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Gerhardus Christian Coetzee (born April 8, 1955 in Boksburg), better known as Gerrie Coetzee, is a South African former boxer.^[1] He made history twice: he was the first boxer from the African continent ever to fight for, and win, a world heavyweight title. His nickname was The Bionic Hand, because he always had trouble with his right hand, and had a few corrective items put in it during three surgeries. His Afrikaans nickname was "Seer Handjies" or little sore hands, named so by fellow South African boxing great Kallie Knoetze.

Rise to championship contention[link]

Coetzee started boxing professionally on the night of September 14, 1974, when he beat 19 fight veteran and fellow South African Christian Roos by a decision in four. He followed that win with 21 consecutive wins to reach a record of 22-0 before fighting for the WBA heavyweight title for the first time. Among those wins was one over Roos in a rematch, which Coetzee won by a knockout in three rounds; wins over former world title challengers Ron Stander, Randy Stephens and Pierre Fourie; a South African Heavyweight championship victory against amateur rival Kallie Knoetze (unanimous decision in 10) as well as a first round knockout of former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks. With exception of the Spinks bout, held at Monte Carlo, the rest of Coetzee's fights during his early run were held in his native South Africa.

Spinks as was his style, attacked Coetzee and pressured him, throwing punches from many angles and generally trying to steam-roll the South African. Coetzee composed himself and a short right hand delivered to Spinks' temple knocked down the former world champion. Coetzee proceeded to drop Spinks two more times to record a TKO in an upset that catapulted Coetzee into the boxing consciousness. Coetzee had displayed impressive right-hand power, speed and composure in the Spinks win, enhancing his reputation as a real title threat in the post-Ali landscape of the heavyweight division.

First attempt at a world title[link]

Coetzee was tabbed to face John Tate for the WBA heavyweight title that had been left vacant by Muhammad Ali. Coetzee became the first African born heavyweight ever to challenge for a world title, but his dream of becoming the first person from Africa to become world heavyweight champion had to wait, because he was beaten on points over 15 rounds.

Coetzee fought lethargically and his stamina and pace were lacking. Such would be the story of much of his career. Aggressive and willing, Coetzee nonetheless seemed to have no Plan B if he did not knock out his opponent. In future matches, his self-awareness of his stamina issues seemed to play on his performances.

The first major boxing event in South Africa to change the face of sports in apartheid South Africa was the fight between Bob Foster and Pierre Fourie on the 1 Dec 1973. This laid firm foundations for racially-mixed boxing in front of racially-mixed audiences.

Mixed bouts between South Africans were legalised in 1977, but the last vestiges of the colour bar disappeared only two years later when the system of white, black and supreme titles was abolished.

The first multiracial SA title fights were held at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg on November 27, 1976 when Gerrie Coetzee and Elijah 'Tap Tap' Makhatini became undisputed champions. (Ron Jackson - http://www.supersport.com/boxing/blogs/ron-jackson/The_origins_of_boxing_in_SA).

Second attempt at a world title[link]

Tate lasted only a short time as WBA world titlist, as he was beaten by Mike Weaver in his first title defense. Weaver had risen to world challenger from a very uneven early stage of his career. He had several losses and was a late bloomer to some degree. He achieved notoriety when as a huge underdog he gave a spirited challenge to Larry Holmes in 1979.

In the Tate-Weaver bout, Tate was the star and was seen by some few as the rival claimant, along with Holmes to the true legitimate Heavyweight title now fractured since Ali's retirement. Tate boxed neatly against the muscular Weaver. Unlike in his bout against Holmes, Weaver wasn't enjoying much success. Going into the 15th and last round, Weaver needed a miracle. In a spectacular finish, Weaver knocked out Tate with a home run left hook depositing Tate face down. The end of the count over Tate came with 15 seconds left in the bout.

In the meantime, Coetzee had maintained his status as a highly rated contender with a keep-busy knock out over Mike Koraniki in the first round to keep his title hopes alive. Weaver duly traveled to South Africa in 1980 to defend his title against Coetzee, fighting in front of a very large crowd. As usual, Coetzee dominated the early portions, and had Weaver hurt several times. It was Coetzee that was both the aggressor and the dynamic, fluid fighter. In the 8th, Weaver was in desperate trouble but Coetzee was sloppy and did not place his punches to finish him off.

With the missed opportunity to finish Weaver gone, Coetzee seemed to wilt. Weaver was beginning to time Coetzee's punches for counters. By round 12 the fight was close to even, with the South African's lead having evaporated. Weaver had survived Coetzee's onslaught and the tide had turned. Coetzee's stamina failed him and he began to throw fewer punches by round 9. Coetzee was now leaning and mauling more and was getting hit more often coming in with his unprotected head held high. Weaver was accelerating and was getting the better of exchanges as the bout wore on.

Spent, exhausted and unable or unwilling to box and move to ride out the storm, Coetzee was knocked down for the first time in his career and out by a big counter punch in the 13th round.

Road to a third title bout[link]

Less than 5 months after the disappointment versus Weaver, Coetzee returned to the ring and beat fringe contender George Chaplin before facing Renaldo Snipes, a man who later would be seconds away from becoming world champion when he landed a huge right hand bomb that knocked down and seriously hurt Larry Holmes in a title challenge. Coetzee dropped Snipes early and seemed to dominate the action. However, the fight was scored by rounds and not on points, meaning a round won widely with knockdowns was no more valued than a round lost narrowly, and he lost a ten round decision that was deemed one of the worst of the decade. Interestingly Coetzee lost the last few rounds confirming seemingly his reputation as a '6 round fighter'. Though some are ok with the scoring, this fight is routinely cited by boxing fans as one of THE 'worst decisions ever'.

Coetzee had gone 5-1 in the 6 fights since the Weaver bout. Included those half dozen fights was a win over former title challenger Scott Le Doux.

He next faced the up and coming future WBC champion Pinklon Thomas. Again, Coetzee held the edge in the first half of the bout but Thomas, possessing a very good chin and a snappy left jab, weathered Coetzee's early offense and rallied to hold the big South African to a draw. While the bout didn't severely damage Coetzee's reputation, it seemed to confirm the ceiling of Coetzee's abilities. That being not quite title material. 5 years on the world scene and two lost title shots. The 'loss' to Snipes, and now the draw with Thomas. Coetzee was still viable but seemingly was going nowhere.

Third Time's a Charm[link]

Despite the outcome of the Thomas fight, (or perhaps because of it) Coetzee received his third world title try against WBA champion Michael Dokes. By now known as someone who could not win "The Big One", Coetzee's predicted fate in this bout was to show-case Dokes' abilities and status as a rising star. Dokes was promoted by Don King and was another in a line of WBA 'champions' being foisted upon the public as a rvial claimant to the recognized best fighter in the division, Larry Holmes.

This third time trying for a title turned out to be the charm for Coetzee. On September 23, 1983 in front of a crowd in the Richfield Coliseum in Akron, Ohio and a HBO Boxing audience, Coetzee dominated Dokes after a few rounds of even fighting. The South African lead with aggression but also used counter punching as well. Coetzee's poise was apparent, and he boxed more deftly than usual employing more left hooks while still eschewing much in the way of defense, sponging anything Dokes could land and scoring a knockdown. The years of frustration for the Bionic Hand were wiped away when Coetzee knocked out Dokes in the tenth round to become South Africa's first world Heavyweight title holder. He also became the first Caucasian world heavyweight champion in 23 years. The fight was KO Magazine's "Upset of The Year" for 1983. Dokes for his part lost his title; his status as a 'rising star' and became perhaps the first fighter in heavyweight history to be knocked out and have his promoter walk literally over him to congratulate his conqueror, as Don King stepped/rushed over Dokes' prone body to giddily congratulate Coetzee.

It turned out that the punch that knocked out Dokes hurt Coetzee even more: his right hand was broken and required another surgery five days after the fight, in New York.

Failed Unification and a Short championship reign[link]

There was much talk about a unification bout with the recognized best fighter in the division and now International Boxing Federation Champion, Holmes, in 1984, and a contract was duly signed. The bout would be wildly lucrative, and a win for Coetzee would legitimize his standing as perhaps the 'real' heavyweight champion. Holmes himself though possessing only one of now 3 title-belts was recognized by most as the real, bona fide, 'champion'.

There were massive financial issues when the backer of the bout, JPD Sports out of Dallas, Texas, could not raise the original purse necessary. Caesar's Palace spoke of saving the promotion, but it fell through. Don King's involvement as Coetzee's promoter, as well as Larry Holmes' split with King previously also contributed to the bout no tbeing made. Holmes, shopped to save the bout which could have meant 15 Million for him and a significant amount for Coetzee. Coetzee was personally willing and eager for the bout. He even indicated he was willing to go through with the bout though he would likely enter the ring without the WBA title. The WBA had stated that for the bout to take place with its blessing, it required Holmes (absurdly, as is their wont)to essentially be quantified as a contender for Coetzee's belt. Or, the WBA would require Coetzee to drop his belt to qualify as a challenger for Holmes'.

Holmes and most followers of the sport knew there was no reason for him to diminish his status by being the 'challenger' for Coetzee's far-less legitimate stake in the world 'title'. Not to mention Holmes saw no reason for the WBA to preside over a bout between the two men. The WBA insisted Coetzee could not face Holmes, despite the fact Holmes had been recognized as the best heavyweight in the world since 1978. In any event, Coetzee re-injured his hand during training camp, requiring another surgery. The fight was cancelled. The WBA was, of course, willing to allow Coetzee to face the fighters they rated (read: collected fees from when they fought for WBA belts) regardless of their own true abilities, none of which of course was as legitimate claimant to competing for the "World" Title as was Holmes.

On his return to the ring, after an extended absence, Coetzee was paired with Greg Page (the real #1 contender David Bey, refused to go to South Africa as described in "Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King" by Jack Newfield, Bey became the #1 by outpointing Greg Page over 12 rounds). Page was even more stigmatized by failing to win big fights than was Coetzee. He was seen as supremely talented and like many fighters in the immediate post-Ali era, his size, speed and coordination supposedly portended great expectations of achievement. While Page could look extremely impressive, as against James Tillis for example, he also was seen as lazy and unmotivated. The loss to the rather limited Bey along with his being handled and defeated by former Holmes challenger Tim Witherspoon for the vacant World Boxing Council (available as it had been stripped from Holmes, incidentally) title in 1984 seemed to underscore Page looked the part of dominant heavyweight more than fought like one.

In this bout Page did less posing than normal, and did more fighting putting on an energetic performance. The bout was exciting, with a lot of give-and-take. Coetzee seemed overconfident, and can be seen delivering a lot of the trash-talking and doing less punching and trying more verbal intimidation such as he used in bouts against Tate and Weaver. What was evident though was his lack of form as well as Page being on top of his game. This Page wasn't the man outworked by David Bey. Page was fighting and displaying those composite skills many had expected him to deliver consistently. Coetzee for his part was dangerous and while sloppy, was getting his own shots home. The challenger's strong chin nullified Coetzee's power to some extent. The two exchanged momentum. Coetzee's lack of defense was more evident than usual, and he was a sitting duck for Page's counter-punching and his once dependable chin seemed to fail him, being stung and hurt often. His right was not effective, but he was scoring withchis left hand. He was dropped after the bell of the 6th round (a foul normally); and in the 7th legitimately. Page was taking advantage of Coetzee's recklessness. In exchange after exchange as the bout wore on, it was Coetzee, the "puncher", losing the skirmishes and being hurt. Inevitably, he was frozen and knocked out by a crushing left hand in Round 8. But, there was controversy.

Coetzee's camp protested that not only had the 8th round run too long, but also that while Coetzee was on the canvas the bell had sounded and the referee's count should have been waved off. Generally, this would have allowed Coetzee to continue for at least one more round. The 8th, the round in question actually did run for almost a minute too long. Despite this, the WBA recognized the result as it happened, and affirmed Page as the winner by a knockout in eight. Coetzee and his camp demanded an immediate rematch. Instead, Page went on to face Tony Tubbs whom he had beaten several times in the amateurs.

Post-championship career[link]

After losing his title, Coetzee made token attempts at a comeback. He beat the former title challenger and at that time mid-level foe James "Quick" Tillis by a decision in ten. Next was a journey to England to fight the big-punching contender Frank Bruno. In the offing would be a shot at the WBA title, since dropped by Page. Coetzee looked fleshy and was strangely unaggressive. Bruno stalked the South African and caught him with a big right hand, decking him shortly into the bout. Bruno would mop up and KO Coetzee in one. After that fight, he announced his retirement, but came back twice during the 1990s, winning by knockout in three against both Dave Fiddler and Wes Turner in 1993, and then winning against Dan Komiscki in three. Coetzee lost to former world Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion Iran Barkley by a knockout in ten, after dropping him in round two, for a bogus, minor heavyweight belt.

Coetzee has remained in retirement ever since.

His overall record stands at 33 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw, with 21 wins by knockout.

Professional boxing record[link]

33 Wins (21 knockouts, 12 decisions), 6 Losses (4 knockouts, 2 decision), 1 Draw [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	40-12	Iran "The Blade" Barkley	TKO	10	08/06/1997	Hollywood, California, United States	WBB World Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:07 of the tenth round.
Win	12-12	Dan Kosmicki	TKO	3	10/01/1997	Hollywood, California, United States
Win	16-3	West Turner	TKO	5	01/10/1993	Sacramento, California, United States
Win	15-13-2	Dave Fiddler	KO	2	27/08/1993	Sacramento, California, United States
Loss	27-1	Frank Bruno	KO	1	04/03/1986	Wembley, London, United Kingdom	Coetzee knocked out at 1:50 of the first round.
Win	31-6	James "The Fighting Cowboy" Tillis	UD	10	07/09/1985	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa	99-93, 99-94.
Loss	23-3	Greg Page	KO	8	01/12/1984	Sun City, Boputhatswana, South Africa	WBA World Heavyweight Title. Coetzee knocked out at 3:03 of the eighth round.
Win	26-0-2	Michael "Dynamite" Dokes	KO	10	23/09/1983	Richfield, Ohio, United States	WBA World Heavyweight Title. Dokes knocked out at 3:08 of the tenth round.
Draw	20-0	Pinklon Thomas	PTS	10	22/01/1983	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	5-4, 5-5, 4-4.
Win	15-4-2	Stan "Avalanche" Ward	TKO	2	11/09/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:10 of the second round.
Win	29-10-4	Scott "The Fighting Frenchman" LeDoux	KO	8	27/03/1982	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	20-6	Fossie Schmidt	TKO	4	13/02/1982	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	28-25-5	Leroy Caldwell	KO	5	31/10/1981	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa	Caldwell knocked out at 2:37 of the fifth round.
Loss	21-0	Renaldo Snipes	SD	10	09/08/1981	Tarrytown, New York, United States	4-5, 4-5, 6-3.
Win	16-2-2	George Chaplin	UD	10	14/03/1981	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Loss	22-9	Mike "Hecules" Weaver	TKO	13	25/10/1980	Sun City, Boputhatswana, South Africa	WBA World Heavyweight Title. 113-117, 115-116, 114-116.
Win	22-5-2	Mike Koranicki	KO	1	19/04/1980	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Loss	19-0	"Big" John Tate	UD	15	20/10/1979	Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa	WBA World Heavyweight Title. 144-147, 142-147, 145-148.
Win	7-1-1	"Neon" Leon Spinks	TKO	1	24/06/1979	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Referee stopped the bout at 2:03 of the first round.
Win	26-6-1	Ibar Arrington	PTS	10	15/12/1978	Durban, Natal South Africa
Win	10-3	Randy Stephens	PTS	10	26/05/1978	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	20-2-1	Johnny Boudreaux	KO	6	03/12/1977	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	18-6-1	Tom Prater	KO	4	29/10/1977	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	34-6-1	Mike "The Tank" Schutte	PTS	12	16/04/1977	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa	South African Heavyweight Title.
Win	52-6-1	Pierre Fourie	KO	3	19/03/1977	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa	South African Heavyweight Title.
Win	11-4-1	James Mathatho	KO	7	27/11/1976	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa	South African Heavyweight Title.
Win	6-1	Kallie "Die Bek van Boomstraat" Knoetze	PTS	10	30/10/1976	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	32-5-1	Mike "The Tank" Schutte	DQ	6	16/08/1976	Durban, Natal, South Africa	South African Heavyweight Title.
Win	30-9-2	Ron "The Butcher" Stander	KO	8	17/07/1976	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	26-10-4	Jimmy Richards	TKO	9	10/04/1976	Turffontein, Transvaal South Africa	Transvaal Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the ninth round.
Win	11-6-1	Hartmut Sasse	PTS	6	20/03/1976	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	11-7-2	Chris Roos	TKO	3	27/10/1975	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	5-3	Hennie Thoonen	TKO	3	27/06/1975	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	6-5-1	Amedeo Laureti	PTS	6	07/06/1975	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	4-1	Hennie Thoonen	PTS	6	05/05/1975	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	13-14-1	Steve Foley	KO	3	22/02/1975	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Win	1-0	Kosie Oosthuizen	KO	1	02/11/1974	Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa	Kosie knocked out at 0:38 of the first round.
Win	8-7-1	Bert Nikkelen Kuyper	KO	1	26/10/1974	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa	Kuyper knocked out at 0:25 of the first round.
Win	11-6-2	Chris Roos	PTS	4	14/09/1974	Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Gerrie Coetzee
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Professional boxing record for Gerrie Coetzee from BoxRec

Frank Bruno
Frank Bruno (left) with Errol Christie
Statistics
Real name	Franklin Roy Bruno
Nickname(s)	"Frank" Bruno
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Nationality	British
Born	(1961-11-16) 16 November 1961 (age 50) Hammersmith, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	45[1]
Wins	40
Wins by KO	38
Losses	5
Draws	0
No contests	0

Franklin Roy "Frank" Bruno MBE (born 16 November 1961) is a British former boxer whose career highlight was winning the WBC heavyweight championship in 1995. Altogether, he won 40 of his 45 contests. Like Henry Cooper before him, Bruno has remained a popular celebrity with the British public since his ring career ended and still appears regularly in pantomime.

Boxing career[link]

Bruno became a professional boxer in 1982, quickly racking up a streak of twenty-one consecutive wins by knockout. This streak caught the attention of international boxing magazines, such as The Ring, KO Magazine, Boxing Illustrated, Ring En Español. During this period Bruno defeated former world title contender Scott LeDoux, the dangerous fringe contender Floyd Cummings, former European Champion Rudy Gauwe, British contender Eddie Nielson and trial horses such as Bill Sharkey, Walter Santemore and Ken Lakusta. However, in May 1984 the up and coming future world heavyweight Champion, American James 'Bonecrusher' Smith, halted that streak when he defeated Bruno by knockout in the tenth and final round of their bout, with Bruno leading clearly on all three judges' cards. As a general view, Bruno was carefully managed, whereby he developed well to later give a strong account of himself in the big matches.

Bruno won his next 6 bouts against respected opposition. He won the European heavyweight title with a KO over Swedens Anders Eklund, KO'd former European champion and world title contender Lucien Rodriguez, was taken the distance for the first time by the useful world rated Philipp Brown, and beat fringe fighters Larry Frazier and Jeff Jordan.

Bruno got back into title contention with an impressive one round KO win over former WBA champion Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa, and, in July 1986, he challenged Tim Witherspoon for the WBA heavyweight title. After once again leading on the cards for most of the fight, he ran out of steam and was defeated by knockout, in round eleven.

Bruno once again got himself back into title contention with wins over former contender James Tillis and journeymen Reggie Gross and Chuck Gardner. In October 1987 Bruno faced the veteran Joe Bugner, who although long past his peak was coming off impressive wins over Greg Page and David Bey. Bruno won by TKO in the 8th round, the referee stopping the bout, although it appeared Bugner could have continued.

In 1989, Bruno challenged Mike Tyson for the undisputed world heavyweight title. In the opening moments, the fighters came together with huge punches. Frank's legs buckled, and he took a big step back, inadvertently stepping off the ring apron. Most agree that he would have gone down, at least to a knee in any event, and this was called a knockdown. Frank did not complain, and instead gathered himself to continue, ultimately rocking Tyson (for the first time in his career) with a left hook toward the end of the round. However, Tyson recovered and eventually beat Bruno when the referee stopped the contest in round five with Bruno taking heavy punishment, lying helpless on the ropes.

Bruno kept winning fights, helping him to retain his spot as one of the world's leading heavyweights. He defeated good contenders such as Jose Ribalta, Carl Williams, and Pierre Coetzer, as well as the Dutchman Jan Emmen.

In 1993 he had a third world title chance against young Lennox Lewis, who was making the second defence of the belt (his first of three championship reigns). The Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno fight was the first time that two British-born boxers had fought for the world heavyweight title.^[2] Lewis beat Bruno on a stoppage in round seven, Bruno again failing to take his title chance after leading the contest on points up until what proved the final round.

Bruno again regrouped, dispatching the respected Jesse Ferguson in one round, and the fringe contenders Rodolfo Marin and Mike Evans equally easily.

On 24 September 1994, Oliver McCall beat Lewis with a surprising and somewhat controversial second round knockout victory at Wembley Arena, and, after outpointing Larry Holmes, he came to England to defend the WBC title against Bruno. On 2 September 1995, Bruno finally became world champion by outpointing McCall over twelve rounds. Bruno did not last long as champion - the contract he signed in order to get McCall meant he had to face Mike Tyson in his first defence. Tyson beat Bruno on a stoppage in round three,^[3] Bruno performing unusually poorly in what turned out to be his last bout as a professional, despite having commented prior to the fight "I ain't freezing, son".

Bruno's publicist throughout most of his career was sports historian Norman Giller, who wrote three books in harness with Frank: Know What I mean, Eye of the Tiger and From Zero to Hero. His manager for all but his last five fights was Terry Lawless, who signed him as a professional shortly after he had become ABA heavyweight champion at the age of eighteen.

Outside boxing[link]

Bruno grew up with five siblings in a terraced house in Wandsworth, South London, where his parents had settled after moving to England from the Caribbean. In 1990, he married his partner Laura at a small church in Hornchurch, an area of Greater London near the border with Essex. They had three children. However, their relationship deteriorated, and they divorced in 2001.^[4]

Bruno has remained a popular figure with the British public. His image was enhanced by his relationship with the BBC boxing commentator Harry Carpenter, his appearances on the early Comic Relief programmes in the 1980s and his frequent appearances thereafter on television and on stage (in pantomime).

In December 2005, Bruno announced that he was to become a father for the fourth time since finding new romance with old friend Yvonne Clydesdale. The pair, who first met five years previously at a health resort, began dating months after bumping into each other at a wine bar near his home. Yvonne gave birth to baby Freya on 10 May 2006.

In 1995, the year of his world championship, he released a cover version of "Eye of the Tiger", the theme song of the movie Rocky III. It reached No 28 in the UK charts.

In January 2001, Bruno announced that he wanted to stand as the Conservative candidate in the traditionally safe Tory seat of Brentwood and Ongar^[5] against the independent Member of Parliament, Martin Bell. His proposed slogan was "Don't be a plank, vote for Frank!" However, this idea was quickly dismissed by Conservative Central Office.^[6] But in an interview with BBC Sport at the time Bruno laughed at the story and denied he had any intention of standing.^{[citation needed]}

On 22 September 2003, Bruno was taken from his home near Brentwood in Essex by medical staff assisted by police officers, under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983. He was taken to Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford, where he underwent psychological and psychiatric tests.^[7] He had been suffering from depression for several months beforehand. He was later diagnosed as having bipolar disorder.^[8] On 9 October 2005 he admitted that his cocaine use, which began in 2000, contributed to his mental health problems.^[9] Media coverage of Bruno's problems raised controversy, the principal accusations were gross intrusion and insensitivity. Particular criticism was aimed at The Sun, whose headline in the first editions the next day read "Bonkers Bruno Locked Up". Second editions retracted the headline and attempted to portray a more sympathetic attitude towards Bruno and mental health in general.^[10] As an attempt at atonement, the paper established a charity fund for the victims of mental illness, although some mental health charities condemned The Sun's latter action that day as being grossly cynical in the light of the former. On 24 February 2008 Frank Bruno offered his support to former footballer Paul Gascoigne, who on 21 February had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act^[11] Bruno also spoke on his own personal experiences in the mental heath system at a conference run by Hari Sewell, on 22 June 2009.^[12]

On 10 October 2006, Bruno and his partner Yvonne Clydesdale were jointly awarded £50,000 damages for libel against The People newspaper and publishers MGN in respect of false claims made about the pair's relationship.^[13]

By 2005 Bruno was able to appear on BBC Radio as a guest expert at a boxing match, as well as appearing on television again. Bruno now regularly makes personal appearances and he also sells autographed items of memorabilia.^[14]

He supports West Ham United whilst also having an affinity for Aberdeen.

On 15 August 2009 he appeared on The Weakest Link beating Duke Mckenzie in the final for £12,800.

Frank had a small role in the 2008 British crime drama Cass.

Bruno made a brief guest appearances in episodes of the ITV comedy show, Harry Hill's TV Burp in February and October 2011.

Frank is also a Patron for The Shannon Bradshaw Trust, A Children's Charity. Helping Children with Life Threatening Conditions and their Families. www.shannonstrust.org.uk

On 3 March 2011 Frank Bruno appeared as a guest at The Sirloin pub in Chingford, East London for a questions and answers session.

On 21 April 2011, Bruno appeared on the ITV1 chatshow The Alan Titchmarsh Show, where he was quite candid about his previous health issues.

Frank completed the 2011 London marathon which is the 3rd marathon he has run successfully. He has also run numerous half marathons.

In 2011, he appeared in the remake of classic TV kids show Sooty alongside Richard Cadell.

On 20 April 2012, Bruno was featured in the ITV series Piers Morgan's Life Stories

Professional boxing record[link]

40 Wins (38 knockouts, 2 decisions), 5 Losses (5 knockouts, 0 decisions), 0 Draws [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	40–5	Mike Tyson	TKO	3 (12)	16/03/1996	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Lost WBC Heavyweight title. Bruno was cut over his left eye in the first round.
Win	40–4	Oliver McCall	UD	12	02/09/1995	Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom	Won WBC Heavyweight title.
Win	39–4	Lee Walsh	KO	2 (10)	13/05/1995	Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Win	38–4	Rodolfo Marin	KO	1 (10)	18/02/1995	Bath & West Country Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England, United Kingdom
Win	37–4	Jesse Ferguson	TKO	1 (10)	16/03/1994	National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom
Loss	36–4	Lennox Lewis	TKO	7 (12)	01/10/1993	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom	For WBC Heavyweight title.
Win	36–3	Carl Williams	TKO	10 (10)	24/04/1993	National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom
Win	35–3	Pierre Coetzer	TKO	8 (10)	17/10/1992	The Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	34–3	Jose Ribalta	KO	2 (10)	22/04/1992	The Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	33–3	John Emmen	TKO	1 (10)	20/11/1991	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Loss	32–3	Mike Tyson	TKO	5 (12)	25/02/1989	Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	For WBC, WBA & IBF Heavyweight titles. Bruno down in round 1 & penalized a point for holding. Bruno wobbled Tyson in the 1st round with a left hook.
Win	32–2	Joe Bugner	TKO	8 (10)	24/10/1987	White Hart Lane (Tottenham FC), Tottenham, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	31–2	Reggie Gross	TKO	8 (10)	30/08/1987	Nueva Andalucia Bullring, Marbella, Andalucía, Spain
Win	30–2	Chuck Gardner	TKO	1 (10)	27/06/1987	Palais des Festivals, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Win	29–2	James Tillis	TKO	5 (10)	24/03/1987	The Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Loss	28–2	Tim Witherspoon	TKO	11 (12)	19/07/1986	Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom	For WBA Heavyweight title.
Win	28–1	Gerrie Coetzee	KO	1 (10)	04/03/1986	The Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	27–1	Larry Frazier	KO	2 (10)	04/12/1985	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	26–1	Anders Eklund	KO	4 (12)	01/10/1985	The Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom	Won EBU Heavyweight title.
Win	25–1	Lucien Rodriguez	TKO	1 (10)	26/03/1985	The Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	24–1	Phillip Brown	UD	10	27/11/1984	The Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	23–1	Jeff Jordan	TKO	3 (10)	06/11/1984	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	22–1	Ken Lakusta	KO	2 (?)	25/09/1984	Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Loss	21–1	James Smith	KO	10 (10)	13/05/1984	Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	21–0	Juan Antonio Figueroa	TKO	1 (10)	13/03/1984	Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	20–0	Walter Santemore	KO	4 (10)	06/12/1983	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	19–0	Floyd Cummings	TKO	7 (10)	11/10/1983	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	18–0	Bill Sharkey	KO	1 (10)	27/09/1983	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	17–0	Mike Jameson	KO	1 (10)	09/07/1983	DiVinci Manor, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win	16–0	Barry Funches	TKO	5 (10)	31/05/1983	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	15–0	Scott LeDoux	TKO	3 (10)	03/05/1983	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	14–0	Eddie Neilson	TKO	3 (10)	05/04/1983	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	13–0	Winston Allen	TKO	2 (10)	01/03/1983	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	12–0	Peter Mulindwa Kozza	KO	3 (10)	08/02/1983	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom	Mulindwa replaced the injured Alfredo Evangelista on 3 days notice.
Win	11–0	Stewart Lithgo	RTD	4 (8)	18/01/1983	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom	Lithgo's corner retired after the 4th due to severe cuts around his eyes.
Win	10–0	Gilberto Acuna	TKO	1 (10)	07/12/1982	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	9–0	George Butzbach	TKO	1 (8)	23/11/1982	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	8–0	Rudy Gauwe	KO	2 (8)	09/11/1982	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	7–0	Ali Lukasa	TKO	2 (8)	23/10/1982	Berlin, Germany
Win	6–0	George Scott	TKO	1 (8)	14/09/1982	Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	5–0	Tony Moore	TKO	2 (8)	01/06/1982	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	4–0	Ronald Gibbs	TKO	4 (8)	04/05/1982	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	3–0	Abdul Muhaymin	KO	1 (8)	20/04/1982	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	2–0	Harvey Steichen	TKO	2 (8)	30/03/1982	Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
Win	1–0	Lupe Guerra	KO	1 (8)	17/03/1982	Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom	Bruno's debut.

See also[link]

• List of heavyweight boxing champions
• List of European Boxing Union heavyweight champions

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Frank Bruno
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Frank Bruno

• Official website
• Professional boxing record for Frank Bruno from BoxRec
• Frank Bruno in the 21st century - Tribute on britishboxing.net
• Profile: Frank Bruno - BBC News profile 22 September 2003
• How Bruno's troubles began - BBC Sport article 23 September 2003

Michael Marshall Dokes (born August 10, 1958 in Akron, Ohio) is a former American boxer in the heavyweight division, nicknamed "Dynamite."

Amateur career[link]

Dokes won a silver medal at the 1975 Pan American Games. He lost a 3-2 split decision to Teofilio Stevenson in the finals. He also lost a close decision to John Tate in the Olympic Trials, after which he turned professional.

Amateur Accomplishments[link]

• 1975 National AAU Heavyweight Champion
• 1976 National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion, beating future pro champs John Tate and Greg Page en route.
• As an underage 15 year old, made it to the finals of both the 1974 National Golden Gloves and the National AAU tournaments.He lost to Leon Spinks in AAU final, and future Tyson trainer Bobby Stewart in the Golden Gloves final.
• Won 1974 North American championships.
• Beat Marvin Stinson, who won the 1976 National AAU Heavyweight Championship.

Pro career[link]

Dokes turned professional in 1976. He received national exposure in a televised exhibition with Muhammad Ali in 1977, which saw Ali clown and mug while slipping Dokes' punches, but also revealed glimpses of Dokes' potential.^[1] He came to real prominence in 1979 by defeating veteran contender Jimmy Young. His career faltered slightly after fighting to a draw with Ossie Ocasio, but Dokes returned to knock out Ocasio in one round soon thereafter. By early 1982, after a first round knockout of Lynn Ball to win the NABF title, Dokes was in line for a title shot. He was ranked #2 by the WBC and #3 by the WBA. Dokes became WBA heavyweight champion in 1982 by knocking out Mike Weaver in the first round. A rematch was ordered due to the controversial nature of referee Joey Curtis's stoppage, which some felt was premature. In the rematch, Dokes retained his title on a majority draw.

Dokes's reign as the WBA title holder was short-lived. He lost his title by a tenth round knockout to Gerrie Coetzee. He was later knocked out by future champion Evander Holyfield in a fight which was called the "Heavyweight Fight of the Year" in 1989, and the "Heavyweight Fight of the Decade" for the 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

Dokes was knocked out by Razor Ruddock in 1990. In 1993, Dokes faced newly crowned heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe in his first title defense since defeating Evander Holyfield. Bowe won by TKO in the first round. Although Dokes and his team protested that the fight was stopped prematurely, it was obvious that Dokes was in no condition to continue after taking a vicious barrage of punches from the heavy hitting Bowe. After a nearly three year hiatus, Dokes returned to the ring winning 3 out 5 matches over a two year period before retiring for good in 1997.

Honors[link]

Dokes was named The Ring magazine Comeback of the Year fighter for 1988.

Professional boxing record[link]

53 Wins (34 knockouts, 19 decisions), 6 Losses (5 knockouts, 1 decision), 2 Draws [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	19-3	Paul "Rocky" Phillips	TKO	2	11/10/1997	Erlanger, Kentucky, United States
Loss	5-6-2	Louis "The Facelifter" Monaco	PTS	10	05/04/1997	Denver, Colorado, United States
Win	8-20-1	Doug "Dig-em-Up" Davis	PTS	10	10/12/1996	Tempe, Arizona, United States
Win	15-19-2	Dave Fiddler	KO	2	27/07/1996	Rochester, Washington, United States
Win	5-18-1	Dave Slaughter	KO	3	18/11/1995	Aurora, Colorado, United States
Loss	32-0	Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe	TKO	1	06/02/1993	New York City, United States	IBF/WBA World Heavyweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 2:19 of the first round.
Win	7-4-2	Barry Forbes	UD	10	27/10/1992	Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	31-8-1	Jose "El Nino" Ribalta	SD	10	06/10/1992	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	18-7	Jesse "The Boogieman" Ferguson	UD	10	28/07/1992	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	99-90, 98-91, 97-92.
Win	29-17	Danny "Smiley" Sutton	KO	3	16/04/1992	New York City, United States
Win	14-12	Percell "Magic" Davis	RTD	5	21/03/1992	Cleveland, Ohio, United States	Davis did not come out for the sixth round.
Win	11-16-2	Danny Wofford	TKO	9	14/02/1992	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	12-6-2	Danny Stonewalker	TKO	6	21/01/1992	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:39 of the sixth round.
Win	5-3	Tyrone Armstrong	KO	4	27/12/1991	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Armstrong knocked out at 1:32 of the fourth round.
Win	10-18	John "Big Red" Morton	PTS	8	29/11/1991	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	22-1-1	Donovan "Razor" Ruddock	TKO	4	04/04/1990	New York City, United States	WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:53 of the fourth round.
Win	14-2	Jorge Alfredo "El Gringo" Dascola	TKO	11	05/02/1990	Inglewood, California, United States	WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:05 of the 11th round.
Win	10-5	Lionel Washington	TKO	8	13/11/1989	Inglewood, California, United States	WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:49 of the eighth round.
Win	15-1	Wesley Watson	TKO	3	24/08/1989	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:25 of the third round.
Win	35-20-1	Bobby Crabtree	KO	1	13/07/1989	New York City, United States
Loss	20-0	Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield	TKO	10	11/03/1989	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:41 of the tenth round.
Win	22-8	Rocky Sekorski	UD	12	09/12/1988	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. 120-106, 120-107, 120-106.
Win	12-6	Curtis "Coffee Man" Isaac	TKO	4	27/10/1988	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:21 of the fourth round.
Win	4-7-1	Manoel De Almeida	TKO	4	28/07/1988	New York City, United States
Win	10-4-1	Andrew Stokes	TKO	1	27/06/1988	New York City, United States
Win	18-1-1	James Pritchard	TKO	7	28/04/1988	New York City, United States	WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title.
Win	13-10	Eddie Richardson	TKO	10	24/02/1988	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:15 of the tenth round.
Win	16-11	Ken Lakusta	TKO	7	22/01/1988	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the seventh round.
Win	13-5-1	Kevin "K.P." Porter	TKO	5	17/12/1987	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 0:25 of the fifth round.
Win	24-4	Randall "Tex" Cobb	TD	4	15/03/1985	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:03 of the fourth round due to an accidental foul. 29-28, 29-28, 28-29.
Win	14-8	Young "Playboy" Louis	TKO	2	16/02/1985	Kingston, New York, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:29 of the second round.
Win	12-7	Mike Jameson	UD	10	31/08/1984	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	99-91, 98-92, 98-92.
Loss	28-3-1	Gerrie "The Bionic Hand" Coetzee	KO	10	23/09/1983	Richfield, Ohio, United States	WBA World Heavyweight Title. Dokes knocked out at 3:08 of the tenth round.
Draw	24-10	Mike "Hercules" Weaver	PTS	15	20/05/1983	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBA World Heavyweight Title. 143-143, 144-144, 145-141.
Win	24-9	Mike "Hercules" Weaver	TKO	1	10/12/1982	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	WBA World Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:03 of the first round.
Win	24-3	Tommy Franco Thomas	KO	5	20/03/1982	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	NABF Heavyweight Title.
Win	18-5	Lynn "Bullet" Ball	TKO	1	30/01/1982	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	NABF Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:56 of the first round.
Win	16-4-2	George Chaplin	UD	10	06/11/1981	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	15-10	Harry Terrell	KO	1	09/08/1981	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	33-2	John Lewis Gardner	KO	4	12/06/1981	Detroit, Michigan, United States	Gardner knocked out at 1:54 of the fourth round.
Win	17-1	Randall "Tex" Cobb	MD	10	22/03/1981	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	95-95, 96-94, 97-94.
Win	28-4	Tom "Roughhouse" Fischer	TKO	7	02/10/1980	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:17 of the seventh round.
Win	14-1-1	Ossie "Jaws" Ocasio	TKO	1	27/06/1980	San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:33 of the first round.
Draw	14-0	Ossie "Jaws" Ocasio	PTS	10	22/04/1980	San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States
Win	24-6	Lucien Rodriguez	UD	10	10/02/1980	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	13-3	Earl Tripp	KO	1	13/01/1980	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	23-8-2	Jimmy Young	UD	10	28/09/1979	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	14-14-5	Willie McIntyre	KO	2	20/07/1979	West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Win	15-4-1	Greg Sorrentino	KO	3	12/05/1979	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	13-0	Wendell Bailey	SD	10	23/03/1979	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	10-3	Ira Martin	TKO	8	08/12/1978	New York City, United States
Win	4-2-1	Eugene Green	PTS	8	27/10/1978	New York City, United States
Win	7-1	Terry Mims	UD	8	26/09/1978	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	3-13	Dan Johnson	UD	6	29/04/1978	Inglewood, California, United States
Win	0-2-1	Abdul Khan	UD	8	25/03/1978	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	14-28-3	George "Moonport Mauler" Holden	KO	3	03/03/1978	Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
Win	18-7-1	"Savage" Ed Turner	PTS	6	10/04/1977	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	13-32-2	Charlie "Big Tuna" Jordan	TKO	3	06/03/1977	Marion, Ohio, United States
Win	3-0	Dave "Doc" Wilson	PTS	4	29/01/1977	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	5-6	Sergio Rodriguez	TKO	2	16/01/1977	Pensacola, Florida, United States
Win	1-6-1	Al "Hoss" Byrd	TKO	2	15/10/1976	Hollywood, Florida, United States

Life After Boxing[link]

In 1999 Dokes was sentenced to between four and 15 years in prison after being convicted of an attack on his fiancee in August 1998.Late in 2008, Dokes was released on parole.[2]

He is currently fighting a battle with liver cancer.

Notes[link]

References[link]

	Book: Michael Dokes
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Professional boxing record for Michael Dokes from BoxRec