Corrie Sanders
Corrie Sanders | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cornelius Johannes Sanders January 7, 1966 |
| Nationality |  South African |
| Other names | The Sniper |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 46 |
| Wins | 42 |
| Wins by KO | 31 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Cornelius Johannes Sanders (born on January 7, 1966 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a South African boxer. Known for his fast hands and devastating left, Sanders was the third boxer from the African continent to win a heavyweight title, after fellow countrymen Gerrie Coetzee and Francois Botha.
Professional career
Sanders began his boxing career with a first round knockout of King Kong Dyubele on April 2, 1989.
He won his first 23 bouts, 15 by knockout. Among the fighters he defeated during that streak were Steve Zouski, Art Card, future WBO Cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson and future world title challenger Bert Cooper.
In his 24th bout, on May 21, 1994, he suffered his first defeat, at the hands of Nate Tubbs via a second round knockout.
He fought 12 more times over the next five years, including a first round knockout over former world cruiserweight champion Carlos De Leon and a second round knockout over another former world champion, Bobby Czyz. A stoppage loss to future heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman in a bout Sanders was winning confirmed his ability and also his vulnerability. Returning to the ring in 2001 he scored a quick win over Michael Sprott and then followed this up with a defeat of Otis Tisdale in 2002.
Winning the title against Wladimir Klitschko
Despite the fact that he had fought only three rounds in the last two years, the World Boxing Organization sanctioned a challenge to their heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. On March 8, 2003, Sanders provided a stunning upset in Hanover, Germany by dropping Klitschko four times to snatch the Ukrainian's belt by a second-round knockout.
With this win, Sanders joined Coetzee and Botha in the list of African world heavyweight champions.
Losing a title shot against Vitali Klitschko
Sanders vacated the WBO title in December 2003 so that he could concentrate on a challenge for the vacant WBC belt. The fight took place on April 24, 2004, against Wladimir's older brother, Vitali. He was stopped by Vitali in the eighth round of a fight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
After that bout he knocked out Alexei Varakin in the second round of a contest in Soelden, Austria, in December 2004. He briefly retired after that bout.
Sanders returned to action after two years in November 2006 to score a second round stoppage win over the Australian heavyweight champion Colin Wilson at the Convention Centre in Mmbatho. He has recently signed with Golden Gloves Promotions, and won a bout in South Africa against Brazilian Daniel Bispo on the May 12, 2007. His last bout was a first round knock out to Osborne Machimana. It was a 12 round bout for the South African Heavyweight title. The official time was 2:41 of round one. It took place in the Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. His record now stands at 42-4-31 KO.
External links
- Boxing record for Corrie Sanders from BoxRec (registration required)