Cornelius Johannes Sanders (7 January 1966 – 23 September 2012) was a South African professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He won the WBO heavyweight title in 2003 after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds, which was considered one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history; The Ring magazine named it the Upset of the Year. In 2004, having vacated the WBO title, Sanders faced Wladimir's brother Vitali Klitschko in an unsuccessful challenge for the vacant WBC and Ring heavyweight titles. He also held the WBU heavyweight title from 1997 until 2000 and the South Africa national heavyweight title in 1991.

Nicknamed "The Sniper", Sanders was a southpaw with a long reach, and was known for carrying formidable knockout power in his straight left hand.Christie, Matt (7 January 2016). "On This Day: Heavyweight hammer-fist Corrie Sanders born in 1966". Boxing News. Newsquest. Retrieved 28 June 2016. He died in a hospital in the early hours of 23 September 2012 after being shot during an armed robbery. Sanders also held wins against former cruiserweight champions Johnny Nelson, Carlos de Leon, Bobby Czyz, and Al Cole.

Early life and amateur career Sanders grew up in Brits, South Africa. He had two siblings and was of Afrikaner descent. In his youth, he played rugby, cricket, and golf. Having been introduced to boxing by his uncle, Sanders finished his amateur career in the late 1980s with 180 wins and 11 losses.Evans, Gavin (25 September 2012). "Corrie Sanders: Heavyweight world champion". The Independent. Retrieved 1 July 2017. He won the amateur South African heavyweight title four times from 1985-1988.

Professional career Sanders made his professional debut in 1989 with a first-round knockout of King Kong Dyubele on 2 April 1989. He went on to win his next 22 bouts, 14 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 21 May 1994, Sanders suffered his first defeat, to 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 León and a second-round knockout over another former world champion, Bobby Czyz. He lost by seventh-round stoppage in a slugfest fight with future unified and two-time world heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. Sanders and Rahman both knocked each other down during the bout, and Sanders was ahead on the judges' scorecards prior to the stoppage. Rahman said of Sanders following their match: "I've never been hit that hard in my life." 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. Corrie Sanders' biggest weapons were his southpaw fast hands that he used to knock fighters out early.

WBO heavyweight champion Despite fighting three rounds in the last two years, the WBO sanctioned a challenge to their heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Sanders had accepted the bout on short notice and was a 40-1 underdog. On 8 March 2003, Sanders provided a stunning upset in Hanover, Germany, by dropping Klitschko four times to win the WBO belt by a second-round knockout. The Ring magazine named it the Upset of the Year for 2003. Klitschko later called Sanders the hardest puncher he ever faced in a December 2014 interview with The Ring, saying: "I’ve been in boxing for 25 years and I never fought anybody in this game that punched like Corrie Sanders."Wainright, Anson. "Best I've Faced: Wladimir Klitschko." The Ring. December 2014.

WBC heavyweight title challenge Sanders had initially sought a unification bout with WBA heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr., who had also won his title in March 2003, and then with heavyweight contender David Tua. When those negotiations fell through, he was scheduled to defend the WBO title against Lamon Brewster on 18 October 2003. However, due to a conflict between WBO and Sanders's promoter, the bout did not take place. Sanders then vacated the WBO title to sign a contract to fight for the vacant WBC belt. The fight took place on 24 April 2004, against Wladimir's older brother, Vitali. Sanders was stopped by Vitali in the eighth round of the fight in the Staples Center in Los Angeles. After Sanders death, Vitali went on to pay his respects to Sanders and called this the hardest fight of his career.

Eight months later, Sanders 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 Mafikeng. He had signed with Golden Gloves Promotions, and won another bout in South Africa against Brazilian Daniel Bispo in May 2007. His last bout, of the South African heavyweight title, was a loss to Osborne Machimana, a bout he took despite Sanders being injured beforehand. Sanders' final record was 42 wins (31 by knockout) and 4 losses.

Personal life Corrie Sanders and his wife Suzette had a son and a daughter.

Death On 22 September 2012, Sanders was fatally shot in an armed robbery at a restaurant called Thatch Haven in Brits, South Africa, where a function was being held for his nephew's 21st birthday. He had been near the entrance of the restaurant talking to his 15-year-old daughter Marinique and a cousin when three robbers entered firing their guns. Sanders had used his body to shield his daughter from oncoming bullets and then, while bleeding from bullet wounds in his right arm and stomach, pulled her to the ground and whispered for her to pretend to be dead. Sanders was taken to a hospital in Pretoria, where he died in the early hours of 23 September 2012 of his wounds.

On 27 September 2012, following a tip-off, North West police arrested three men in Oukasie near Brits, charging them with the murder of Sanders. All three were citizens of Zimbabwe. At one address, two suspects were apprehended and police recovered a cellular phone, a vehicle key, a purse and cash stolen during the robbery. Police then went to a second address, arrested a third suspect, and recovered a handbag also stolen in the robbery. The trial was postponed until August 2013 as investigators attempted to use a fourth suspect, now serving a 30-year sentence in Zimbabwe for killing a police officer, to locate the gun used in the crime.

On 11 February 2015 at a High Court in Pretoria, Judge Ferdi Preller sentenced Paida Fish, Chris Moyo and Samuel Mabena each to 43 years' imprisonment, of which they have to serve 30, on charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes46Loss42–4Osborne MachimanaTKO1 (12), 2 Feb 200845Win42–3Daniel BispoUD1012 May 200744Win41–3Colin WilsonTKO2 (10)24 Nov 200643Win40–3Alexey VarakinKO2 (8), 14 Dec 200442Loss39–3Vitali KlitschkoTKO8 (12), 24 Apr 200441Win39–2Wladimir KlitschkoTKO2 (12), 8 Mar 200340Win38–2Otis TisdaleTKO2 (10), 9 Nov 200239Win37–2Michael SprottTKO1 (8), 3 Nov 200138Loss36–2Hasim RahmanTKO7 (12), 20 May 200037Win36–1Al ColeTKO1 (12), 19 Feb 200036Win35–1Jorge ValdesTKO1 (12), 2 Jul 199935Win34–1Bobby CzyzTKO2 (12), 12 Jun 199834Win33–1Ross PurittyUD1215 Nov 199733Win32–1Arthur WeathersTKO1 (10), 7 Feb 199732Win31–1Olian AlexanderTKO2 (10)12 Sep 199631Win30–1Sean HartTKO2 (10), 20 Aug 199630Win29–1Curtis ShepardKO1 (10), 20 Jul 199629Win28–1Keith FletcherKO4 (10), 26 Jan 199628Win27–1James PritchardTKO1 (10) 2:005 Aug 199527Win26–1Nikolay KulpinUD101 Apr 199526Win25–1Garing LanePTS824 Sep 199425Win24–1Carlos de LeónTKO1 (10), 13 Aug 199424Loss23–1Nate TubbsKO2 (10), 21 May 199423Win23–0Mike WilliamsKO1 (10), 19 Mar 199422Win22–0Marshall TillmanTKO6 (10)5 Feb 199421Win21–0Levi BillupsKO1 (10)6 Nov 199320Win20–0George StephensTKO1 (10)4 Sep 199319Win19–0Bert CooperTKO3 (10), 6 Jun 199318Win18–0Matthew BrooksTKO1 (10), 17 Apr 199317Win17–0Johnny NelsonUD1024 Oct 199216Win16–0Mike EvansUD1022 Aug 199215Win15–0Mike DixonPTS89 May 199214Win14–0Anthony WadeUD1022 Feb 199213Win13–0Art CardTKO1 (10)23 Nov 199112Win12–0Mike RouseUD1028 Sep 199111Win11–0Johnny DuPlooyKO1 (12)27 Jul 199110Win10–0Steve GeeTKO4 (8), 6 Apr 19919Win9–0Steve Zouski88 Nov 19908Win8–0Moses MthamaTKO1 (6)4 Aug 19907Win7–0Jorge Vilchis1 (8)23 May 19906Win6–0Weaver QwabeTKO1 (8)29 Mar 19905Win5–0Samson MahlanguTKO3 (6), 9 Sept 19894Win4–0Gideon HlongwaTKO3 (6), 5 Aug 19893Win3–0David MalatsiTKO1 (4)27 May 19892Win2–0Prince Tukane424 Apr 19891Win1–0King Kong Dyubele1 (4)2 Apr 1989

References

External links

Corrie Sanders obituary at The Daily Telegraph