An Interview with Kallie Knoetze

[Caractacus]

Here is video-tape interview with once heavyweight contender Kallie Knoetze.
He talks about his amateur days boxing Gerrie Coetzee and also his fights with Mike Schutte and Big John Tate.

Part One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GamI-dIudIc

[Caractacus]

In part Two Kallie Knoetze talks about filming the movie THE BOMBER as well as other things like his former days as a rugby player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iERguNvz3mk

[Ilya Muromets]

Thanks! I'll watch that later. The USSA media used to bill him as "Kallie Knoetze former South African policeman who killed a black child", as if that was his full name. I heard he has now joined the communist ANC. Pathetic, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

[Caractacus]

That interview with"Die Bek of Boomstraat" was obviously done some yeas ago.
Here is a link to another more recent interview from 2010(at age 57 ys).

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/other/ ... ie-knoetze

[Caractacus]

Thanks! I'll watch that later. I heard he has now joined the communist ANC. Pathetic, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

What did you say?
He is now a Commie?
Well screw him them.

[Bodyshot3]

The absolute epitome of the seriously tough, big fighting Dutchman......

...seriously, South Africa can definitely hold its head up high when it comes to producing world class heavyweights.

The much-missed Sanders had the most overall talent IMO and I would have loved to see him play a bit less golf and based himself in the UK or US, Coetzee had the bombs and for a very brief period Botha was credible and a threat to most guys. Add in DuPlooy, who could bang as well, and the impossibly brave Pierre Coetzer and that's a great legacy of heavyweight fighting men.

Can't help thinking what a proper hard boy like Ruben Kruger (another sad loss) or even a Kobus Wiese might have done if they had chosen the ring instead of rugby. A typical Boks pack usually seems to contain at least a couple of guys who would make decent HWs.

[Ilya Muromets]

B - I think that the late Corrie Sanders could have been the best of them all, if he had only cared. He had that much talent. Wlad had the misfortune to run into him the one and only time he took a fight seriously and trained to peak condition. I couldn't believe how fat he showed up for the follow up fight with big brother Vitali, the biggest fight of his career, and even so he was missing Vitali's chin by mere inches with bombs.

[Ilya Muromets]

Thanks! I'll watch that later. I heard he has now joined the communist ANC. Pathetic, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

What did you say?
He is now a Commie?
Well screw him them.

I feel the same way, but don't take it as gospel. You're getting it tenth hand from me. I think I read it somewhere. Who knows what the real story is, and what pressure he was under.

[Dubblechin]

Here is video-tape interview with once heavyweight contender Kallie Knoetze.
He talks about his amateur days boxing Gerrie Coetzee and also his fights with Mike Schutte and Big John Tate.

Part One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GamI-dIudIc

Can anyone translate these interviews?

[wouter]

Can anyone translate these interviews?

Afrikaans is a version of Dutch, so if there's anything in particular that you're interested in let me know.

[Dubblechin]

Can anyone translate these interviews?

Afrikaans is a version of Dutch, so if there's anything in particular that you're interested in let me know.

I have no idea what he's talking about, but I'd be interested in hearing what he has to say.

If you get some time, maybe you could just let us know what he's saying. The interview is about seven minutes long. He starts off talking about Gerrie Coetzee.

[kaiserbill]

Can anyone translate these interviews?

Afrikaans is a version of Dutch, so if there's anything in particular that you're interested in let me know.

I have no idea what he's talking about, but I'd be interested in hearing what he has to say.

If you get some time, maybe you could just let us know what he's saying. The interview is about seven minutes long. He starts off talking about Gerrie Coetzee.

Kallie Knoetze was always a bit of a joker.
Always up for a laugh.
Even his nickname, "Die Bek van Boomstraat", sort of indicates this.

It sorta means "The Gob from Boom Street", due to his extrovert and tongue-in-cheek bravado.
Also loved a party.

The interview starts with him discussing his rivalry against Gerrie Coetzee.
Some backround info:

GERRIE v KALLIE – SIX TIMES

Gerrie Coetzee and Kallie Knoetze fought each other six times when they were amateurs.
They first met when Coetzee was 15 and Knoetze 17. Knoetze won their first fight and Coetzee the second.

A year later Knoetze won the third and in April 1973 won on a split decision in the final of the SA Games in Pretoria.

As an 18-year-old, Coetzee knocked out Knoetze in the third round of the final at the SA championships in Cape Town. Two months later, in Pretoria, he again knocked out Knoetze.

They met only once as professionals – on October 30 1976. Coetzee won on points over ten rounds.

Knoetze had teased Coetzee, calling him "seer handjies" before their pro fight. This roughly translates as "sore little hands", and is a reference to Coetzees many hand problems and operations.

In the interview, he is paying Coetzee respect, and says he was the better boxer, with faster hands and who hit him twice for everytime he landed on Coetzee.
The interviewer states though, that the pro fight was actually very close, with many observers believing Knoetze beat Coetzee, although the latter was awarded the fight on points. It was a controversial decision.
Just a brief backround:

South African Heavyweights ... Two by Two

By Deon Potgieter

With a dearth of heavyweights currently active in South Africa there will be a lot of attention on the debut of two new prospective talents on Friday night at Nasrec Johannesburg. Jakes Els from Brakpan and Barend Liebenberg from the Free State will be making their debut against each other in a fight which is seen as an indicator of whether either or both could be a savior of sorts for the sport locally. While there is some exciting talent on the rise in the lower weight divisions, it is the heavyweights that attract the masses.South Africa has produced numerous world-class heavyweights throughout its proud 116 year boxing history. Whereas in earlier times the really outstanding fighters arrived one by one, the past 30 years have seen them arriving in twos. The most memorable and fiercest local rivalry of them all was between Gerrie Coetzee and Kallie Knoetze. As amateurs they met on six occasions, each winning three bouts. As professionals, their rivalry developed into a feud, both being out to prove just who the best was. Fight fans and the public at large were divided – you were either a Coetzee or a Knoetze man – there was no middle ground. Given their personalities, Knoetze was the more likable, but Coetzee was seen as the better technical boxer, and both attracted the fans with ease. “We never liked each other,” says Knoetze. “I think it was because he knew how hard I could hit and I knew how fast he was. I’d still be throwing a punch and he’d have hit me twice.” The late sportswriter Chris Greyvenstein said of Knoetze, “He wielded his right with shattering effect, and if Knoetze added the dedication of a (Rocky) Marciano to this gift from the gods, he could have been the best heavyweight in the world.” Coetzee and Knoetze met only once as professionals, with Coetzee winning a very controversial points decision. Coetzee dropped Knoetze in the fourth round, but the man who modeled his mouth on Muhammad Ali came back strong in the latter rounds and had ringsiders, as well as television audiences, convinced he had taken the fight. The judges, however, saw it differently. In 1979 the dream of seeing two South Africans do battle against each other for the heavyweight crown became a real possibility. Both fighters had proven their worth by facing and beating a host of top ten contenders – mostly via the short route. At that stage the WBA world champion Ali was washed-up following his farcical matches with the novice Leon Spinks and decided to relinquish his title rather than face either Coetzee or Knoetze, who would most certainly have inflicted some serious and unnecessary damage on the legend. Knoetze and Coetzee then met Big John Tate and Spinks in an elimination tournament for the vacant title. “It was what everybody here wanted to see, Gerrie and myself for the heavyweight championship of the world,” says Knoetze. “It was a dream.” Knoetze, overwhelmed by the enormity of the occasion, ran out of gas and lost to Tate on an eighth round technical knockout. “Physically I was ready. I could have beaten anybody,” says Knoetze “but mentally I was still an amateur. When I got in the ring I was scared” Knoetze’s preparation prior to the fight consisted of numerous functions to satisfy sponsors and, always being a big party animal, the big hitting and charismatic fighter indulged himself more than would be expected of a fighter in training for a fight of this magnitude. A week after Knoetze’s shocking defeat, Coetzee took on Spinks in Monte Carlo. At the time Spinks was thought to be the tougher of the two Americans. After all, Spinks had just gone 30 rounds back to back with “The Greatest.” Coetzee showed no respect for this hyped status, however, and scored one of the most memorable knockouts in heavyweight history. Spinks was clearly out of his league and visited the canvas three times shortly after the start of the first round. A record number of 90 000 spectators flocked to Loftus Versfeld on October 20, 1979 to see Coetzee take on Tate for the WBA heavyweight world title. An uncannily lack luster Coetzee put on a dismal performance and Tate won a very dull 15 round points decision. Coetzee got another shot at world honors against Tate’s conqueror, Mike Weaver, a year later. Failing to finish off the job after having Weaver in all sorts of trouble throughout the bout, Coetzee himself was stopped in the 13th round of a grueling and very exciting contest. Two years later, on September 23,1983, Coetzee got it right and knocked out Michael Dokes – a man who had never even been knocked down

I'll give a translation of the interview next.

[kaiserbill]

Here is my translation.
Please note that often Knoetze is joking, or being humorous, and other times is being serious.
This doesn't come over in my translation unfortunately, but can be seen on the video. A laugh, or chuckle, or a sideways glance of the eyes...
Also bear in mind that some of the mannerisms or sentence structure is not always 100% translatable between languages perfectly.
I've put some notes in brackets, when futher info is required, or slang is used, or I'm unsure.

I might have made some mistakes, and I'm certainly open to be corrected in any errors I've made.
Part 1 which is 7:06 minutes long.
I could do part 2 if anyone expresses interest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GamI-dIudIc



Int = Interviewer
KK= Kallie Knoetze



KK: As you can see, it's me, Kallie Knoetze, Die Bek van Boomstraat, and still the most attractive (handsome?) boxer that South Africa has ever produced.

Int: Tell a little about the thing between you and Gerrie Coetzee.
KK: Man, to tell you the truth, if you'd asked me a few years ago about Gerrie Coetzee, I'd have looked at you with vicious eyes, but I think the big thing between Gerrie and myself were that we were so scared of each other, because we had so much respect for each other...I knew how quickly he could hit, you know, if I hit him once he was already finished hitting me twice.
We had a lot of respect, and were nervous and scared of each other....but if I have to look at the results, I have to say Coetzee was better than me, he was the World Champion, and congratulations.

Int: The fight you had with Coetzee was awarded to him, but most people who watched it thought you had won..
KK: Yes...I also still think that, you know. After he knocked me down in the 3rd round...it was one of those quick punches that was never painful but which you feel after you don't have power and your nose stays in the ground... but yes, looking back still I think that was my fight..... and..but you know, they say some fellows need some luck..every boxer must have 15%, but Gerrie always had 30%...maybe it was his lucky day. But it is a thing of the past and I accept it as such.

Int: You knocked a lot of guys out in your career, do any stand out?
KK: I....yes, I knocked out a lot of guys, and a lot of guys hit/knocked me back (Note:difficult translation here due to slang) but I never was left lying down in the ring...but if I look at my photos above here, Ishaq Hussein and Mike Schutte..then that's my best knockout punch that I hit...the nicest, most attractive knockout blows....maybe, if I talk about Mike (Schutte) is the best, my best shot, but I can't talk about it as such, because Mike is a big friend today, you know, as you say in English, he's my "bodyguard"...so I'll then have to say Ishaq Hussein...It might have been Mike, but I'm gonna say Isaq Hussein, to satisfy Mike...yes, I'll say Isaq Hussein...I hit him the hardest.

Int: Your reputation as "Die Bek", where does it come from? (Note: "Die Bek" can translate as "The Gob" or "The Mouth")
KK: Man, it is...you know, Uncle Billy and I went to Boomstraat (Note: Boom Street where a boxing gym was located) and it was a kind of Muhammed Ali style thing ....the guy that named me "Die Bek van Boomstraat" was Jeff van Heerden, nobody else. It helped with publicity in the end, helped my name...old grannies of 70 years old first became interested or watched boxing since I started to talk like Muhammed Ali, you know. What a big mouth!

Int: Were you so full of confidence?
KK: Yes, yes you were full of self confidence, and you got even more confidence when you talked to a man (another fighter) and put him on his nerves, you know, you see you're getting to him, you had a little advantage over him....but....you know, maybe you also did it because you yourself were dead scared. You could get scared, you know? You were alone in that ring, pal.

Int: What happened in the fight against John Tate? (Note: World heavyweight title fight)
KK: Man, that is the time period basically, when I look back at it now, that I lost interest in boxing. What happened in that time you had to be the guy for the press, had to be a the guy for the sponsors, all such a big deal, he was the first big boxer to come, it meant a lot to the country, big pressure.... had to talk to everybody, satisfy everybody, I had to drink my coke, John Tate his fresh orange juice, then I had to go into a room, and talk more, pressure put on me, the whole world is yours after you beat him......John Tates psychological preparation can only have been 100% better than mine, as a South African. As soon as the fight took place, I was a nervous wreck...a scaredy-pants if you want to call it plainly that, and I lost that fight before I began as a result.

Int: Do you think back to that and wonder what could have been?
KK: I've thought about it, if things were different, if I had another 15% luck, like old Gerrie Coetzee always had, I think things could have changed and been better for me, ...but...at the end of the day I have my children, I have my wife, I have my farm, my shop, my businesses that I have, and that I'm still going do,....I'm very satisfied. Not totally...I never will be...but I think sport treated me very well, in this life. ( Note: Knoetze was an excellent rugby player, a flanker, playing at premier national level for 168 games.)

Int: Just on that point, if you'd beaten Tate, you'd have fought Coetzee for the world title...
KK: Ahh no, Vrek (Note: Slang) then I would have given him a hiding. But it didn't happen that way...it would have been nice. That's what many in South Africa were hoping and looking forward for, to see us two boxers against each other again, but it didn't happen.
If you talk about such, now there is Pierre Coetzer and Johnny Du Plooy there and there abouts...Why, I left the ring only the other day, and sometimes I think about a comeback, but as my wife said to me, "You have a young outlook with a really old body" so, you know, I better start believing her......But, uh, if you compare the two young boxers, Pierre Coetzer and Johhny du Plooy...Du Plooy is not in the class of Coetzer. Coetzer is a good fighter and all, but he's not in the same class as Gerrie Coetzee ...definitely not. He's good, and he can work hard. It looks to me like boxing deteriorates..the old guys that were good are not there anymore.
Looking at other boxers...there's just Brian Mitchell. He's a Mister. (Note: Slang term for The Man, or The Boss, somebody really, really good.)
Actually, let's rather instead call him The Master, because he is one.

Int: People nowadays think you'll take on Coetzer and du Plooy in one evening, flatten them.....
KK: Yes, you know, it's easy to say that. I'll also like to say that to you, and I'd also like to believe it. But say they flatten me? You can never really tell things like that. It is a different time. It depends on how you feel, how you prepare, how hungry you are.
I should never have lost to Jimmy Abbott and Robbie Williams, but I simply didn't have the same interest in boxing anymore...not prepared to put up with the pain...get dead scared....it could have been one of those evenings. Or it could have been one of those evenings like against Mike Schutte or Duane Bobick, when i could beat anyone in the world....Mike Tyson, it really doesn't matter who.
But it would be very presumptious to say I would beat Johnny du Plooy, even though I personally don't think he's a good fighter, and Pierre Coetzer, a better fighter...very presumptious to say. Although I would have liked to, sure.

[Dubblechin]

Thank you so much for doing this. I really appreciate it.

If you have time to do part 2, I'd love to read it.

I've seen so many interviews with Knoetze, but I've never seen a translation anywhere.

Great stuff.

Thanks again.

[Dubblechin]

I also have some video of Knoetze after beating Randy Stephens, and he grabs the mic in the ring and tells the audience something before Tate and Coetzee enter the ring. I heard Coetzee's wife was angry with Knoetze for doing it. If I uploaded it, could you translate that for me?

Or do you know what he said? Was it widely reported at the time?

Any help would be appreciated.

Again, thank you.

[Dubblechin]

One more question. What does Vrek mean? Is it a curse, like sh*t? Or is it like Oh Hell No?

Just curious.

Sorry to bombard you. I just couldn't find anyone who could translate this before.

Thank you.

[kaiserbill]

No worries.

I'll have a look at doing part 2, and if you upload that interview that you've mentioned, put up a link and I'll have a crack at that too.

"Vrek" is a slang word that is quite difficult to translate, actually.

It is originally an Afrikaans word that describes, or has to do with an animals death, such as a buck, or a cow for example.
It morphed into a slangword that could be used in a variety of ways, such as "Hy het my byna vrek geslaan" which would translate as "he almost killed me".

But it can be used in a variety of ways, such as "vrek bang" would mean "dead scared", or it could even be used to describe something admirable, much like the Irish or English might describe something really enjoyable as "deadly" or "wicked".

Afrikaans is a type of Dutch, by the way, but which has developed in it's own way since the pioneers settled in South Africa hundreds of years back.
If a Dutch person and an Afrikaans person, or even a Belgian Flemish speaker for that matter, spoke slowly with each other and didn't use slang, they would be mutually understandable.
I guess the equivalent would be a Scotsman from Glasgow speaking to a person from the Southern States of the US.
They'd both be speaking english, but would have to speak slower and without colloquialisms, and they'd get along ok....

[wouter]

"Vrek" is a slang word that is quite difficult to translate, actually.

It is originally an Afrikaans word that describes, or has to do with an animals death, such as a buck, or a cow for example.
It morphed into a slangword that could be used in a variety of ways, such as "Hy het my byna vrek geslaan" which would translate as "he almost killed me".

But it can be used in a variety of ways, such as "vrek bang" would mean "dead scared", or it could even be used to describe something admirable, much like the Irish or English might describe something really enjoyable as "deadly" or "wicked".

Are you sure it doesn't originate from the Dutch "Verrek" , which roughly translates to the English "Damn" ?

[Caractacus]

One more question. What does Vrek mean? Is it a curse, like sh*t? Or is it like Oh Hell No?

Just curious.

Sorry to bombard you. I just couldn't find anyone who could translate this before.

Thank you.

"Vrek" translated into American venacular slang equals
" A Beat Down".