Johnny du Plooy dead.

[kaiserbill]

Mike Weaver was nowhere near his prime when he beat Johnny DuPlooy, let alone when he lost to him. Still, a very nice KO for JP.

If you want to see a really scary KO, I have no idea if it's on YouTube, see DuPlooy lay out James Broad in horrorshow fashion.

It should be pointed out that Broad is 6'5'' and 260lb and DuPlooy is 'only' about 200lb, so probably Broad took a dive because it is well documented on Boxers of the Past that anyone 200lb cannot punch, is 'small', 'feeble' and 'fly-like'.

Du Plooy, at 6'3", weighed 212 for the Broad fight, and he could punch, so highly doubt it was a "dive". ( I know you're kidding )

It sounds like you have some of the more esoteric fight footage.

Maybe a good idea to upload it on youtube?

[loaded_gloves]

I have loads of DuPlooy fights on tape Wilhelm, a whole stack of rare stuff, I would gladly upload them but I haven't a clue how to do it. I like DuPlooy and he deserves to have his great nights available, rather than just the Damiani, Coetzer and Sanders fights which I assume are the only ones up.

I'm sure I will get them up at some point in the near future.

[loaded_gloves]

PS yes, there's no way Broad took a dive, it is an absolutely horrific KO.

[kaiserbill]

I have loads of DuPlooy fights on tape Wilhelm, a whole stack of rare stuff, I would gladly upload them but I haven't a clue how to do it. I like DuPlooy and he deserves to have his great nights available, rather than just the Damiani, Coetzer and Sanders fights which I assume are the only ones up.

I'm sure I will get them up at some point in the near future.

Good man, LG.

Sometimes nice to see the not-so-famous guys who "coulda bin a contender"...

[kaiserbill]

PS yes, there's no way Broad took a dive, it is an absolutely horrific KO.

I can't be sure if it's the same fight, but is that the one when it looked like the whole ring moved when he got whacked?

[loaded_gloves]

Broad ends up suspended on the bottom or lower middle rope, totally out, one shot, frightening.

In my opinion, DuPlooy with his hand speed and one-shot power would absolutely have a chance of replicating Corrie's blowout of Wlad K. He'd certainly have to do it inside 2 though, or 3 max.

[kaiserbill]

Broad ends up suspended on the bottom or lower middle rope, totally out, one shot, frightening.

In my opinion, DuPlooy with his hand speed and one-shot power would absolutely have a chance of replicating Corrie's blowout of Wlad K. He'd certainly have to do it inside 2 though, or 3 max.

Still, as intimated, a lot of the saffer HW's did seem to have stamina problems, Coetzer and Botha apart.

Possibly a trainer issue, and it would have been interesting to see how they would have gone if they had relocated to the US.

Certainly Frans Botha did so, and did relatively well, even though he was not considered in the top 3 or 4 HW's in South Africa.....

[kaiserbill]

It appears that someone has been uploading Johhny Du Plooy fights on youtube over the last 2 weeks since his death.

I see James Broad, James "Quick" Tillis, and David Bey are there.

[Brutu]

Johnny Du Plooy vrs. James Broad.
February.27.1988
(Du Plooy's 19th pro fight)
James Broad-weight 284 lbs.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmUEp3QctqA

[loaded_gloves]

Tyson 'path of least resistance', are you serious?

Tyson took a serious route to the title, a perfect building of a fighter and not a record. He took on guys of all sizes, shapes, styles and experience; Jesse Ferguson, Quick Tillis, Mitch Blood Green, Marvis Frazier, Jose Ribalta, those are five damn good opponents, all in their prime, all in peak condition, not to mention plenty of very tough, superior journeymen types.

As for South African heavies with stamina issues, I suspect it had something to do with America being the centre of the world as far as boxing went. Brits, South Africans, they seemed psyched out, as if they were from far away and didn't truly belong with the big boys who totally dominated boxing. Just a theory.

Botha was an exception, totally fearless, felt he was better than anyone, and as a result engaged in some wildly entertaining fights and massively overachieved whilst more gifted boxers - Sanders, DuPlooy - underachieved.

[kaiserbill]

Botha was an exception, totally fearless, felt he was better than anyone, and as a result engaged in some wildly entertaining fights and massively overachieved whilst more gifted boxers - Sanders, DuPlooy - underachieved.

I would wholeheartedly agree with this.

Botha always seemed a bit of a character.

I remember him being dismissive of Mike Tyson at the weigh in, in a jocular fashion, and then taunting him through the fight.

On the Broad knockout, here is the whole fight.

I'd forgotten how big Broad was.

Knockout from about 8 minutes in..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmUEp3QctqA

[kaiserbill]

Du Plooy vs James "Quick" Tillis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zUDnrwDd00

I always liked Tillis.

He had a very attractive style, but his 2 achilles heels were stamina and a lack of a killer punch.

It was later found medically that his lack of stamina was partly caused by allergy to milk and eggs, leading to problems with lethargy, believe it or not.

Still, he had silky ringcraft, and plied his trade against some of the best.

Hell, I may even start a thread on "Quick".

[Ezzard]

Du Plooy vs James "Quick" Tillis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zUDnrwDd00

I always liked Tillis.

He had a very attractive style, but his 2 achilles heels were stamina and a lack of a killer punch.

It was later found medically that his lack of stamina was partly caused by allergy to milk and eggs, leading to problems with lethargy, believe it or not.

Still, he had silky ringcraft, and plied his trade against some of the best.

Hell, I may even start a thread on "Quick".

expug knew Tillis and has some great stories about him.

[loaded_gloves]

I at first hated Botha but he won me over, and many others, in his heroic brawl with Michael Moorer. I remember in the prefight Botha laughing at Moorer, mocking him, saying he had a glass chin and no heart. Despite being out of his depth skillwise, he made it a tough fight with his brute strength and iron will. Ended up breaking Moorer's jaw and sending him to the hospital with dizzy spells and blackouts despite being beaten down himself at the end. Tremendous battle. His performance against Tyson was astonishing. And I remember him knocking Shannon Briggs from pillar to the post in the final round.

Despite Sanders beating Botha multiple times in the amateurs, and having more natural talent, I would not fancy his chances against Botha in a pro fight.

I think Tillis was a big hitter but he wasn't a good finisher. Kept Weaver off him, decked Greg Page, Carl Williams, Marvis Frazier, Mike Williams... lots of guys down who came back when he let them off the hook. Pinklon Thomas in his post-fight interview admitted that Tillis had surprised him with his punch power. Tyson still cited Tillis as a big hitter years later.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Briggs/Botha was an awesome war. I lost money on Botha/Tyson, but I had a fun few rounds taunting the 15 or 20 Tyson fans I was watching it with.

[kaiserbill]

I at first hated Botha but he won me over, and many others, in his heroic brawl with Michael Moorer. I remember in the prefight Botha laughing at Moorer, mocking him, saying he had a glass chin and no heart. Despite being out of his depth skillwise, he made it a tough fight with his brute strength and iron will. Ended up breaking Moorer's jaw and sending him to the hospital with dizzy spells and blackouts despite being beaten down himself at the end. Tremendous battle. His performance against Tyson was astonishing. And I remember him knocking Shannon Briggs from pillar to the post in the final round.

Despite Sanders beating Botha multiple times in the amateurs, and having more natural talent, I would not fancy his chances against Botha in a pro fight.

I think Tillis was a big hitter but he wasn't a good finisher. Kept Weaver off him, decked Greg Page, Carl Williams, Marvis Frazier, Mike Williams... lots of guys down who came back when he let them off the hook. Pinklon Thomas in his post-fight interview admitted that Tillis had surprised him with his punch power. Tyson still cited Tillis as a big hitter years later.

Interesting, never knew that.

Thanks.

[Bricks]

There were many DuPlooy fights televised. I have a ton of them on tape. Tillis, Bey, Pritchard, Weaver 1 and 2 et al, Snipes broadcast in the US, all these just off the top of my head. Obviously that poor run vs Damiani, Coetzer and Sanders (I say poor - he came out blasting in all of them to his credit)

He's not as well known as he should have been I guess. Definitely a tough era to prosper in.

Yep it was even harder making a name for himself being a white south african HW in the mid to late 80s. He defeated some decent or once decent guys and was a swashbuckling HW for the brief time he competed. For sure would be a top top guy in this day and age.

[kaiserbill]

Briggs/Botha was an awesome war. I lost money on Botha/Tyson, but I had a fun few rounds taunting the 15 or 20 Tyson fans I was watching it with.

I just watched the fight by Botha v Briggs.

Larry Holmes interviewed before the fight, called Botha "un-awkwarddox".

Fantastic.

[kaiserbill]

I think Botha would be unhappy with that being called a draw, and Briggs happy.

One judge called it for Botha, the other two a draw.

Still, nice to see lots of activity and punches thrown in a HW contest.