight.
00:06:55These two men have one thing in common, boxing.
00:06:59And specifically, the WBA heavyweight championship of the world.
00:07:03While Akron, Ohio is a long way from Boxburg, South Africa,
00:07:07the two corners of the ring produce a common ground.
00:07:10The result of the confrontation depends on how well they know each other, round for round.
00:07:18This is round 13 of Kusea-Weaver fight.
00:07:21Kusea's not as effective moving backwards as he is coming forward.
00:07:30Good shot by Weaver, he may have showed me something there.
00:07:34Surprising thing about this fight, Weaver is catching Kusea, who's left jab.
00:07:44Where I would have went about it was probably in the later rounds,
00:07:50just as Weaver did to apply pressure to Kusea.
00:07:54I don't think he's as devastating a puncher in the later rounds as he is in the earlier rounds.
00:07:59He's got that idea that he can stop everybody in the first round.
00:08:05Dokes is all over Weaver.
00:08:10He's throwing very quick punches, I don't think it's that powerful.
00:08:15Any heavyweight is a powerful puncher.
00:08:19The referee is stepping in, it looks like he wants to break the fight.
00:08:24Then he's lifting Dokes' hands, and I don't think Dokes can really believe it.
00:08:30I don't think it was fair that the referee stopped the fight that quick,
00:08:34and that Dokes got the fight, and taking the title from Weaver that easy.
00:08:39You can see that in the later rounds that Kusea's right hand isn't as devastating as it would be in the earlier rounds.
00:08:48This is round number 10 of Kusea's most recent fight with Pequin Thomas.
00:08:54I see another thing that would be good with Kusea's overhand right.
00:09:00He looks like he's very vulnerable for overhand right.
00:09:03One thing that I always say, a guy that throws a right hand can be caught with a right hand.
00:09:07And that's just the key right here with Pequin Thomas.
00:09:10Thomas showed me the overhand right was very effective in this fight,
00:09:14which I think that is one of my main attributes, is my overhand right.
00:09:19To me, what Dokes is showing me here is that he did tie in the later rounds.
00:09:25That's one of his weak spots I've got to concentrate on.
00:09:30I'm very sure that he never expected this kind of fight from Mark Weaver.
00:09:37Dokes really is just hanging on in this last round.
00:09:43And he hasn't got that hand speed he had in the earlier rounds.
00:09:49They're just both slugging it out.
00:09:53Now I knew I gave Weaver also one hell of a fight.
00:09:57Now I'm training with Americans.
00:10:00My style is changing.
00:10:03So I'm giving myself a better chance than what I had in 1981.
00:10:08Tonight, it's September 23rd, 1983.
00:10:11And this is the battle for the WBA heavyweight title.
00:10:14The fight is far from over.
00:10:28I want it more than anything I've wanted
00:10:33Save me, darling
00:10:36I've found what I am longing for
00:10:42Give me something
00:10:45I need it all cause I am right over
00:10:57So it's the WBA heavyweight championship between the champion Michael Dokes
00:11:01and the challenger Jerry Coetzee.
00:11:04It's been a long time between championship fights for the good folks of Cleveland.
00:11:07And wouldn't you know it, our boxing sage Larry Merchant remembers.
00:11:11Larry?
00:11:12Larry, the last time I was in this building, Muhammad Ali fought Chuck Wepner.
00:11:17That night eight years ago was memorable for two reasons.
00:11:21The first is that Wepner, affectionately known as the Bayonne Bleeder, a club fighter
00:11:26fought so valiantly that he inspired Sylvester Stallone to invent the character Rocky Balboa.
00:11:32Also, there was an inspirational pep talk that night before the 15th round
00:11:37by one of Wepner's co-handlers, the late Paddy Flood.
00:11:41He said to Wepner, look, you have everything.
00:11:45You're big in Bayonne.
00:11:46You have a bar.
00:11:47You have beautiful women.
00:11:48You have a big car.
00:11:49We have nothing.
00:11:51So go out there and win it for us.
00:11:54Well, there is a vague connection between that night and tonight.
00:11:58And not because Coetzee is a club fighter.
00:12:01He's acquitted himself admirably and professionally against some of the best heavyweights in the world.
00:12:06But he does need pep talking.
00:12:09He confesses that he has held American heavyweights too much in awe in the past,
00:12:14starting with his worship of Muhammad Ali.
00:12:18He's like the small-town kid who really doesn't believe he can make it in the big, big time.
00:12:24Well, all that is behind him now, he insists.
00:12:27We'll see about that tonight.
00:12:29The oddsmakers say it ain't so, and they say it vehemently.
00:12:32And so does the champion.
00:12:34We're here to find out if it's true or not.
00:12:37Barry?
00:12:38Okay, thank you very much, Larry.
00:12:40No time like the present for this man to get some confidence, Ray Leonard.
00:12:43The other side of that coin, while Jerry Coetzee has been in awe of Muhammad Ali,
00:12:48Michael Dokes never has been.
00:12:50He told Ali when he was 15 years old,
00:12:52I'm going to get you, old man.
00:12:54He never really did, but now he is the champion.
00:12:56Well, the name of success is the fact that one must believe within himself.
00:13:00And the only thing I don't like about Jerry Coetzee is the fact that his self-confidence,
00:13:05he lacks very little of that.
00:13:08Well, he has said that himself.
00:13:10By his own admission, he is a 10-round fighter,
00:13:14and that's something I think he's got to start to believe,
00:13:16that at least he can go 15 rounds.
00:13:18Well, he can go 15 rounds.
00:13:20He's always in tip-top shape, Barry,
00:13:22and the fact that he punches so, so hard.
00:13:25This man, though, has been a noted frontrunner.
00:13:27He's been ahead in almost every one of the fights that he lost,
00:13:30to John Tate, to Mike Weaver, almost all of those fights,
00:13:34he has been ahead and has lost in the closing rounds.
00:13:36Snipes was another guy.
00:13:38I think what we're going to see tonight is the fact that
00:13:40Michael Dokes may just run upon him,
00:13:43try to get him out early,
00:13:45or it might be just the other way around.
00:13:47Jerry Coetzee may attack Dokes in the early round.
00:13:50You take a look at the won-and-lost record of Jerry Coetzee.
00:13:53It is impressive, but this, of course, is his third chance,
00:13:56and you have to think his last shot at a title.
00:14:00One of the paradoxes of Coetzee is that he is widely respected for having a good punch,
00:14:06but at the same time, when he fought John Tate and Mike Weaver,
00:14:11we didn't see any evidence of it.
00:14:13Most of the evidence, of course, comes from that early knockout of Spinks.
00:14:19And that, of course, was really set up by a vicious body punch to the ribs.
00:14:23That slowed Spinks down, and even though Coetzee had knocked him down three times
00:14:26before the fight was stopped,
00:14:28it was that one punch that really made the difference.
00:14:30He's a heavy-handed puncher.
00:14:32We talk about the fact that maybe he hasn't had the greatest confidence in himself,
00:14:35but one thing he said earlier, remember, he was a dental technician,
00:14:38and he said, I make teeth during the day, and I knock them out at night.
00:14:42So that certainly would show that at least early in his career,
00:14:45he had a little bit of confidence in himself.
00:14:47Well, and you can also look at it this way.
00:14:49After a couple of operations that fused some bones in his hand,
00:14:54he knocked out Spinks, and since that time,
00:14:57he's had 13 more operations on that hand.
00:15:00My God, how powerful he must be now.
00:15:03And in fact, even before his last fight with Pinklin Thomas, which was a draw,
00:15:07that fight had to be postponed because once again, he broke the right hand,
00:15:10and that was subsequent to the latest operation.
00:15:15So Jerry Coetzee in the ring now, and of course, as is commonplace,
00:15:20Michael Dokes will just make him wait for a little bit of time here.
00:15:25His last fight, he had the lead once again over Pinklin Thomas,
00:15:28and he let Thomas catch him,
00:15:30and the later rounds of the fight wound up being a draw.
00:15:32But if there's anything good about a draw, you'd have to say,
00:15:34for Jerry Coetzee, that was a good draw.
00:15:36It was another good professional fighter he fought.
00:15:39Pinklin Thomas was 20-0 at the time.
00:15:42He again acquitted himself well.
00:15:44He belongs in this ring,
00:15:46unlike some of the recent contenders for the heavyweight championship
00:15:50of both the WBA and the WBC.
00:15:53Ray Leonard, let me ask you.
00:15:55It's a simple fact, I think, that Michael Dokes is going to charge him at the bell.
00:15:59What does Jerry Coetzee have to do?
00:16:01Well, Jerry Coetzee can stop that with one punch, a left jab.
00:16:05Because a jab, it stops one's rhythm.
00:16:07And if Coetzee and Michael Dokes get off fast and early,
00:16:12he could be in a little trouble.
00:16:14They have said, as a matter of fact,
00:16:16that if Jerry Coetzee has any flaw in his form at all,
00:16:18he hasn't been able to put a man away
00:16:20because he never punches in combinations of more than two.
00:16:23Well, he needs to come back with a left hook once in a while.
00:16:27And here is the man coming, making his way into the ring now,
00:16:30who is the champion of the WBA, Michael Dokes.
00:16:33This is his second title defense.
00:16:35His first title defense ended in a draw,
00:16:37and many people thought that Mike Weaver actually won that second fight.
00:16:41So this is going to be a real test for him.
00:16:43Well, Michael Dokes, sometimes what happens in a fighter,
00:16:46he gets overconfident, especially after such a victorious win
00:16:49over Mike Weaver the first time around.
00:16:51He lays back and indulges in his social life.
00:16:54And the second time around, it becomes a tough fight.
00:16:57But this time, Michael Dokes, I'm sure,
00:16:59he trained very, very hard for this guy.
00:17:02You know, we talk about confidence in a fighter,
00:17:04and we say Jerry Coetzee may have a little bit of lack of confidence.
00:17:07Somebody said about Michael Dokes, in fact,
00:17:09a number of people said about Michael Dokes when he was younger,
00:17:11that he would be a lot better off if people would stop telling him how great he is.
00:17:15Well, a lot of people tell me how great I was.
00:17:18Well, you was.
00:17:20Dokes was a very precocious fighter as a youngster.
00:17:24He fought Teofilo Stevenson when he was 16 years old.
00:17:28And Stevenson then was on the top of his game,
00:17:31the greatest amateur in the world,
00:17:33and, incidentally, the only man who ever decked Dokes.
00:17:37He hasn't been on the floor since then.
00:17:39Well, in fact, he decked him in the first round,
00:17:41and a lot of people who were at that fight
00:17:43say that Dokes actually unbought him from there on.
00:17:46Oh, he did. Dokes was a very, in fact,
00:17:48when he was on the Proud American team,
00:17:50Dokes was a very small heavyweight.
00:17:52So Michael Dokes is now in the ring,
00:17:54and one thing you've always said,
00:17:55a fighter's got to be warm coming out of the locker room, Bray,
00:17:57as you look at Michael Dokes' record.
00:17:59And there's no question about it,
00:18:00Dokes has come into the ring fired up and very warm.
00:18:02And a point to bring out, look at Jerry Coetzee.
00:18:05He's dry, no perspiration.
00:18:07Michael Dokes, just floored with perspiration.
00:18:10Michael Dokes has been telling people, even as late as this evening,
00:18:13he wants to go out there and get Jerry Coetzee,
00:18:15and I mean right now.
00:18:17I'm expecting that.
00:18:18From the very first round.
00:18:21Both fighters, of course, coming in with very comparable numbers.
00:18:24Coetzee, three years the elder of Dokes,
00:18:26but other than that, there's really very little to choose.
00:18:28Dokes, a couple pounds heavier than Coetzee,
00:18:30but interestingly enough, he has come in lighter
00:18:32than his second fight with Mike Weaver.
00:18:34Now, his people have said that they wanted him a little bulkier
00:18:36for the Weaver fight because of the heat in Las Vegas.
00:18:38There is nothing like that here.
00:18:40Common opponents, George Chaplin, and who can forget him?
00:18:43Both men beat George Chaplin by decision.
00:18:45Mike Weaver, of course, being knocked out by Michael Dokes
00:18:48in one round and knocked out Jerry Coetzee in 13 rounds.
00:18:51Another fight that Jerry Coetzee was well in front,
00:18:53and then, of course, the most recent title defense by Michael Dokes.
00:18:56That, the draw with Mike Weaver,
00:18:58but, of course, Dokes retaining his heavyweight championship.
00:19:01Both of these fighters, of course, coming off very impressive
00:19:04and long amateur careers.
00:19:06147-7 for Michael Dokes,
00:19:08201-2 as an amateur for Jerry Coetzee.
00:19:11I don't think there's any question, Larry Merchant,
00:19:13this is going to be a very solid test for Michael Dokes.
00:19:16Yes, and something should be mentioned here,
00:19:18which is that there are about 800 of Coetzee's countrymen
00:19:23who have made the trip all the way here to see him.
00:19:26He is the hope of that country, although he now lives in America.
00:19:30They have never had an Afrikaner champion.
00:19:34They've had a couple of South Africans in the lower weight divisions
00:19:37who have become champions, but never an Afrikaner.
00:19:404 o'clock in the morning in South Africa.
00:19:42A lot of folks up watching this one on television.
00:19:44Let's go to the ring announcer, Dan Coughlin,
00:19:46for the introductions of the two fighters.
00:19:49Good evening, fight fans everywhere.
00:19:53Promoter Don King welcomes you
00:19:57to the Coliseum in Richfield
00:19:59and his Buckeye homecoming.
00:20:03This is the 97th world championship bout
00:20:07promoted by Don King.
00:20:09It is the first under the auspices
00:20:11of the new Ohio Boxing Commission.
00:20:15It is sanctioned by the World Boxing Association
00:20:1915 rounds for the world heavyweight championship.
00:20:27Here are your officials.
00:20:31The WBA supervisor is Mel Ziegler.
00:20:36Representing the Ohio Boxing Commission
00:20:39is Commission Chairman Joseph Gennaro.
00:20:43The ringside judges,
00:20:46from Venezuela, Fernando Viso.
00:20:51From Puerto Rico, Samuel Conde.
00:20:56And from Montreal, Guy Jutras.
00:21:02The referee working his 42nd championship bout
00:21:07from Puerto Rico, Tony Perez.
00:21:14The 10-point must-scoring system is in use tonight.
00:21:20The timekeeper is Chet O'Kelly.
00:21:23Counting at the knockdowns, Hank Freedy.
00:21:30Introducing...
00:21:34from Volksburg, South Africa,
00:21:38now living in America...
00:21:44the WBA's number one contender
00:21:51with a record of 28-3-1
00:21:54with 17 knockouts,
00:21:57weighing 215 pounds,
00:22:01Jerry Coetzee.
00:22:04Coetzee!
00:22:16Defending his world heavyweight championship
00:22:20for the second time since winning it in December.
00:22:26Unbeaten in 28 fights with two draws,
00:22:3115 knockouts,
00:22:33weighing 217 pounds,
00:22:37the reigning WBA heavyweight champion,
00:22:41Akron's own Michael Dokes.
00:22:44Dokes!
00:22:57Tony Perez, the referee,
00:22:59will call the two fighters together
00:23:01in the center of the ring.
00:23:03One other thing to keep in mind,
00:23:05the three-knockdown rule is in effect tonight.
00:23:14So you don't like to think that a turning point in a fight
00:23:16could come with the opening bell,
00:23:18and yet, Ray, I have the feeling it will.
00:23:20I have a feeling that Michael Dokes
00:23:22is gonna race right up to the corner of Jerry Coetzee,
00:23:24throw a lot of punches, and try to get him out early.
00:23:26I completely agree with you.
00:23:27He has told people that.
00:23:29Let me disagree,
00:23:30because one of us should be right here.
00:23:32That's true.
00:23:33One of us will be right.
00:23:35Well, of course, that is the way he fought
00:23:37the first time against Mike Weaver.
00:23:38The fight lasted 63 seconds,
00:23:40albeit a controversial decision to stop the fight.
00:23:43Round one.
00:23:44And Dokes does not charge,
00:23:46and Coetzee comes out quickly.
00:23:48Center of the ring.
00:23:51That's one for Larry Merchant.
00:23:54Both men are tight,
00:23:57and it's gonna take a round or so,
00:23:59if it goes that long,
00:24:00before they loosen up.
00:24:02And in the first round,
00:24:04when two fighters are tight,
00:24:06anything can happen.
00:24:07You can expect an early knockdown
00:24:09or even a knockout bell.
00:24:10Remember, both these fighters,
00:24:12notorious frontrunner.
00:24:15Against Weaver,
00:24:16Dokes actually got a second win,
00:24:18combinations by Coetzee
00:24:19are getting the better of that exchange.
00:24:21You saw what happened just then.
00:24:22Jerry Coetzee was able to land
00:24:23a solid right hand on Michael Dokes' chin.
00:24:26And what's gonna happen
00:24:27when both fighters exchange punches
00:24:29because they both possess great punching power?
00:24:38What I see in Jerry Coetzee now
00:24:39is just the fact that he's extending that left jab,
00:24:42not trying to land it,
00:24:43but trying to measure Michael Dokes
00:24:45for that overhand right.
00:24:47Again, the criticism has been
00:24:48that Coetzee has been able to
00:24:49come back with a left hook
00:24:50behind the right hand.
00:24:51Well, a lot of times,
00:24:52the power of that right hand,
00:24:55a lot of times is not necessary.
00:25:07And the crowd's getting
00:25:09a little bit antsy here,
00:25:10I think, a little bit early.
00:25:13That was a good body shot by Jerry Coetzee.
00:25:16That was a good body shot by Jerry Coetzee.
00:25:18In fact, he's thought through his strategy
00:25:21and planned the fact of backing up Michael Dokes
00:25:24because he feels that's the best approach to his fight.
00:25:27Actually, Dokes right at the moment
00:25:28looks rather stiff-legged.
00:25:29I haven't seen him be quite as immobile
00:25:31as he is right now,
00:25:32but as you mentioned,
00:25:33he might just be a little bit tight early on.
00:25:35He is a little tight,
00:25:36and coming in late.
00:25:38In fact, Michael Dokes came in a little late,
00:25:40and preparation is the key to a fight.
00:25:44He must be relaxed.
00:25:46So far, Coetzee has been able to keep Michael Dokes off of him,
00:25:49but remember, Dokes has said
00:25:50the way to fight him,
00:25:52as you heard him say earlier,
00:25:54is to back up.
00:25:56Michael Dokes, look at his stance.
00:25:58He's flat-footed.
00:25:59In other words,
00:26:00he's going to get a lot of power band,
00:26:01a lot of leverage in his punches.
00:26:06Coetzee is showing a proper amount of respect,
00:26:09not really taking the fight to Dokes.
00:26:13Michael Dokes is trying to cut the ring off.
00:26:15He's not just following Jerry Coetzee.
00:26:17He's cutting the ring.
00:26:18Every time Jerry Coetzee moves to his right,
00:26:20you'll notice Michael Dokes will move to his left.
00:26:22Shorten the ring up.
00:26:24Get closer.
00:26:28Around where both men feeling each other out.
00:26:31The left hand score.
00:26:33The first two missed.
00:26:34The Dokes come back with a left hand of his own.
00:26:43And the round won.
00:26:45Interesting round, I think, Larry.
00:26:47Yes.
00:26:48I'm struck by a couple of things.
00:26:50One is that the challenger
00:26:52has had as many championship fights as the champion,
00:26:55and he seems actually cooler.
00:26:57He also seems bigger,
00:26:59even though the statistics say he doesn't.
00:27:04All right.
00:27:05Keep your upper body moving.
00:27:07What he's doing, he's charging at you.
00:27:09You see him charging at you?
00:27:10You see him charging at you?
00:27:12Trying to fire the right hand over top,
00:27:14and he raises up on his toe.
00:27:16And he's trying to stop you from moving that way
00:27:18by moving the left hand, right?
00:27:20When he gives you the upper body,
00:27:22when he stands there and you're up,
00:27:24give me your machine gun jab and roll underneath.
00:27:26Don't come back straight.
00:27:27Put it in there.
00:27:28You understand?
00:27:29Don't come back straight, Captain.
00:27:30You don't come back straight at no time.
00:27:32Setting him up with your jab.
00:27:34Let's go to Coetzee's square.
00:27:36In his square.
00:27:38-♪
00:27:40Let's go to the third side.
00:27:47Well, I think what you saw there
00:27:48is an example of two very organized corners, Ray.
00:27:51I would say Bobby Lewis gave very good instructions
00:27:54to Michael Doakes.
00:27:56Don't move straight back,
00:27:57because what's going to happen,
00:27:58he's going to get in the corner,
00:28:00and Jerry Coetzee's
00:28:01going to throw those straight punches.
00:28:03Doakes has picked up the pace a little bit here.
00:28:05Coetzee seems to have a lot of crowd support here, actually, surprisingly.
00:28:21Michael Dokes was also instructing McCoy to move his upper body a little more.
00:28:26Not to be a stationary target.
00:28:28Because Coetzee is trying to set him up once again for that right hand.
00:28:33You notice Coetzee's right hand is down.
00:28:35Michael Dokes has a very good and solid left hook.
00:28:39And when he comes back with it, it's so sharp and so accurate.
00:28:43He's taken a lot of guys out with that punch.
00:28:45Stuck it in there pretty good once, right there.
00:28:47Now doing exactly as Bobby Lewis' corner man had told him.
00:28:52Watch for the left hook by Michael Dokes.
00:28:54I think that would be one of the key punches in this fight.
00:28:59Once he's able to get in close enough.
00:29:03Here he comes.
00:29:05A lot of measuring going on between these two right now.
00:29:07Also a lot of respect for each other's punching abilities.
00:29:13Effective jabs up and down by Dokes.
00:29:15And a good right hand by Coetzee.
00:29:17And a back with another right hand.
00:29:19And exactly what Bobby Lewis told Coetzee not to do.
00:29:22To move his back.
00:29:23Watch the left hook.
00:29:24The left hook just lands.
00:29:26And it got Coetzee right off of him.
00:29:29So both men were tagged.
00:29:32Coetzee is too erect.
00:29:34He's too straight up.
00:29:35And he's susceptible for a left hook.
00:29:37That right hand is down.
00:29:39Michael Dokes has very fast hands.
00:29:42And that left hook, once again, being redundant,
00:29:44that left hook could be the key.
00:29:51But I would agree with Larry.
00:29:53Coetzee seems so calm and so composed.
00:29:56Very much so.
00:29:57Much more so than I've ever seen Jerry Coetzee of being.
00:30:01He also seems to be conserving himself a little bit,
00:30:03which is something he hasn't done.
00:30:04Good left hand!
00:30:05Dokes was hurt.
00:30:07Dokes needs to get out of that corner.
00:30:09He should keep his status in the ring.
00:30:11Because Coetzee now is trying to load up before he bombs.
00:30:14Overhand right.
00:30:18And a right hand by Coetzee.
00:30:19And back with a left.
00:30:25Dokes fighting back with a right hand of his own.
00:30:28They put all their weight behind it.
00:30:36Nobody's wasting any punches here, too.
00:30:38Both men seem.
00:30:39And there's a cut from the right eye of Jerry Coetzee.
00:30:43Now you may see Michael Dokes come to life.
00:30:46I was just about to say that cuts have been a problem of Jerry Coetzee.
00:30:50And early on, there is a cut over the right eye.
00:30:53And it's bleeding reasonably heavily.
00:30:55It's hard to say right now if it's on the lid or just under the eye
00:31:00or just to the side of the eye.
00:31:02Let's see if we can have a closer look at it in his corner.
00:31:14It looks like it's just above the lid and below the eyebrow.
00:31:19That is not a good place to have a cut.
00:31:21It's in a very bad spot.
00:31:26There's a good straight right hand followed by a left by Coetzee.
00:31:31That combination may have won him that round.
00:31:34On my card, Coetzee has won both rounds.
00:31:38This is following form, as you've noted before, Barry.
00:31:41He has been the early leader in all of his big fights.
00:31:45Now, of course, the entire complexion of the fight can change
00:31:49because of the cut over the right eye of Coetzee.
00:31:51And immediately it starts bleeding again.
00:31:53So his corner did not do much in the way of stopping that cut.
00:31:56Doak certainly will work on it.
00:31:58He's got a lot of time, a long way to go.
00:32:01A good cut man is so important in the corner
00:32:04because he has to administer that cut, keep it from flowing,
00:32:08and make sure it doesn't become a handicap.
00:32:11And with the cut over the eye, as Larry Merchant mentioned,
00:32:13much more serious than were it alongside the eye.
00:32:16Hard to see that left hand coming.
00:32:19This could just be nothing but problems for Jerry Coetzee.
00:32:23Should point out also that Pinklin Thomas cut Coetzee over the right eye
00:32:27late in the going of his last fight.
00:32:38Michael Dokes, because we fought on amateur teams together,
00:32:41he can turn, like I was saying,
00:32:43very few fighters can turn that jab into a left hook.
00:32:47And Michael Dokes is one of those fighters that can do that.
00:32:50Dokes has improved steadily.
00:32:56Had a real good test against Weaver the last time,
00:32:58and it might have kind of perked him up.
00:33:00He's been a little bit lackadaisical in some of his training methods.
00:33:03Whether or not he was this time, we'll show tonight.
00:33:13I like those shots thrown to the body by Michael Dokes.
00:33:16And for a big heavyweight,
00:33:18those body shots, they take their toll in the later rounds.
00:33:22Dokes now seems very patient.
00:33:28One thing about Michael Dokes also,
00:33:30is when a fighter attacks him,
00:33:32he goes down to a little crouch,
00:33:34and he comes up for so many combinations.
00:33:38Especially the left hook.
00:33:42Cut over the eye.
00:33:44Not appreciably worse in this round
00:33:46than it was at the end of the last round.
00:33:48You notice Michael Dokes is drilling that right hand to the body,
00:33:51just then attempting to throw a left hook, right hand.
00:33:54And what he's doing now,
00:33:56he's making Kosia think he's just gonna go to the body,
00:33:59and he makes the right hand to the hand short.
00:34:02This is the way you confuse a fighter.
00:34:06Both fighters being very patient here.
00:34:09Obviously aware that this is a long haul.
00:34:12And needless to say, aware that
00:34:14neither one of them has ever really been known
00:34:16as a guy who could go the full distance.
00:34:19Even though Michael Dokes did the last time against Weaver,
00:34:22but he did run out of gas between the 4th and the 9th rounds,
00:34:25came back and attempted 11th,
00:34:27and then lost the last 3 on everybody's card but 1.
00:34:32Kosia's waiting for one opportunity,
00:34:34and that's that right hand.
00:34:36What he wants to do, he wants to come across,
00:34:38and let's do a right hand to the body by Michael Dokes.
00:34:40What Kosia wants to do
00:34:42is to set Michael Dokes up with that right hand.
00:34:46And a round in which the eye did not get much worse,
00:34:49and that might be of some significance.
00:34:51But I think that cut eye may have influenced the fight
00:34:54because suddenly Kosia was more of the counterpuncher
00:34:58than we saw him in the first two rounds,
00:35:00and that could lead to a dogfight, a tactical fight.
00:35:04Keep us moving.
00:35:06Keep us moving.
00:35:08In the first round, you threw that right to the body,
00:35:10hooked back to the head, and it was very effective.
00:35:12Try that again.
00:35:14Yeah, right to the side, left hook back to the head.
00:35:17And keep working that jab.
00:35:19Clean, steady, straight jab.
00:35:21Here's Michael Dokes.
00:35:23Looking to move to the right, up, down.
00:35:26Don't lower the hand. Head and body move.
00:35:28Up and down, right? Upper body, it moves.
00:35:31Upper body, it moves.
00:35:33There you can see the cut.
00:35:35It is not clear in that shot
00:35:37where the blood is coming from,
00:35:39but it is coming from above the lid
00:35:41and below the brow, the eyebrow.
00:35:46Green physician did come in to take a look at the eye.
00:35:48However, that is all he did,
00:35:51was just take a quick look and leave the ring.
00:35:53It does not appear right at the moment
00:35:55that the eye is of any threat,
00:35:57at least to the stoppage of the fight.
00:35:59At least to the stoppage of the fight,
00:36:01so far as Jerry Cocea is concerned.
00:36:03Not right now, but it is in a nasty place.
00:36:05This is the fourth round.
00:36:07Cocea cornered the rear like that.
00:36:09Right hand to the body, left hook to the head
00:36:11that Cocea delivered in the first round.
00:36:18This is what Michael Dokes, he shouldn't be.
00:36:25You see what Cocea is doing now.
00:36:27Playing with Michael Dokes,
00:36:29trying to measure him for that right hand.
00:36:32He is getting closer, and there it is.
00:36:34He was able to land, but it was not a clean blow.
00:36:38Cocea again being aggressive here,
00:36:40as Larry Merchant mentioned.
00:36:41Started to be the counterpuncher in the third round,
00:36:43has come back a little bit more aggressively here in the fourth.
00:36:45I think it is a very tactical fight
00:36:47on the part of Cocea.
00:36:49He is not wasting any energy.
00:36:51Once again, the way he tried to throw that shot
00:36:53to the ribs and left hook to the head.
00:36:58There he attempted to try it again.
00:37:01But he is leaving himself wide open, Barry,
00:37:03for a left hook, a counter left hook.
00:37:08A little swelling under the right eye of Michael Dokes,
00:37:11although that has been there since the middle of the first round.
00:37:14It seems to be getting a little bit worse.
00:37:16It does not seem to be a major problem right at the moment.
00:37:18It could become a factor.
00:37:21We see a little thing now from Cocea.
00:37:24Wait for the right hand.
00:37:26He tried it again, Barry, but he missed.
00:37:29Again, it is interesting to me that both fighters
00:37:31really adhering to their corner's advice.
00:37:34Since Dokes cannot take the chance
00:37:36of staying in the corner,
00:37:38what he should be doing is utilizing his speed.
00:37:41Keep Cocea in the center of the ring,
00:37:43box him.
00:37:46Dokes getting the better of that.
00:37:57What is also, I think,
00:37:59is creating somewhat of a slight problem for Michael Dokes
00:38:02is just the slight difference in height.
00:38:06Something to consider, too, is the fact that
00:38:08after the fourth round against Mike Weaver
00:38:10was when Michael Dokes appreciably ran out of gas.
00:38:13And this, of course, is the fourth round,
00:38:15so conditioning could really become
00:38:18very much a part of this fight.
00:38:20A beautiful shot, right hand to the midsection
00:38:22by Jerry Cocea.
00:38:25Somewhat of a backhand.
00:38:27Definitely was a backhanded punch,
00:38:29and Tony Perez will have a little talk about that.
00:38:37Again, blood flowing
00:38:40somewhat freely from the right eye,
00:38:42although right now it appears to be alongside
00:38:44and a little bit below the eye.
00:38:46How feel?
00:38:48How are you feeling?
00:38:50Listen, upper body has gotta move.
00:38:53It's gotta move, you understand?
00:38:57But watch yourself when you lay it in.
00:38:59I don't want you making a habit of laying on the rope
00:39:01when you're there.
00:39:03I don't want you making a habit of laying yourself
00:39:05on that rope when you're there.
00:39:07Watch yourself.
00:39:09I want you to stay calm.
00:39:11I don't want, you know,
00:39:13I don't want you making a habit of laying yourself on that rope when he's coming, right?
00:39:17Now he's coming at a count of three, he does that little funny movement, and on the count
00:39:22of three, if he does it three times, then he's making a move and he raises up the fire
00:39:26to the right hand, just like you're seeing it.
00:39:28But make sure, one time you catch him on there, if you get him right, set him up right, back
00:39:32high, and then run yourself off.
00:39:34But I want you to have the most of the wing to your back, so you can move the way you
00:39:38want to move.
00:39:39The way you can want to move.
00:39:40You understand?
00:39:42You understand?
00:39:43You're boxing at close range.
00:39:48Get off the ropes, in other words.
00:39:50I'll tell you, if you ever wonder why they call this the sweet science, it is in fact
00:39:54a science.
00:39:57Exactly what it is.
00:39:58And you have to be versatile.
00:40:00You can't just fight one way.
00:40:02And Michael Dolce's capable of doing that.
00:40:07Now we see the tables are somewhat turning.
00:40:09Michael Dolce's starting to become aggressive.
00:40:11And this may create problems for Jerry Garcia.
00:40:16And again, we get now to the point of the fight where conditioning can start to play
00:40:20a factor.
00:40:23I love those shots to the body.
00:40:26They're beautiful shots.
00:40:27Garcia keeps pawing at that eye with the back of his glove, which would certainly indicate
00:40:39that he could be getting a bit of a problem here.
00:40:48I think what Michael Dolce wants Garcia to do is to throw his punches, and then after
00:40:53he's finished throwing his combinations, he's going to come back.
00:40:58And he knows Dolce always throws punches.
00:41:01He throws left hook to the body, left hook to the head.
00:41:07A good right hand and Dolce's down.
00:41:10Plush on the side of the face.
00:41:14Dolce does not appear to be hurt.
00:41:16He'll take the 8th count.
00:41:17It was more of a flash knockdown, but it was a beautiful right hand by Jerry Garcia.
00:41:21Now watch Garcia go back to the body and up to the head.
00:41:24Watch for the overhand right again.
00:41:27The left hook by Garcia just landed.
00:41:29Dolce does not appear to be hurt.
00:41:31He must point out that right hand a little bit short.
00:41:36A good left hand counterpunch by Dolce.
00:41:43Dolce's a little dazed now.
00:41:44That right hand is starting to land.
00:41:47And you see what's happening, bro, is the fact that Garcia's trying to land a right hand.
00:41:51When it doesn't land, Michael Dolce is able to connect with a good left hook.
00:41:55It's just a simple fact that he managed to knock Michael Dolce down,
00:41:58which has not happened in his professional career,
00:42:00as Dolce comes back with a hard right of his own.
00:42:04Coach Seals should stay on top of Dolce now if he wants to take his title.
00:42:10You see, when you hurt a fighter, you don't let him recover.
00:42:12You take advantage of it.
00:42:14Those body shots. I like those body shots.
00:42:17I don't like what he's doing now with the reaching in,
00:42:20because he's susceptible to being hit by a counterpunch.
00:42:22He's starting to get a little wild, actually,
00:42:24just before he scored with the right hand punch that put Dolce down.
00:42:26He could... Jerry Garcia could also be a little arm-weary.
00:42:29And now he's starting to telegraph his punches.
00:42:31You see that? He's starting to miss.
00:42:36Dolce's got himself in trouble under ropes.
00:42:39Once the right hand, once again to the body.
00:42:46The crowd very much alive.
00:42:47Remember, it's a pro-Dolce crowd.
00:42:51And so it could be a little bit misleading,
00:42:53although I'll tell you, Jerry Garcia is getting a lot of crowd support.
00:42:56That tactical fight suddenly turned into a brawl with that one right hand.
00:43:01You have to give Dolce credit for standing back and fighting
00:43:05like a real champion wanting to come back at him.
00:43:08Let's take a look right here.
00:43:09A left followed by a clean right,
00:43:12and Dolce went down on one knee.
00:43:14It was a clean, flash knockdown.
00:43:17And it wasn't really dazed,
00:43:19but he took two clean punches in a nice combination to put him down.
00:43:24There it is again.
00:43:25It was measured by the left hand.
00:43:34Don't get on them ropes.
00:43:36That's where he wants you.
00:43:38And when you find your hook,
00:43:39you're raising up with your right hand down.
00:43:42Keep your breath up.
00:43:44Once more.
00:43:46Let's go.
00:43:49We saw why Dolce is a championship-caliber fighter
00:43:52when he fought back trying to regain the initiative.
00:43:55This could be a crucial round for him.
00:43:59This round here, I'm expecting Jerry Garcia just to take his time
00:44:03because he exerted a lot of energy that round he put Dolce down.
00:44:07And now he's just going to take his time,
00:44:11until he gets Dolce in a position to throw some punches.
00:44:15Jerry Garcia historically has been about an 8-round fighter.
00:44:18That's what things have turned for him around the 8th round.
00:44:21You saw a graphic just a couple of moments ago
00:44:23about the average length of a fight of Michael Dolce.
00:44:31You see, not too much action from Jerry Garcia.
00:44:34Just buying his time.
00:44:40It really is beginning to look here, as we mentioned,
00:44:42and I hate to be redundant also,
00:44:43but conditioning could play a very important part in this fight.
00:44:46It will play an important part, Barry,
00:44:48because these guys are heavyweights.
00:44:50They start off at a very fast pace.
00:44:53Dolce took down.
00:44:55And now Jerry Garcia may be a little arm-weary
00:44:58from the series of punches that he let him throw and land.
00:45:03That cut over the eye of Garcia is really no worse than it was
00:45:07when it happened in the 2nd round.
00:45:11Once again, Garcia is just trying to measure Dolce
00:45:14for that devastating right hand.
00:45:16And a little bit of blood from the nose of Michael Dolce,
00:45:19and once again,
00:45:20means he might have to breathe through his mouth a little bit more,
00:45:23and you don't want to see a fighter do that.
00:45:34Dolce's been going to the body pretty much
00:45:38since the start of the first round,
00:45:41and I'm looking for him to go to the head once in a while.
00:45:44There's a right hand leading with a left hand behind him.
00:45:57Right now, it seems like Jerry Garcia is dictating the tempo of this fight.
00:46:01Well, Michael Dolce respects the punching power of Jerry Garcia.
00:46:05When a fighter's knocked down, he quite naturally asks for respect.
00:46:08And those shots to the body, they take so much out of you.
00:46:16I've never seen Jerry Garcia throw an uppercut,
00:46:19and this is what he could do against Michael Dolce from Dolce Go Down.
00:46:36Let's see it, getting that jab into the face of Michael Dolce now,
00:46:40and he really hasn't been able to do that before in this fight.
00:46:43Changing his tactics almost from round to round.
00:46:49Michael Dolce is anticipating the right hand of Jerry Garcia.
00:46:53A quiet round, but I can't help but wonder, Larry,
00:46:56if that might not be by design.
00:46:58Well, it shouldn't be by the design of Dolce.
00:47:01He's behind in this fight.
00:47:03One of the surprising things is that he has not worked on Coetzee's eye,
00:47:08and he hasn't thrown that jab very much either, Ray.
00:47:11Let's listen to the corner of Coetzee.
00:47:33Well, they're doing this round in Afrikaans,
00:47:36and we don't have our U.N. interpreter with us.
00:47:39Well, I can tell you what they're saying.
00:47:41He's telling me he's doing a fantastic job.
00:47:44Are you surprised that Dolce hasn't thrown his left jab,
00:47:47or is he afraid of the counter right?
00:47:49I think he's a little punch shot now, because of that flash knockdown.
00:47:55But Dolce's tough.
00:47:57But if nothing else, Coetzee has captured his attention.
00:48:00Yes, that was very easy.
00:48:03Michael Dolce has a superior left jab,
00:48:05and I'm surprised he's not using it.
00:48:07He's been popping to the belly every so often,
00:48:10but now, once again, he's flat-footed,
00:48:12and he's been flat-footed throughout the whole fight.
00:48:14Right from the opening bell.
00:48:15And I think what he wants to do is land some heavy shots to the body.
00:48:24Again, the right-hand lead gets in on the face of Michael Dolce.
00:48:27Watch when Michael Dolce jabs to the body.
00:48:30I'm looking for a right-hand to the head to follow.
00:48:41For the moment, the bleeding over the right eye has stopped.
00:48:44Another right-hand lead right to the face.
00:48:46See, that's the reason that Bobby Lewis told Dolce not to move straight back,
00:48:51because this is the way that Jerry Coetzee punches.
00:48:54When he punches, he gains momentum, and he goes straight back.
00:48:57He follows you.
00:48:58Saw another chopping right-hand by Coetzee get in on Dolce.
00:49:03And Coetzee complains about the low blow, and Tony Perez agrees.
00:49:08Now, see, you notice now that Dolce is headed towards the ropes.
00:49:12Now he's away from the ropes.
00:49:14And this is where Coetzee wants him, against the ropes or in the corner.
00:49:18Dolce should not be there.
00:49:20And another good right-hand by Coetzee.
00:49:22You saw what happened there, Barry.
00:49:24Every time against the ropes or in the corner,
00:49:26Coetzee, with those long arms and that powerful right hand,
00:49:29he's going to land, whether it's to the body, whether it's to the head.
00:49:34That was a pretty good shot by Dolce, actually,
00:49:36but now Dolce with his back to the ropes.
00:49:38This has become a very physical fight.
00:49:42And Coetzee draws a warning for low blows.
00:49:50And another good right-hand, and that might have hurt Dolce.
00:49:53Dolce is hurt now.
00:49:56Just then, that combination there,
00:49:58threw up and landed with a bit on the canvas, for sure.
00:50:02And there was your uppercut also, Ray.
00:50:04Now watch the right-hand again.
00:50:06A left-hand.
00:50:08Now watch the uppercut.
00:50:10Oh, there should be an uppercut. That's the uppercut there.
00:50:13Now we should see a right-hand by Joey Coetzee,
00:50:15because now he's still a little arm-weary,
00:50:18and Dolce is definitely fatigued now.
00:50:21Dolce is. He's also a little bit rubber-legged.
00:50:23He's blowing.
00:50:25And now his arms, he's not punching anymore.
00:50:28Watch the right-hand.
00:50:30A left-hand bouncing off the ropes.
00:50:32Michael definitely is tired.
00:50:34Coetzee should go to his body and take advantage.
00:50:38But you know in the back of Coetzee's head
00:50:40has got to be the fact that he is an admitted ten-round fighter,
00:50:44and he's got to be thinking about pacing himself.
00:50:47Dolce is definitely fatigued, and so is Jerry Coetzee.
00:50:52But Coetzee is going to work.
00:50:54A big round for Coetzee.
00:50:57It was a very big round for Jerry Coetzee.
00:50:59He stayed aggressive. He landed some big shots, even uppercuts.
00:51:04Michael Goetz is going to have to dig into some deep reservoir.
00:51:07I have him way behind in this fight.
00:51:11Here we see Coetzee coming on top of him.
00:51:14The complete aggressor.
00:51:18Goetz is trying to counter against him,
00:51:21but he's countering blindly, it seems, Ray.
00:51:24Not with any real purpose.
00:51:26When he's down, he just punches.
00:51:29He throws a lot of shots, and not knowing exactly where his punches are going.
00:51:33They're working more feverishly now
00:51:36in the corner of Coetzee on that eye.
00:51:41Jackie McCoy is the man in there.
00:51:44He's been training Coetzee for the last six weeks or so.
00:51:50A famous trainer from California
00:51:53who's had a number of champions,
00:51:55and they have another one tonight.
00:51:58This is the 8th round, and I'll tell you,
00:52:00you got two journeymen in the corners.
00:52:02Bobby Lewis in the corner of Michael Goetz,
00:52:04Jackie McCoy in the corner of Jerry Coetzee.
00:52:07They must have poured a bucket of water on Michael Goetz,
00:52:10and they do, and try to do that to revive a fighter,
00:52:13to rejuvenate him.
00:52:19Once again, Larry, look how smooth Jerry Coetzee is,
00:52:22taking his time, waiting for Michael Goetz to make a mistake,
00:52:26or waiting for an opportunity for Michael Goetz to move back into the corner
00:52:30or against the ropes where he should not be.
00:52:32Well, throughout his career, this 8th round has been a very pivotal one
00:52:35for Jerry Coetzee.
00:52:39Of the two, there's no question as to who is the stronger right now.
00:52:47The right hand by Goetz.
00:52:50Well, see, this is the round that the Coetzees say
00:52:53that both men fatigue very fast in,
00:52:56and I guess we'll get our answer tonight.
00:53:02I don't know.
00:53:06I don't see why Goetz is not going to the hand with the right hand.
00:53:09He's quick enough to get away with it.
00:53:14Also, leaning in with his punches,
00:53:17not really getting much behind those punches is Michael Goetz.
00:53:23Incidentally, the swelling under the eye of Goetz, no worse than it was.
00:53:26And the cut alongside the eye or above the eye of Jerry Coetzee
00:53:29are right at the moment not bleeding at all.
00:53:32There's also a swelling under the eye of Coetzee as well.
00:53:35I'm under the impression, Barry,
00:53:38that Michael Goetz is really trying to wait and pace himself
00:53:41and come on strong in the later round.
00:53:44Both men scored with an exchange there.
00:53:50Coetzee's right hand, it comes over.
00:53:53It's a straight punch, but it comes over, and with a lot of power.
00:53:57Goetz still trying to go predominately downstairs.
00:54:00Trying to bring the arms down.
00:54:03Oh, that was a great uppercut there.
00:54:06That was a beautiful uppercut, but as I said earlier,
00:54:09he needs to come back with something.
00:54:12You can't rely on one punch unless you're bionic.
00:54:21Coetzee, a fighting champion,
00:54:25Coetzee fighting a very smart fight right now.
00:54:33Goetz is really blowing hard from the mouth.
00:54:36His mouth is open.
00:54:39And that's now, just there, that combination was thrown by Michael Goetz.
00:54:42Coetzee has to be very careful, because Michael Goetz
00:54:45always finishes a combination with a left hook.
00:54:48And significantly in this round, there has been no blood
00:54:51from the eye of Jerry Coetzee.
00:54:56Let's go into Michael Goetz' corner.
00:55:10And it's got to be moving.
00:55:13And it's got to be coming around, and you're moving it to the right.
00:55:16You're moving to the right, you're moving the head around.
00:55:19You understand what I'm saying?
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00:55:41Alright, we're looking at Coetzee's corner.
00:55:44You know, one thing about Coetzee, that sometimes fatigue
00:55:48comes from tension and anxiety.
00:55:51And he has appeared so cool tonight, so perfectly calm
00:55:54in the ring, that we may not see that same fighter
00:55:57that we have seen in the past.
00:56:00That's an excellent point.
00:56:03This is the 9th round. You heard Goetz' corner, actually very pleased
00:56:06with their man. Goetz picks up the pace again now.
00:56:09Also, Michael Goetz is on his toes now.
00:56:12And a left hand sends Coetzee reeling against the ropes.
00:56:15He was hurt if he was just back on his heels.
00:56:18No, he's just off balance, Barry.
00:56:21The crowd loves it, but remember, this is a hometown favorite
00:56:24in Michael Goetz, although Coetzee has gotten an awful lot of support
00:56:27here in Cleveland.
00:56:30Goetz needs to exemplify what he has,
00:56:33and that's that great hand speed.
00:56:36Well again, Goetz really came out up on his toes
00:56:39and moving quickly at the beginning of this round.
00:56:42And once again, against the ropes
00:56:45in a near corner where Bob Lewis told not to be
00:56:48because Coetzee throws that right hand.
00:57:00Three jabs, all got in, and a left hook.
00:57:13You notice now that Coetzee's punches are landing
00:57:16a lot cleaner. His jab, he's beating Michael Goetz
00:57:19to the punch, and I'm surprised with that because Michael Goetz
00:57:22has superior hand speed.
00:57:25And right now it's going to be the story of cumulative effect
00:57:28on Michael Goetz, really. Coetzee's punches may not have quite the
00:57:31sting they had in the early rounds, but they're just piling up and piling up.
00:57:34Now look at Coetzee, all he's doing is kinny padding,
00:57:37setting him up, waiting to drop a bomb.
00:57:42But he can't be too lackadaisical
00:57:45because what'll happen, Goetz will come on very strong
00:57:48at the spur of the moment.
00:57:51Just then, quick combination by Michael Goetz
00:57:54brings the crowd alive. Coetzee is not hurt.
00:58:01Goetz should close his mouth. He's subject to a broken jaw.
00:58:07Right hand on the ribs, right hand on the face by Coetzee.
00:58:11Left hook by Coetzee, and what's more, Goetz had his legs wobbled.
00:58:14And a right hand behind that.
00:58:17You see what's happening, the mistake.
00:58:20They're exchanging blow for blow. That punch was short by Goetz.
00:58:24Now Coetzee here appears to be a lot stronger,
00:58:27yet Michael Goetz doesn't seem to be hanging in there.
00:58:33And I think Michael Goetz feels that he hurt Coetzee
00:58:36with that combination he threw.
00:58:41I only saw one punch in that combination really land.
00:58:44That's a left hand by Coetzee.
00:58:47Watch the uppercut, Byron. It should come any moment now.
00:58:54I'm very impressed with the way Coetzee is fighting.
00:58:57Fighting a very smart fight, and he's very much in control at the end of nine.
00:59:00Very technical fight.
00:59:03There were two earlier heavyweight fights tonight.
00:59:07Alfredo Evangelista, who went 15 rounds
00:59:10with Muhammad Ali 100 years ago,
00:59:13scored a resounding upset over Ronaldo Snipes,
00:59:16one of the ranked heavyweights in the world.
00:59:19And Tim Witherspoon was tremendously impressive
00:59:22as he just ran right through James Quick Tillis
00:59:25in the first round with a TKO.
00:59:31You're coming outside, and you're moving to your right.
00:59:35And then you get to your right.
00:59:38Then you get off to your right-hand side.
00:59:53As we saw at the end of that last round,
00:59:56the time is coming when Michael Goetz
00:59:59is going to have to go to war to save his championship.
01:00:02Did you detect, Larry, a little bit of note of concern
01:00:05in the corner for the first time?
01:00:08Well, if they aren't concerned, there's something wrong with their eyesight.
01:00:11This is the 10th round.
01:00:14Once again, Michael Goetz is drenched with water,
01:00:17which proves fatigue has set in on the fighter
01:00:20in trying to bring him back to life.
01:00:28That didn't really mean so much concern
01:00:31that he wasn't concerned voiced
01:00:34by Bobby Lewis.
01:00:37Michael Goetz is letting Kosil beat him to the punch
01:00:40with the left jab and even the right hand.
01:00:47What Michael Goetz needs to do is match
01:00:50the jab of Jerry Kosil.
01:00:53He'll stop all of that.
01:00:56And again, it should be noted that eye has not been opened up
01:00:59since the first round.
01:01:02So Kosil not only in control of the fight, seemingly,
01:01:05but also now with the flow of blood stemmed
01:01:08from a cut that he suffered at the end of the second round.
01:01:17They're hollering from Goetz' corner for him to keep that chin down.
01:01:20And I think he better because what happens,
01:01:23Kosil punches up, he raises his left foot up,
01:01:26and he's still breathing through his mouth
01:01:29a great deal.
01:01:46All Jerry Kosil wants to do
01:01:49is let the left jab touch.
01:01:52And he knows that right hand will follow.
01:01:55Just like he did there.
01:01:58Goetz needs to move,
01:02:01keep this man in the center of the ring,
01:02:04or we're going to see this the rest of the fight,
01:02:07or if it should go that long.
01:02:10Blood now slightly from the corner in Kosil's eye once more,
01:02:13but it is alongside the eye, and it's not really bled in his eye.
01:02:16And now we see him body shots again.
01:02:19Goetz seems to be a little hurt. He's wobbling now.
01:02:22Kosil and Goetz is in serious trouble.
01:02:25Now, Goetz is seriously injured.
01:02:28Goetz is out on his feet here. If Kosil could finish him off.
01:02:31Kosil just can't get well. Just take his timing.
01:02:34He can get his man out of there.
01:02:37Goetz is holding on. He's doing the right thing, Barry.
01:02:40Holding on, clear his head.
01:02:4315 seconds remaining in this round, and Kosil is on him.
01:02:46Backhand's a right hand.
01:02:49Goetz is on his feet, but may get through the round.
01:02:52I'll tell you very seriously.
01:02:55And he's down, and this could be it.
01:02:58Cannot be saved by the bell.
01:03:01That's it.
01:03:04He cannot be saved by the bell.
01:03:07It's over, and we have a new WBA heavyweight champion of the world,
01:03:10and I might add it was well-deserved tonight.
01:03:13It was a very strategic fight by Jerry Kosil.
01:03:17Michael Goetz, I don't know what was wrong.
01:03:20In fact, he laid back, and he did just the opposite of what Bobby Loos himself.
01:03:23Don't move straight back.
01:03:26Jerry Kosil was measuring it with that left jab, and set him up for the right hand.
01:03:29Put Goetz down, hurt him, and stayed on top of him.
01:03:32The other side of the coin, of course,
01:03:35is you look at a man who is not the loser, folks.
01:03:38That is the winner and new champion, deliriously happy.
01:03:41But for all that Michael Goetz did wrong, Ray,
01:03:45Jerry Kosil did right.
01:03:48Exactly, Barrett.
01:03:51And I mean, they've got to be going crazy in South Africa.
01:03:57There was no question about it.
01:04:00It wasn't only the knockout.
01:04:03It was a man in control of this fight, almost from the opening bell.
01:04:06It was a very scientifically important fight by Jerry Kosil.
01:04:09Let's take a look at it once more, Ray.
01:04:12Jumping that same right hand he's been dropping throughout the fight.
01:04:15Michael Goetz now is in trouble. He goes down.
01:04:18Two booming right hands were what put him away,
01:04:21but it was a flurry of punches earlier.
01:04:24The right hand lands, and Jerry Kosil takes his time,
01:04:27comes back with a double right hand.
01:04:30And that was right at the end of the round.
01:04:33The man could not be saved by the bell, and we have a new champion just like that.
01:04:36Here, Goetz trying to hold on, but Jerry Kosil had an opportunity,
01:04:40and he didn't let it get away from him.
01:04:43Right here, right hand lands. Michael is in serious trouble,
01:04:46and Kosil lands another right hand. Goetz hits the canvas.
01:04:49What we were saying earlier, that Goetz is really out on his feet even before that.
01:04:52You can see in that shot that we just had that Goetz was a man who was already out.
01:04:57Right now, Larry Merchant's in the ring with the new champion. Larry?
01:05:00The new WBA heavyweight champion of the world.
01:05:03What are your feelings at this moment, Jerry?
01:05:07I can just think of Mr. Don King giving me this opportunity.
01:05:12I don't realize what happened to me tonight.
01:05:16Really, I want to praise the Lord.
01:05:19I promised him that I want to thank him.
01:05:22I want to thank Mr. King.
01:05:25You seemed, from the very start, more relaxed and confident
01:05:28than we've ever seen you in your previous two championship fights.
01:05:31Was that true?
01:05:35I was very relaxed because I knew my hands are solid.
01:05:40It's okay. I worked hard.
01:05:43Fighting tight.
01:05:46I didn't realize what a world title meant,
01:05:49and I didn't have a family.
01:05:52I love my family, and I've done it for them as well tonight.
01:05:56Were you concerned that Goetz would rush to you early in the fight,
01:05:59as he did to Weber?
01:06:03Yes. I thought he was going to come quick at me.
01:06:06I want to thank Michael for giving me this opportunity so quick.
01:06:10At the first time I hit him with the right,
01:06:13I saw the expression on his face that he's been hit.
01:06:17My corner was telling me,
01:06:20Goetz to whip, but I knew Mike is getting tired.
01:06:23I worked hard, and it's got to come.
01:06:26What about the cut on your right eye?
01:06:29From this angle, it looks like a very nasty cut.
01:06:32How concerned were you about it?
01:06:35I was worried about that, especially in the third and fourth round.
01:06:39I couldn't see well.
01:06:42But Jackie McCoy, Willie Locke, my dad,
01:06:45Cedric Kushner, this man over here,
01:06:49I've got to take the whole night to thank everybody,
01:06:52but I think these two persons were the greatest.
01:06:55Were you surprised that he didn't work on your eye
01:06:58more than he did?
01:07:01I knew if he's got to go up and with the left,
01:07:04I'm going to hit him with the crossbar.
01:07:07So you're saying that because you got the respect from him
01:07:10of landing the right early in the fight,
01:07:13he was afraid to throw too many lefts at that damaged eye?
01:07:16Yes, but I hit him in the body bad shots as well.
01:07:19He didn't know where to block, to the body or to the head.
01:07:22You showed none of the fatigue that we've seen in the past
01:07:25I'm in America. I'm working in America.
01:07:28America is a great, great country.
01:07:31The people are sports people,
01:07:34and I want to thank the American people
01:07:37for all their support,
01:07:40and I want to thank the South African people coming to see me.
01:07:43They have a lot of faith in me.
01:07:46What about Jackie McCoy? What has he done for you over the last few weeks
01:07:49that you hadn't had before?
01:07:52He really improved my left hand tremendously.
01:07:55The left hook, that's where I really shook ducks as well,
01:07:58and that's the one I think set him up for the right.
01:08:01What kind of a champion do you want to be, Jerry Portilla?
01:08:04I want, honestly, to be the people's champ.
01:08:07What does that mean?
01:08:10I want to be everybody's champ.
01:08:13I don't want to be a specific person's champ.
01:08:16I want to be the world champ.
01:08:19You're saying you don't want to be just a champion
01:08:22of South Africa or white people,
01:08:25but also of black people and everyone?
01:08:28Everybody. There's a saying,
01:08:31if your country is right, if they are wrong, it's your country.
01:08:34You can't throw them away. You still love them.
01:08:37But I really love America,
01:08:40and I love Mr. King for giving me this chance.
01:08:43I never believed that he's going to give me this opportunity.
01:08:46Thank you, Mr. King.
01:08:49Do you want to fight Larry Holmes now and unify the title?
01:08:52That would be an immense fight right now.
01:08:55Larry, have we got time?
01:08:58Can I tell you something?
01:09:01Sure.
01:09:04I was at Atlantic City when Snipes fought Berbick,
01:09:07and I wanted to meet him,
01:09:10but we'll talk later about that. I'm looking forward to it.
01:09:13You're saying that you're not very fond of Larry Holmes.
01:09:16Not at all.
01:09:19Thank you very much for a great fight, Jerry Coetzee.
01:09:22Thank you very much.
01:09:25Thank you very much, Larry Merchant,
01:09:28and we are still looking at the corner right now of Michael Doakes,
01:09:31who is still, I think, perhaps maybe even more stunned than he might be hurt.
01:09:34But it was interesting to me, Ray Leonard,
01:09:37that Jerry Coetzee seemed almost as calm in talking with Larry Merchant
01:09:40as he was in the fight tonight.
01:09:43I think that was the key to the whole fight.
01:09:46The fact that Jerry Coetzee was very calm, very collected.
01:09:49He took his time, and what Michael Doakes did wrong, Jerry Coetzee did right.
01:09:52And I think you're looking at a very stunned former champion right now.
01:09:55The graphic that you just saw pretty much said it all.
01:09:58The first professional loss for Michael Doakes.
01:10:01That's the first loss for Michael Doakes to come back.
01:10:04You know, I lost my first fight against Duran, the fact of being young.
01:10:07He's really hurt, emotionally disturbed,
01:10:10but Michael Doakes is the type of fighter and individual that can come back.
01:10:13It was a perfect fight so far as Jerry Coetzee is concerned.
01:10:16It's not one of those fights where you go away saying,
01:10:19what if, and there's really not any what-ifs or should-ifs or could-ifs about this fight.
01:10:22Well, every fight you have to be very strategic and very tactical.
01:10:25Jerry Coetzee had the right plan for Michael Doakes.
01:10:31Michael Doakes was an exceptionally great champion,
01:10:35but Jerry Coetzee approved that he was ready for Michael Doakes.
01:10:38Another interesting thing, too, now you really have to look at,
01:10:41what is this going to do to the heavyweight division?
01:10:44It's just going to cause all kinds of shake-ups in the heavyweights.
01:10:47Shake-ups, yes, but you know who one man is going to clear that up?
01:10:50It's Larry Holmes.
01:10:53All right, I know one guy who's going to clear it up right at the moment.
01:10:56That is the man who is standing in the ring, Larry Merchant, our sage.
01:10:59Okay, I thought there was a golden opportunity for someone here tonight.
01:11:03Frankly, I thought the golden opportunity was for Michael Doakes, the champion,
01:11:06because the other champion, Larry Holmes,
01:11:09has been in a sort of retirement on the job, so to speak,
01:11:14uncharacteristically fighting the weakest fighters he can fight instead of the strongest.
01:11:19The golden opportunity turned out to be the underdog
01:11:22in a monumental heavyweight championship upset.
01:11:26This sets up a tremendous fight with Larry Holmes and perhaps others.
01:11:30The heavyweight division is now back
01:11:33and will probably soon assume its rightful place
01:11:36as the division everyone wants to see.
01:11:39Back to Barry and Ray.
01:11:42Okay, thank you very much, and your reaction, Ray Leonard,
01:11:45a surprise Ray Leonard at that, let's make a deal.
01:11:48What did you think overall?
01:11:51I mean, the guy fought what seemed, at least to me as a layperson, to be a perfect fight.
01:11:54I thought it was a perfect plan carried out by Jericho Cee
01:11:58and the fact that he demonstrated qualities that are possessed in a champion.
01:12:03Technique, scientific techniques, everything.
01:12:06He did everything right.
01:12:09I would have to think that even coming into this fight, Jericho Cee, the new champion,
01:12:12didn't think he could knock out Michael Doakes.
01:12:15You know, for some reason I think he did.
01:12:18I'm sure he was confident, something that we said he lacked,
01:12:21but he walked into the ring very composed, very collected, and he did a very good job.
01:12:24We said that the fight against Mike Weaver, the second Mike Weaver fight,
01:12:27was a real test for Michael Doakes.
01:12:30What do you suppose this one is going to mean to him now?
01:12:33Well, it's going to mean going back to the drawing board, starting all over again, and not giving up.
01:12:36So, we have a new champion.
01:12:39He is Jericho Cee. He fought a perfect fight.
01:12:42Here is one more look at that knockout, and he was simply brilliant, Ray.
01:12:45Well, the fact that Jericho Cee was so aggressive and tenacious here,
01:12:48he said to Michael Doakes,
01:12:51he kept that left hand going, that right hand was effective all night,
01:12:54and the right hand was the punch that did the job.
01:12:57Well, he had a chance against Larry Holmes. He didn't do it.
01:13:00He had a chance against John Tate. He didn't do it.
01:13:03And it's an old cliche to be sure, but tonight for Jericho Cee,
01:13:06the third time was a charm.
01:13:09Be sure and tune in every Thursday for HBO Sports Inside the NFL.
01:13:12Join Len Dawson and Nick Bonacani for all the highlights
01:13:15and latest breaking stories surrounding the NFL.
01:13:18Check your listings for the times in your area.
01:13:21Also, don't miss our next telecast of world championship boxing
01:13:24with WBC super featherweight champion Hector Macho Camacho
01:13:27next on number one contender Rafael Solis.
01:13:30That's live November 18th on HBO.
01:13:33So, for Sugar Ray Leonard and Larry Merchant, I'm Barry Tompkins,
01:13:36saying so long from the Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio,
01:13:39where Jericho Cee has defeated Michael Doakes
01:13:42with a knockout to win the WBA heavyweight title.
01:13:49The executive producer of HBO Sports is Tim Brayne.
01:13:53Tonight's telecast was produced by Ross Greenberg
01:13:56and directed by Mark Payton.
01:13:58The associate producers were Linda Jackson-Christian and Rick Bernstein.
01:14:01The assistant to the producer was Michael J. Whalen
01:14:04and the production manager John McAuley.
01:14:07Those times I waited for you, see, so don't go
01:14:14I wanted you far too much to ever let you go
01:14:20You know you never got my own feelings
01:14:23And I guess I never could stand to lose
01:14:26It's such a pity to say goodbye to you
01:14:31Goodbye to you
01:14:35Could I ever love someone like the one I see in you?
01:14:41I remember the good times, baby, now
01:14:44And the bad times, too
01:14:47These last few weeks of holding on
01:14:50The days are done, the nights are long
01:14:53Guess it's better to say goodbye to you
01:14:58Goodbye to you
01:15:01Goodbye to you
01:15:04Goodbye to you
01:15:07Goodbye to you
01:15:10Goodbye to you
01:15:19Goodbye, baby
01:15:22So long, darling
01:15:25Goodbye to you
01:15:28Goodbye to you
01:15:35This has been a presentation of HBO Sports, the Network of Champions.
01:15:40This has been a presentation of HBO Sports, the Network of Champions.