Pierre pressure hard for champ to handle

07 August 2011 - 05:00 By TELFORD VICE
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Some moustaches hide under their owners' noses, others seem to be more about make-up than man-fur, and still others lounge on the lip like slugs.

Pierre Coetzer's moustache is oddly pneumatic and somehow unreal ... it seems to hover a few centimetres from his face like a personal air bag.

Time was when Coetzer's moustache was a dark and lustrous harbinger of a bloody nose. Now, like his full head of hair, it has mellowed to grey.

Coetzer has not gained an ounce since he became South Africa's heavyweight champion almost 27 years ago, and he still stands tall at 1.93m.

He regularly runs 10 or 15km, is in the gym three times a week and mucks about on a motocross bike. At 50, he is the epitome of what 30-year-olds hope to be after they hit 40.

Coetzer still lives in Pretoria, where he was born, and is a health and safety officer with Delta Mining. Before that, his long police career culminated in a stint in the VIP protection unit keeping Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk and Pik Botha out of harm's way.

Coetzer is one of few boxers who landed on their feet.

"You have to understand that your life after boxing is much longer than your life inside the ring," he said. "So be sensible with the money you earn."

His career began in apartheid's darkest days and ended a year before SA's first democratic elections, and he regrets the Olympics were off limits. "You couldn't represent your country, you couldn't wear the colours. I was part of a South African team that went on what was called an educational tour to South America in the '90s, but we fought in grey and black."

It was as an amateur that Coetzer's greatest ring rivalry was born. Johnny du Plooy was the other big kid on the block and fight fans knew they deserved a date with destiny.

"We were supposed to fight as amateurs two or three times, but it didn't happen," Coetzer said. "Everyone said we should fight, because he became the amateur champion after me."

Coetzer eventually fought Du Plooy in the 34th of his 44 professional fights. Destiny's date was August 4, 1990 in the Sun City Super Bowl and it was billed: "Once And For All."

Du Plooy won all but four of his 200 amateur fights and by the time he stepped into the ring to face Coetzer, he had stopped 19 of his 27 pro opponents.

Coetzer was badly cut by the first right Du Plooy threw and went down in the opening round. But he floored Du Plooy twice in the second and the short, sharp shock of a fight was over. Coetzer was, at last, king.

Almost 21 years later, at a Rodney Berman tournament in Johannesburg, Coetzer looked through the ropes and couldn't believe his eyes.

"I saw this guy in the ring, a trainer. He was so big and balding I didn't know who he was until he turned around. And then I saw his name on his jacket: 'Johnny du Plooy.'"

Coetzer's career ended in a flurry of losses against Riddick Bowe, Frank Bruno and George Foreman. By then he had learnt his lesson: "If you can't sacrifice in this game, it's not for you."

So he made his sacrifice and, moustache intact, rejoined the real world. The decision was unanimous.

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