He Coulda Been a Champion - a Greg Page memorial uni

[BigBoyBrackey]

NEW YORK TIMES

BOXING BEAT: Holmes, Coetzee Launch
Sport's Prime-Time Comeback

by Michael Katz

When Larry Holmes defends the lineal heavyweight championship against Gerrie Coetzee in the debut of ABC-TV's Monday Night Boxing, the fight itself may not be the most important storyline.

The bout, which was delayed at least a few months by Coetzee's surprise knockout loss to Renaldo Snipes last summer, is not without intrigue. The South African's vaunted right hand gives him a live puncher's chance, with the mounting worldwide condemnation of his homeland's racist government adding a political flavor to the proceedings.

But the moguls of the sports world are at least as interested in the return of boxing to prime-time, weeknight network television on a regular basis for the first time since the 1960s.

Back then, the sport's overexposure, along with the televised ring deaths of Davey Moore and Benny "Kid" Paret, led to the networks abandoning what had been a staple of the medium since the late 1940s.

ABC executives noticed the solid ratings for its weekend broadcasts and the recent surge in boxing interest from sports fans at large, stemming from the popularity of welterweight champion Sugar Ray Leonard and unbeaten heavyweight titlist Gerry Cooney. They are gambling that Monday-evening viewers will embrace the sport on a weekly basis, as they have football and, to a lesser degree, baseball.

Their investment is significant, having signed the 16 main-event combatants to contracts ranging from $75,000, for each combatant in March 29's rematch between George Chaplin and Randall Tex Cobb, to $1.5 million for both Holmes and Cooney, who defends his World Boxing Association belt against European champion Lucien Rodriguez on April 26.

The decision-makers at other networks, both broadcast and cable, are sure to be watching the Nielsen ratings, and are reportedly already mulling possible boxing series of their own if Monday Night Boxing catches on.

Holmes, though he carries a 39-0 record, with 28 knockouts, and is a 5-1 favorite over Coetzee, has shown some susceptibility to heavy rights in the past, most notably when Earnie Shavers leveled him in the seventh round of their 1979 fight. Coetzee (26-3, 17 knockouts) rebounded from the Snipes debacle with a pair of impressive knockouts, most recently a five-round stoppage of Larry Alexander in January.

The most-hyped, and very possibly most-watched, installment of the series' initial round of fights comes next week, when Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier continue their comebacks and along an apparent collision course to the fourth installment in their epic rivalry. Those fights will be broadcast live via satellite from South Africa, where Ali faces Kallie Knoetze and Frazier tries to chop down Jumbo Elliott.

Holmes, despite thrashing Ali 17 months ago, still finds himself in the shadow of "The Greatest."

"Everybody's still talking Ali this, Ali that," Holmes said. "Nothing I can do about that, except go out and show why I'm the champion. Even if Don King stole my belt."

The electric-haired promoter, who convinced the World Boxing Council to strip Holmes of the belt he won from Ken Norton in 1978, has been notably absent from the Monday Night Boxing hype. He does not have a hand in any of the eight Monday Night promotions, fueling rumors that a widely reported, but officially unconfirmed, federal investigation has him laying low.

Michael Dokes ultimately claimed the WBC crown by stopping Scott Frank in eight rounds last October. He takes on former WBA kingpin John Tate next month. Should he, Holmes and Cooney all prevail, a second round of network fights would move the fractured division closer to unification -- a state the heavyweights haven't known since King maneuvered Leon Spinks out of half the title he won from Ali in 1978.

It would also inch boxing back toward the sporting mainstream, a place it has not been for even longer.

[BigBoyBrackey]

(Cue Howard's close-up)



Ladies and gentlemen, this is Howard Cosell. Welcome to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, site of what we at ABC and boxing aficianadoes of any substantial intelligence hope will be the first step toward the remedy for the chaos engulfing the sport -- a unified, undisputed heavyweight champion.

Tonight's show is the debut of Monday Night Boxing. The star, one Larry Holmes, has earned that position several times over. He outlasted Ken Norton to win the World Boxing Council's belt in 1978. He humiliated three-time world champion Muhammad Ali, the last man to hold the unified crown, in October 1980. He stopped Leon Spinks, who briefly wore the undisputed belt after upsetting Ali, as well as Mike Weaver, who later won the World Boxing Association's title, which he subsequently lost to Gerry Cooney.

Thanks to Holmes' former promoter, however, Holmes finds himself without an official belt, despite having never been bested within the ring. Don King, having successfully robbed Spinks of half his rightful title for having the audacity to give the greatest fighter of his generation a contractually required rematch, did the same to Holmes when Larry sought fair market value for his services.

Now, however, Michael Dokes, who won Holmes' old belt in a joke of a fight last fall, and Cooney have each agreed to take part in a series of fights, at the behest of this network, that will give the sports world what it has enjoyed for nearly a century -- a single, agreed-upon heavyweight champion.

Tonight, Larry Holmes starts his quest to eliminate any doubt about his primacy when he faces the challenge of South African Gerrie Coetzee. Coetzee has twice challenged for a world title, only to come up short against Weaver and John Tate. His punching power has earned him another shot, this one against a man determined to prove that he is the rightful champion, no matter what boxing's corrupt governing bodies decree.

We'll bring you that fight later in the broadcast, following a 10-round preliminary bout between Ali Haakim, one of the heavyweight division's rising stars, and the rugged Scott LeDoux, himself a former title challenger. Monday Night Boxing begins right after these messages.

[BigBoyBrackey]

ROUND 1

After some preliminary pawing, LeDoux feints a left to the body, then adjusts his aim upstairs and clocks Haakim with a left hook that forces the Kronk prospect back two steps. For the rest of the round, Haakim welcomes LeDoux's clinches, landing only a couple of ineffectual jabs while taking several body shots.

ROUND 2

Haakim receives a warning for hitting and holding early on, then lands a clean left hook and several more forceful jabs. LeDoux lands a clubbing right and tries to clinch, but Haakim utilizes his foot speed to stay on the outside.

ROUND 3

Haakim connects with a straight right in the opening minute, then shakes LeDoux with the same punch midway through the round. LeDoux's attempts to get inside are thwarted by Haakim's jab and footwork.

ROUND 4

LeDoux starts working the body more consistently, forcing Haakim to stand and trade. Haakim does so on even terms for much of the round as the crowd stands and roars, but a big right to the face forces him into a clinch moments before the bell.

ROUND 5

Haakim starts out moving and boxing effectively, rattling LeDoux with a three-punch combination, then landing an uppercut when he gets a hand fre in a clinch. LeDoux shakes it off, though, and mauls Haakim into the ropes, then lands heavy body shots with both hands, capping the flurry with a left hook into the chin that buckles Haakim's knees. Haakim tries to fire back, but LeDoux's continued body assault seems to be wearing him down.

ROUND 6

The fighters wrestle their way through the first half of the round. Haakim creates some space with his jab before LeDoux works his way in with body shots in the last 30 seconds. Still, Haakim seems to have the slight edge in the round, making the fight appear pretty even through six.

ROUND 7

LeDoux works the left hook to the body and head effectively in the opening minute, but Haakim seems to catch a second wind and opens up with a series of left jab-right cross combos to the head. LeDoux reverts to clinching, but takes several shots on the way in.

ROUND 8

Both fighters appear to need a break and spend most of the round leaning and clinching. Haakim connects with a few light flurries, while LeDoux scores with two solid rights to the body.

ROUND 9

Haakim gets on his bicycle, forcing LeDoux to chase and absorb a series of jabs for his trouble. Immediately after LeDoux lands his best shot of the round, a decent right to the side of the head, Haakim unleashes a jab-cross-hook combo that opens a cut under LeDoux's right eye, drawing the first blood of the evening and again bringing the crowd to its feet.

ROUND 10

Apparently believing he's safely ahead, Haakim goes completely on the defensive. LeDoux, no longer bleeding, is able to get in a couple of body shots, then draws a roar of anticipation with a right to the jaw that wobbles Haakim with 30 seconds remaining. An exhausted LeDoux is unable to follow up, however, leaving the outcome in the hands of the referee and two ringside judges ...

[BigBoyBrackey]

Referee Vincent Rainone scores it six rounds to four ...

Judge Eva Shain scores it six rounds to four ...

And judge Milo Savage scores it five rounds to four, with one round even ...

All for the winner by unanimous decision -- Ali Haakim!

[BigBoyBrackey]

HOWARD COSELL: Scott, your reaction to a close decision that you, and the crowd, believe to be incorrect.

SCOTT LEDOUX: It's horse(expletive deleted), Howard. I don't know what (profane adjective deleted) fight those (profane adjective deleted) (profane noun deleted) were watching, but go ask Haakim who won the (profane adjective deleted) fight. He'll be (profane verb deleted) blood for a week.

(Quick cut to commercial. Return to Cosell alone in the ring with the crowd booing.)

COSELL: I would like to start by apologizing to our sponsors and those viewing at home. The emotion of the moment clearly got the best of Mr. LeDoux, who was upset at what he believes to be an unfair decision. Referee Vincent Rainone and judges Eva Shain and Milo Savage clearly believed otherwise. In this reporter's eyes, Haakim deserved the close decision, though LeDoux acquitted himself admirably, looking better, in all honesty, than I had anticipated.

Scott LeDoux believes he has been robbed of victory before, on this network, and expressed himself in rather colorful terms, perhaps forgetting that he was on live television. We hope the viewers at home, and the members of the Federal Communications Commission, will understand.

(For those unfamiliar to the melee following LeDoux-Boudreaux, there's an interview with LeDoux and video clip here.)

[Ric915]

Good opening out. Looking forward to the main event

[BigBoyBrackey]

(Cue Howard ...)


There are two big questions surrounding our main event. Why doesn't Larry Holmes, the unbeaten heavyweight champion of the world, enter the ring tonight with no title belt around his waist? And why is Gerrie Coetzee, who has lost two previous title opportunities and was decisively knocked out by Renaldo Snipes last August, getting a chance to win Holmes' unofficial, but very real crown?

The first question has been answered repeatedly since Holmes was stripped of his World Boxing Council belt by the organization's directors at the behest, nay, the command of promoter Don King. The second question is not as simple to answer. After beating Kenny Norton, Earnie Shavers, Mike Weaver and Muhammad Ali over the past three years, Holmes believes himself entitled to face what he considers a safe, though marketable, defense. Also, Coetzee agreed to take the fight for a $40,000 purse -- the lowest in the heavyweight division in years -- so long as his fellow South African, Cedric Kushner, was granted co-promotional rights, along with Murad Muhammad.

Every champion of note has taken on fighters considered to be inferior. Ali had Chuck Wepner and Richard Dunn, among others. Frazier had Terry Daniels and Ron Stander. Joe Louis's Bum-of-the-Month club numbered more than a dozen club fighters from across the country.

Coetzee has proven himself a better caliber of fighter than those just mentioned. Will the "Bionic Right" be enough to pose a serious challenge to Larry Holmes, who has beaten all 39 heavyweights he has met? We will learn that answer after this message.

[BigBoyBrackey]

ROUND 1

Coetzee eschews any sort of a feeling-out period and walks straight to Holmes and starts throwing bombs. With the champion watching for the right, Coetzee opens with a left hook to the side of the head that lands with a thud, stunning the crowd into silence. Holmes's left knee buckles briefly, but he recovers quickly, only to take the full force of Coetzee's vaunted right.

Holmes slows the South African's charge with a left-right to the midsection, but takes another hard right halfway through the round.

Coetzee appears slightly discouraged that Holmes is still standing after taking three of his best shots, and Larry seizes the opening, working behind his trademark jab to set up a right cross that launches Coetzee into the ropes just before the bell. The crowd, on its feet and roaring through most of the round, continues to do so through the one-minute break.

ROUND 2

Still looking a little unsteady, Coetzee reverts to his more typical style, keeping his distance and waiting for an opening to counter-punch. Holmes, perhaps sensing a trap, is equally cautious, with little action beyond a few meaningless exchanges for the first two minutes. Holmes opens up with the jab again, landing three in the final minute, but failing to follow up.

ROUND 3

Coetzee comes out more aggressively, scoring with a right to the forehead and an uppercut with the same hand during the opening minute. Holmes re-establishes the jab and begins coming behind it with the right, with a particularly nasty shot forcing Coetzee to clinch away the last 10 seconds.

ROUND 4

The fighters meet in the center of the ring and each misses with a big right. They grapple and suddenly, Holmes goes down hard on his back.

The crowd is just starting to react with a roar muted by surprise when referee Joe Cortez steps in and declares Holmes went down from a push and not a punch. But the champion looks tentative when the action re-starts, and Coetzee connects with a right uppercut flush under his chin. Now Coetzee starts working the jab, then lands a hard right that puts Holmes's back against the ropes near his own corner.

He fights his way out, first by asserting himself in a toe-to-toe exchange, then with a pair of quick, hard jabs that move the action back to ring center. Coetzee misses with a left hook at the bell. Swelling is visible under Holmes's right eye as he walks back to his corner.

ROUND 5

Holmes's corner reduces the swelling effectively during the break, but he goes on the offensive with a renewed sense of urgency. A pair of left-rights to the head, followed by a right to the sternum immediately followed by a right uppercut send Coetzee back into his own corner, where he unsuccessfully tries to clinch. Holmes keeps within range, landing a barrage of straight rights, then a left hook that has Coetzee sagging into the ropes.

With 30 seconds left, Coetzee thumps a left hook to the ribs that causes Holmes to wince and list a bit to his right, but he comes out of it with a quick right lead that sets up a devastating cross behind it. Coetzee wobbles and tries to stagger to his right, but before Holmes can follow up, Cortez leaps in and wraps his arms around Coetzee.

Coetzee reacts with dismay, arguing vehemently against the stoppage. His father and trainer, Flip, leaps into the ring and rushes at Cortez and starts to throw a haymaker at the referee before Holmes's trainer, Richie Giachetti, grabs him by the arms. Ring security rushes through the ropes and separates the trainers and the referee as the crowd is roughly split between loud cheering and obscene chants. The time of the stoppage is 2:54.

[PWillisTheMan]

I thought Jackie McCoy was Gerrie's trainer?

[BigBoyBrackey]

Originally Posted by PWillisTheMan

I thought Jackie McCoy was Gerrie's trainer?

According to a Google News clip from the Nashua Telegraph, McCoy came on to help South African trainer Willie Locke before the Dokes fight in Sept. 1983. His father is also quoted in the story, and trained him for his amateur career and at least some of his early pro days. Locke and Flip Coetzee -- who clashed with McCoy and sounds like the typical boxing father -- would probably have both been in Gerrie's corner for a fight in this period, but rather than explain all that, I'm just considering Flip the trainer of record. For the simmed bouts in this uni, I generally use the attributes of a random trainer, unless there's a well-established connection between the fighter and a rated cornerman (i.e. Holmes-Giachetti) or a storyline connection (Page-Dundee).

[Thomas Hearns]

A really good universe, I like this very much! It's a pity that we won't know how Ali an Frazier will perform in South Africa!

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Thomas Hearns

A really good universe, I like this very much! It's a pity that we won't know how Ali an Frazier will perform in South Africa!

I miss this one, too. Some great stories in it.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Ali Rips South Africa, Knoetze

United Press International

SUN CITY, Bophuthatswana -- Five days before facing South African contender Kallie Knoetze, Muhammad Ali broke his public silence and quite possibly ignited an international firestorm.

Ali had not spoken with reporters since arriving in Bophuthatswana two weeks ago, with trainer Angelo Dundee saying the three-time champion wanted to keep his focus on training until the week of the fight. After an afternoon workout at the Sun City resort, he took questions from a small gathering of the press. He cut off a Johannesburg reporter who used the word "homeland" to describe the host region, which has not been officially recognized by any government, save that of South Africa itself.

"'Homeland?' Makes it sound like someplace somebody might want to be," Ali said with a half-smile. "You should get in your fancy cars and take a ride out in the country around here. See how you'd like to call it your 'homeland.'"

While Bophuthatswana was granted self-rule in 1971, it relies heavily on subsidies from the Johannesburg government, with a dearth of jobs forcing nearly half its black population travels to South Africa for work. While black residents can vote in Bophuthatswanan elections, only members of the white minority can do so in South Africa, where most important decisions are made.

"People live in huts, in shacks, a few miles from this place," Ali said, gesturing toward the chandeliers hanging in the ballroom of the ornate, two-year-old casino and hotel. "I run through some of the villages every morning, and see how they have to live. Makes me angry."

Ali said he intends to channel that frustation into his upcoming bout with Knoetze, scheduled to take place early Tuesday morning in order to accomodate its live broadcast on American television as part of ABC's "Monday Night Boxing" series.

"I wanted to fight Knoetze before," said Ali, alluding to discussions of a possible meeting in 1978, which ended with his upset loss to Leon Spinks. "Now that I've seen this place up close, I really want to fight him. Just look at him. He looks like every South African cop. He looks like South Africa."


Knoetze is a former police officer charged, but later acquitted, in the shooting of a black teenager in 1977. He resigned from the force after being convicted of witness intimidation in an unrelated police brutality case. He fought in the United States once in 1979, when he was ranked the No. 2 heavyweight by the World Boxing Association, but protests surrounding his fourth-round stoppage of Bill Sharkey in Miami convinced him to return home, rather than campaign stateside for a title shot.

An eighth-round knockout loss to American John Tate in a WBA title eliminator at Sun City started a skid of four losses in six fights, including a first-round stoppage to countryman "Jumbo" Jimmy Abbott, who takes on Joe Frazier in the semifinal to Ali-Knoetze. Knoetze has reversed his fortunes of late, though, recording five straight knockout wins. He won the African Heavyweight title with a first-round kayo of Ngozika Ekwelum in November, then floored American journeyman Leroy Boone five times en route to a ninth-round stoppage in January.

"Ali is one of my heroes as a fighter," Knoetze said when told of Ali's remarks. "But he's not a politician, and neither am I. We should both stick to fighting."

Ali turned 40 on Jan. 17, almost a month after launching his latest comeback with a 10-round decision win over Jeff Shelburg in Salt Lake City, said he better understands the criticism that accompanied his decision to fight in South Africa from both black and white leaders in the United States.

"I can see why they think fighting here helps apartheid -- I never realized how awful it is until seeing for myself," he said. "But a lot of people don't even know what the word means, or how black folks have to live here. I think me fighting here, and Joe Frazier fighting here, might help show the world what is happening here."

[bear]

Nice to see this back.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Ex-Champ's Remarks Stoke Conflict

United Press International

PRETORIA -- Muhammad Ali's condemnation of apartheid was the talk of the South African capital, where further heightening tensions stemming from last week's firebombing of the African National Congress headquarters in London.

While no one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, which resulted in extensive damage to the banned political party's offices but only one injury, sources on both side of the apartheid struggle believe the South African government may have given at least tacit approval, if not direct support and coordination.

"There has been pressure within the government to respond to recent attacks by the opposition," a source within the government said on condition of anonymity. "The National Party is worried that without some sort of retaliation, whites will lose confidence in their security and blacks will feel emboldened."

In 1981, at least 50 bombings of government offices and public places, as well as sabotage attacks on rail lines and South African Defence facilities, spurred demands for government action against Umkhonto de Sizwe -- the ANC's military arm -- from some white leaders.

While attacks attributed to the ANC and its supporters have slowed in the first months of 1982, three members of the Congress of South African Students were killed in a bombing carried out by government forces.

"The bombing of our offices, on foreign soil, is an unmistakable act of war, not only against the African National Congress, but against Great Britain, as well," ANC President Oliver Tambo said from London. "We demand a full investigation, and full accountability for those responsible."

South African Prime Minister P.W. Botha insisted governmental forces played no role in the March 12 bombing. Ali's comments portrayed Bophuthatswana -- site of the three-time world heavyweight champion's upcoming bout against former South African police officer Kallie Knoetze's next week -- as a puppet of Pretoria and the so-called homeland's independence as a sham.

"The African National Congress has made many enemies -- that is why they are banned," Botha said. "The American boxer can say what he wishes in Bophuthatswana. I only hope that he does not rouse the violent element in any political faction, especially as we try to find peace in this region."

[BigBoyBrackey]

O'Grady bombs out Watt;
Masters returns, briefly

United Press International

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Sean O'Grady avenged his controversial 1980 title-fight loss to Jim Watt in spectacular fashion, flattening the Scottish ex-titlist in the third round before a sold-out hometown crowd at the Myriad Convention Center.

O'Grady, who improved to 79-2 with his 68th knockout victory, made his second defense of the lightly regarded World Athletic Association's lightweight belt a memorable one. He hurt Watt with a left hook early in the third, then unloaded a barrage of similar shots to the head. The last sent the 33-year-old Scot crashing heavily, face-down. Watt started up at the count of four, but lost consciousness and again fell on his face, with the 10-count coming at the 2:50 mark.

Watt, who stopped O'Grady -- on a cut seemingly induced by a 10th-round head butt -- in the 12th in a World Boxing Council tilt, opened strong, boxing smoothly for the bout's first two minutes. O'Grady landed his first big hook of the night with 50 seconds left, though, and had Watt on the ropes and in trouble at the bell.

Watt connected with a head butt early in the second and followed up with a series of combinations that left O'Grady's left eye beginning to swell.

Watt had not fought since dropping a comprehensive 15-round decision to Alexis Arguello in June 1981.

On the undercard, local heavyweight Monte Masters rebounded from his eight-round kayo by Joe Frazier in December against a far lesser opponent.

Masters (21-1, 20 KOs) finished Pamplin with the first serious shot he threw, a left hook that didn't look to land with all that much force. Pamplin falls to a reported 9-2 mark, with four alleged knockouts.

The card was televised nationally on the ESPN cable network.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Security Tightens As
Ali, Knoetze Trade Barbs

United Press International

SUN CITY, Bophuthatswana -- Bophuthatswanan President Lucas Mangope announced heightened security measures for next week's heavyweight doubleheader featuring former heavyweight champions Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier against a pair of South African opponents.

Ali's recent comments about the host country and Kallie Knoetze, the former South African police officer he is scheduled to face in the early morning hours of March 23, have ratcheted concerns about the possibility of violence at our outside Sun City, the opulent resort where the bout will take place.

"I have every confidence in the people of my country, that they will show the world that we are a peaceful, independent nation," said Mangope, who receives little recognition as a head of state from any government other than South Africa's. "We will not, however, tolerate the interference of outside agitators."

Magope said the Bophuthatswanan military -- with assistance from the South African Defence Force -- will maintain roadblocks on all roads leading to Sun City, with police officers patrolling the temporary 40,000-seat stadium that has been constructed on the resort's grounds.

The crowd -- expected to be at least 80 percent white, including a large contingent of foreign press and fight fans -- will be segregated within the stadium, Mangope said.

"This is a sporting event, not a political forum," Mangope said. "We will take every measure to ensure that peace is maintained."

Frazier, who is scheduled to face Jumbo Abbott in a 10-round bout immediately before Ali-Knoetze, said he is not worried about security, or his own safety.

"I grew up in South Carolina when Jim Crow was still boss, so I'm not worried about anything happening to me," Frazier said after finishing a sparring session. "Everybody, black and white, should come to see the fight, not to get in one."

Ali, meanwhile, did not back away from his earlier critique of Bophuthatswana, South Africa and Knoetze.

"If the government needs to put a bunch of guys with guns around the ring, it just shows they know how wrong this whole set-up is," Ali told reporters. "You've got this crazy, fancy resort for white people with black folks living in huts all around. I've met met the people stuck in this 'homeland,' and they're beautiful. They've got strength, and they've got hope. No law, no army can take that away."

The three-time former heavyweight champion's countenance turned more grim when the subject turned to Knoetze.

"All the soldiers and police can't help poor Kallie," Ali said, his voice rising. "He's going to be fighting a man, all by himself. I ain't no kid."

Ali's crack was a clear reference to Knoetze's shooting of a black teenager in both legs while serving as a constable in the South African city of Pretoria. Knoetze, who claimed the boy had thrown rocks at him during a political demonstration, was acquitted of wrongdoing in the case, but resigned the force in 1977 after being convicted of attempting to intimidate a witness in an unrelated police-brutality case.

"He was lucky because I'm a good shot," says Knoetze. "A very good shot. If I had wanted to I could have killed him on the spot. I don't like shooting anyone, but I did what any other policeman would have done."

The teenager was also acquitted of any wrongdoing.

"Ali can say what he wants -- that's all in the past. He is my hero as a boxer, but that will not stop me from giving him a beating," Knoetze said.

Knoetze's planned 1979 fighting tour of the United States was cut short after one fight -- a fourth-round knockout of journeyman Bill Sharkey in Miami -- due to protests by opponents of South Africa's segregationist policy of apartheid. While there has been a fair amount of criticism of Ali and Frazier for agreeing to fight at Sun City, the reaction has been largely muted, perhaps by the personal popularity of both former champions.

"I'm not hurting anybody by fighting here," Ali said before cracking a wide grin. "Well, except for Knoetze."

(Note: The Knoetze quote about the shooting are his own words, from a 1979 article in one of the great boxing publications, People magazine.)

[Lee]

Nice build up to the Ali - Knoetze fight!

[BigBoyBrackey]

STAR-LEDGER


Playboy Club Hosting Heavyweight Weekend

While most of the boxing world -- and much of the non-pugilistic portion of the planet's population -- focuses on Monday's Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier in Bophuthatswana, a pair of nationally televised cards at the Playboy Hotel and Casino carry more than a little import, as well.

On Saturday, rising heavyweight Tim Witherspoon faces what should amount to a tune-up against Argentinian veteran Luis Acosta. Witherspoon improved to 13-0 with 10 wins inside the distance when he leveled fellow unbeaten prospect Alfonso Ratliff in the third last December. Acosta has compiled a 15-3 mark with 11 knockouts against non-descript opponents, mainly in South America. In his most recent outing, he was stopped in the eighth by Reiner Hartmann in Miami in December.

An impressive performance would make Witherspoon a virtual lock for one of the undercard spots on ABC's Monday Night Boxing series, particularly if he emerges healthy enough for a quick return. The series, which amounts to the first round of what is shaping up as a heavyweight unification tournament, runs through the end of April.

On Sunday, World Boxing Council 140-pound titlist Aaron Pryor (29-0, 27 KOs), who is quickly ascending the pound-for-pound ranks with a dizzying offensive arsenal, makes the fourth defense of his belt when he takes on Miguel Montilla (37-6-3, 27 KOs).

In the other half of the scheduled CBS afternoon broadcast (Witherspoon-Acosta will be televised by the ESPN cable network), two fringe heavyweight contenders meet in a crossroads match.


Jeff Sims (12-3, 12 KOs) tries to rebound from a decision loss to Jimmy Young in July, followed by a devastating fifth-round knockout by a rejuvenated Earnie Shavers in December on the undercard of Frazier's comeback win over Monte Masters.

Thomas (24-3, 15 knockouts) comes off a unique humiliation, having been stopped in the first by the historically light-punching Young in November.

The winner remains in the running for a higher-profile fight, with the loser likely headed for retirement or career "opponent" status.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Originally Posted by Lee

Nice build up to the Ali - Knoetze fight!

And negotiations are in the final stages to put Jeff Shelburg, coming off a 10-round loss to Ali that seems to have enhanced his stature, on the undercard of an upcoming Monday Night Boxing telecast.