Editing Gerrie Coetzee (section)

===WBA heavyweight champion===
{{Main article|Gerrie Coetzee vs. Michael Dokes}}
Perhaps because of his success against Thomas in the first half of their fight, Coetzee received his third world title try against WBA champion [[Michael Dokes]]. By now known as someone who could not win "The Big One", Coetzee's predicted fate in this bout was to show-case the [[Don King (boxing promoter)|Don King]]-promoted Dokes' abilities and status as a rising star.

The fight took place on 23 September 1983 at the [[Richfield Coliseum]] in [[Richfield, Ohio]].  Coetzee dominated Dokes after a few rounds of even fighting. The South African led with aggression but also used counter punching as well. Coetzee's poise was apparent, and he boxed more deftly than usual employing more left hooks rather than merely swinging his potent right hand. He continued to eschew much in the way of defense, sponging anything Dokes could land. In the 5th, he scored a knockdown and the commentary on the fight revolved around his poise and control.. much different than a man lacking on confidence. After seizing control and dominating, Coetzee knocked out Dokes in the tenth round to become South Africa's first world Heavyweight title holder. He also became the first Caucasian world heavyweight champion in 23 years. The fight was [[KO Magazine]]'s "Upset of The Year" for 1983.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iFjJm8SuGLIC&pg=PA29|last=Dlamini|first=Jacob|publisher=[[Prestel Publishing|Jacana Media]]|isbn=978-1770097551|title=Native Nostalgia|page=29|year=2010|access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref>

It turned out that the punch that knocked out Dokes hurt Coetzee even more: his right hand was broken and required surgery five days after the fight, in [[New York City]].