BoxRec

Mike Koranicki stopped
Kallie Knoetze in a fight in South Africa.

That was the biggest win of Koranicki's career.

I knew Koranicki from Frazier's gym in Philly.

He was a sparring partner for a number of fighters, including Jimmy Young. He was 6'4", had the best possible experience sparring with the heavyweights at Frazier's gym and around Philly. He had a decent jab, right hand, and could fight inside.

I saw several workouts where Benton stopped the sparring to teach Koranicki something and then send him back to resume sparring.

After his win over Knoetze, Koranicki fought Coetzee in South Africa and was stopped in the first round.

Koranicki had some possibilities, but he got hit too much, often completely unnecessarily.

I saw him in a fight in Philly against Jerry Tompkins where he was far superior but then lost his attention and got a bad cut, completely unnecessarily, in a late round--which would delay him for months.

Against Coetzee the difference in level was noticeable. Koranicki came out less than warmed up, and got hit right away by Coetzee, who could punch.

Kornacki went down on one knee, looking like he was poised to get up, but he never did and was counted out.

So his fight with Knoetze was the high point of his career.

He used to laugh and say to me in the mostly black Frazier's gym, "I'm the white hope."

He was an excellent sparring partner for Jimmy Young before the Ali-Young fight, because he was an inch taller than Ali, had a good long jab, and a right hand.

In Jimmy Young's dressing room after the Ali fight, Young said to Koranicki after expressing his surprise at what a poor fighter Ali was, "Mike, you hit me more [in our training] than he (Ali) did."

I was just - JUST - enjoying what seemed to be an interesting post by Granberry, that for once, probably the first time ever, seemed to be a straight sensible thread.... and then in the last two paragraphs it became apparent it was the same old thing, yet again, post after post, month after month, year in, year out... until whatever day Granberry pops his clogs. What a sad strange obsessive existence.

Please just move on with your life.

overhand_right wrote:I was just - JUST - enjoying what seemed to be an interesting post by Granberry, that for once, probably the first time ever, seemed to be a straight sensible thread.... and then in the last two paragraphs it became apparent it was the same old thing, yet again, post after post, month after month, year in, year out... until whatever day Granberry pops his clogs. What a sad strange obsessive existence.

Please just move on with your life.

Overhand right can't take the truth.

That is what Jimmy Young said, just after giving Ali a boxing lesson to end all boxing lessons.

If you don't like the truth, go and wallow in your Thomas Hauser crap.

Here is an email sent to me by a former world champion ( at a time when there were eight titles ) to whom I sent the Koranicki post above:

Wonderful post. Nobody with a brain fights with Coetzze in the first three rounds when he was in his prime. He was murderous. Maybe the most impressive amatuer heavy in history. You have to wait for him to get tired.

At his best Coetzee had some decent skills and his right hand was nice, accurate and
hard.

I'd like to see more of Kallie Knoetze and Koranicki.

Would have been a treat watching some of those guys working in the gym and sparring
at that time. It is an ashame that it is lost to memory and none was filmed for future
generations to appreciate these guys/

Here is a sad article, if true:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2003/nov/26/b ... aney-grad/

(watch for the brief clip of Mike Koranicki vrs Kallie Knoetze fight from 1979 in this clip at 1:50,Koranicki actually hurt Knoetze with a left hook,followed by right hands)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBw81A41y_k

Stories like that make me sad.
Thanks for the article Gran.

Robinson wrote:Stories like that make me sad.
Thanks for the article Gran.

Very sad, and this is a guy who was pretty good with a solid winning record. Imagine all the trial horses, the canon fodder traveling around offering up their record-padding services for chump change.
Stories like this is the dark side of the sport we love and sadly it is probably an unavoidable effect of professional boxing.

You can teach a man to be a lot of things except to be a man.
The trouble with being young is its short term, and I know a
lot of guys that spend their best years like it will last forever.

I often fantasise about fighting pro and doing it as a full time
thing, but I am not that good and would never be able to
pay the mortgage or live a decent life there after.

Soime of these guys never save well and seem to make everyone
else money. You never see to many managers, promoters, MC's,
writers, commentators etc on skid row. They profit the most
with the least amount of personal risk.

I guess at the very least, admiration and respect is something
we can offer these guys. Its amazing how knowing about and
old timer and talking to them about there glory days is often
reward enough for some...but it does not put food in the
belly nor a roof over the head.

I think you can teach a man to be a man.You just have to start early on them and be a good example more then anything.
Unfortuntely western society has downplayed such things as mentors since the Hippie Generation started rebelling in the 1950's.
Check out how many"self made men" really did have people behind then while growing up.Id didnt have to be a parent but someone interested in their future well being as a human.I remember some real F ups in jr. high school who completey turned around once they had some positive strict but fair role models intercede in their lives.
"No MAN IS AN iSLAND"

I saw Koranicki fight Jerry Thompkins at the Spectrum in Philly.

I sat up close to the ring, which I usually didn't like to do.

Koranicki was the superior of the two and was well ahead. Then he relaxed in a late round and ended up with a cut, a nasty one, that was totally unecessary to have gotten.

After the fight he came back out in his street clothes and was talking to me. He said he was talking to Thompkins after the fight and that Thompkins talked very impressively about that he was going to go here and fight this guy, then go here and fight this guy, etc etc.

I am not explaining this very well, but the point is that Koranicki was completely awed by the blabber of Thompkins.

"Mike, that's all garbage that he said," I told him. "YOU are better than he is. He's just a b*llshit artist running off at the mouth."

I also said, "It's a pity you got cut like that when you had the fight completely won."

[What I was thinking and not saying was "You idiot, WHY did you relax like that and get a bad cut that should never have happened."]

I tell this to show how gullible and innocent Koranicki was. As innocent and easily snowed as a child.
i have to say he was one of the (maybe THE) most innocent, naive adult age people I have ever come across.

He was very good natured, didn't have any nastiness at all in him.

In looking at the films of him with the two S African fighters I am surprised by how skinny he looks.

I really don't remember him as that skinny and lanky. Of course he was much bigger than I was at his height of 6'4" but I swear when I saw him sparring with Jimmy Young before the Ali fight (and later) he was heavier than he appears against the two S African guys.

And Mike Koranicki could have beaten Muhammad Ali easily?

Woller

Sorry for interuppting the Koranacki love in but he was a sanctions buster and went on to perform in apartheid South Africa which was a disgusting police state. Most of the sporting world held off from grabbing a strong rand around that time but Koranacki bathed in living in the police state and making a lot of money performing in front of segregated audiences - was he not also an actor over there? Looked like he thrived living there.

And it is not because he was any good - do you not think the South Africans would have preferred to bring over the likes of Joe Bugner? Who was a far better 'white hope' than Koranacki ever was.

And before anyone says it - James Tillis, John Tate and the other sanctions busters were no better.

Carlos-Wigan wrote:Sorry for interuppting the Koranacki love in but he was a sanctions buster and went on to perform in apartheid South Africa which was a disgusting police state. Most of the sporting world held off from grabbing a strong rand around that time but Koranacki bathed in living in the police state and making a lot of money performing in front of segregated audiences - was he not also an actor over there? Looked like he thrived living there.

And it is not because he was any good - do you not think the South Africans would have preferred to bring over the likes of Joe Bugner? Who was a far better 'white hope' than Koranacki ever was.

And before anyone says it - James Tillis, John Tate and the other sanctions busters were no better.

Not just boxers was it, several entertainers and other sportsmen, white and black, including Frank Sinatra and Diana Ross. I guess when you see lots of others doing it and you look at the money offered, doesn't make it right but....

Flump wrote:

Carlos-Wigan wrote:Sorry for interuppting the Koranacki love in but he was a sanctions buster and went on to perform in apartheid South Africa which was a disgusting police state. Most of the sporting world held off from grabbing a strong rand around that time but Koranacki bathed in living in the police state and making a lot of money performing in front of segregated audiences - was he not also an actor over there? Looked like he thrived living there.

And it is not because he was any good - do you not think the South Africans would have preferred to bring over the likes of Joe Bugner? Who was a far better 'white hope' than Koranacki ever was.

And before anyone says it - James Tillis, John Tate and the other sanctions busters were no better.

Not just boxers was it, several entertainers and other sportsmen, white and black, including Frank Sinatra and Diana Ross. I guess when you see lots of others doing it and you look at the money offered, doesn't make it right but....

You are absolutley right - Queen , Elton John - probably Rod Stewart - Cliff Richard - who was a big time sanctions buster was once asked did he not feel guilty about the black servants who served him had absolutley no rights and he said something like 'well, they get paid to wait on me don't they?'

The strong rand meant at the time they could entice a lot of people over there - only a few revelled in it like Mike Koranacki and Cliff Richard, they certainly don't deserve any respect from me for it. (Not that they would care but...) Big kudos to the likes of Joe Bugner who refused the rand to fight in South Africa! Gotta give credit where it is due.

Well in some cases, for some folks it's a matter of "rendering to ceasar". However I'm more inclined to grab a pitchfork, get with some buddies, and demand that "ceasar" either get with the program or face the pitchfork. But I'm not sure insensitivity is the same as bad intentions.

I have not held it against sports figures or entertainers for crossing that line, as I never thought either the arts or the sports world held the answer to solving that political issue.

Now law officials and politicians? That's another story.

If you're a boxer & on very limited time to make money to live off the rest of your life, you're liable to take a few hundred K to fight in South Africa. A wealthy man like Bugner might be able to refuse on principle, but most boxers would need to take that money.

Wasnt Marty Monroe also with Cloverlay when Joe Frazier bought their contracts along with the gym in Philadelphia in the late 1970's?