Golden Gloves

In Alphabetical Order:

BERMAN: Rodney
The man is unrivalled as the most successful boxing promoter ever to have been produced in South Africa. An attorney, Berman has promoted or co-promoted a total of 216 world title bouts, since starting out in 1977, among them fistic extravaganzas like “Amabutho Empi”, “Thunder in Africa”, “All the Kings Men”, “Legacy”, and “Ali at the Palace”. A man of exceptional vision and boxing acumen, he helped fashion more than 70 world champions and it says here that his sterling accomplishments in the promotional field, for which he earned a State President’s Award, are unlikely to be equaled by any local entrepreneur.

CHRISTODOULOU: Stan
In June 2004, Christodoulou set a precedent by becoming the first South African ever to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Moreover he is one of only three men ever to have refereed 100 world title fights, and the first to do so in all 17 weight divisions. Having refereed his first professional bout in 1964, Christodoulou’s one of the most polished veterans in his profession, and was third man in the Hagler vs Duran, Taylor vs Anaya, Galindez vs Kates, Pryor vs Arguello and Lewis vs Holyfield world championship fights.  Highly respected, Christodoulou set the benchmark for South African boxing administrators and officials and is unquestionably one of the sport’s most acclaimed referees and judges of all time.

COETZEE: Gerrie
Although his reign as WBA world heavyweight champion was comparatively brief (September 23, 1983-December 1, 1984) his electrifying world title victory over Michael Dokes is a cherished milestone in the annals of SA boxing. An awesome right hand puncher, Coetzee flattened Dokes in the 10th round of their championship bout in Richfield, Ohio, only to lose the crown on an 8th round knockout to Greg Page in his first title defence, which took place at Sun City, Bophuthatswana.
Coetzee was famed for his “bionic” right hand; a legacy from the first encounter with Mike Schutte (1977), that required 23 surgical operations to repair and which hampered him for most of his career. Following a first-round dismantling at the hands of England’s Frank Bruno (1986), he made two half-hearted comebacks during the 1990’s that ended disastrously, when at the age of 42, he was knocked out by former middleweight champion Iran Barkley (1997). Coetzee had an overall record of 33-6-1.

MATLALA: “Baby” Jake
An imperishable public favourite, Matlala’s fistic achievements weren’t nearly as memorable as the uncomplicated simplicity he radiated to millions of South Africans of all races. Matlala’s size (4’ 10”) appealed to the masses, as did his charming mystique and longevity (1980-2002) as a professional. Then too, he made history by becoming the first South African boxer ever to win four world titles en route to retiring at the age of 40, with an overall record of 53-12-2. Routinely regarded as one of South Africa’s most famous sportsmen in history, Matlala’s career-defining victory came on July 18, 1977, when as an 8-1 underdog, he bludgeoned future Hall of Famer Michael Carbajal to defeat inside nine bloody rounds.

MITCHELL: Brian
Besides becoming the only South African boxer ever to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (June 2009), Mitchell; who’s a former undefeated WBA and IBF world junior lightweight champion, is also the sole representative from these shores to receive induction into the World Boxing Hall of Fame (October 2009).
Internationally renowned as the “Road Warrior” – because for five years (1986-1991)-  he was never allowed to defend his WBA championship on home soil, Mitchell thwarted the efforts of 12 challengers (10-0-2) en route to lifting the IBF junior lightweight title from Tony Lopez in Sacramento, California, on September 13, 1991. Remember too that Mitchell, whose record reflects 45 wins, 1 loss and 3 draws, is also the only South African boxer to ever receive the State President’s Award six times!

STEVENS: Laurie
An Olympic gold medal winner in the lightweight division at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles, Stevens became South Africa’s most exciting and popular fighter for a full decade (1936-1946), during which his career was interrupted by World War ll.
A national champion in both the lightweight and welterweight classes, Stevens’ crowning achievement was an epic 15-round Empire lightweight title-winning performance against the great Jack “Kid” Berg at the old Wanderers Stadium on January 11, 1936. Stevens also fought the likes of Eric Boon, Petey Sarron, Phil Zwick, Red Ainscough, Aldo Spoldi and Wesley Ramey and was only defeated twice in thirty-nine contests, which translated into a record of 36-2-1.

THOBELA: Dingaan
One of the most talented South African boxers in history, Thobela won three world titles over a ten-year stretch; (September 1990- September 2000) and the consensus of opinion is that he could have attained far greater heights if he took better care of his body. His own worst enemy, Thobela’s was a sucker for the bright lights, but after WBO (1990) and WBA (1993) lightweight conquests over Mauricio Aceves and Tony Lopez respectively, “The Rose of Soweto” at age 33 scored a dramatic come-from-behind knockout over Glen Catley in the final seconds of their WBC super middleweight bout on September 1, 2000, thus becoming the only South African fighter ever to win world championships in weight divisions 15 kg apart! He finally retired in 2006 with a record of 40-15-2.

TOWEEL: Vic
As South Africa’s first and only undisputed world champion, Vic Toweel occupies a celebrated niche in the archives of international boxing. A wood-carver from Benoni, he was the second eldest of six sons, who’ve rightfully been acclaimed as the most famous “fighting family” in history!  Following a brilliant amateur career (188-2, 160 knockouts), Toweel won the world bantamweight title on May 31, 1950 in only his 14th professional fight, after a thrilling 15-round epic with the immortal Manuel Ortiz in Johannesburg. It was a phenomenal performance, since Ortiz was already a veteran of 110 fights. After three successful title defences, a drastically weight-weakened Toweel lost his world crown to Australia’s Jimmy Carruthers on a 1st round knockout on November 15, 1952 in Johannesburg. After several years in retirement, he immigrated to Australia where he died in 2008. Toweel had a record of; 28-3-1.

TOWEEL: Willie
Younger brother to Vic, he is the only South African fighter ever to win four national titles (bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight) and also held the Empire lightweight title, which he won on June 16, 1956, by defeating local arch-rival Jannie “Smiler” van Rensburg. A brilliant boxer, Toweel came exceptionally close to emulating his illustrious brother, when he challenged the Algerian-born Robert Cohen for the world bantamweight title on September 3, 1955 in Johannesburg. The fight ended in a highly controversial 15-round draw. Toweel’s biggest career setback, however, occurred in 1956, when Hubert Essakow died after their bout in Johannesburg. Many experts maintain that the psychological effects of that fatal encounter ruined any hopes Toweel had of winning a world title, and he finally retired in 1960 with a record of 46-6-2.

TULI: Jake
The first black fighter ever to win the Empire flyweight title, Tuli turned the trick by virtue of a 12th round knockout of Teddy Gardner on September 8, 1952 in Newcastle, England. A pioneer in an era when black sportsmen in South Africa were barely recognized, Tuli was a two-handed tornado and his victory over Gardner has, in the opinion of this writer, never been fully appreciated. At the time, Gardner was a veteran of 65 fights, while Tuli climbed through the ropes with only 10 bouts to his name. After electing to campaign extensively in Britain, Tuli, under his British manager Jim Wicks issued a constant stream of challenges to world flyweight champion Yoshio Shirai, all of which were sadly ignored. As a result, Tuli often fought men much heavier than him and never got to realize his dream of winning a world title. Tuli finally retired with a record of 31-14-2, having set the earliest benchmark for black South African boxers.