Johnny du Plooy
Johnny du Plooy (27 September 1964 – 12 April 2013) was a former South African heavyweight boxer best known for his win over former WBA World Heavyweight champion Mike Weaver. He challenged once for the WBO World Heavyweight title in 1989. Boxing career. Amateur career. du Plooy had a very impressive amateur record of 196-4. Professional career. The tall 6'3 South African boxer began his career in 1985 with 17 straight wins. He then lost to ex-champ Mike Weaver by 7th round KO. He later avenged this defeat by knocking out Mike Weaver in two rounds  and in 1989 challenged Francesco Damiani for the vacant WBO heavyweight title. Du Plooy was knocked out in the third round in the World Boxing Organization's inaugural heavyweight world title bout. After this, he fought 15 more fights, compiling an overall record of 27 wins, 5 losses, and 1 draw. All of du Plooy's losses were stoppages to known opponents such as Renaldo Snipes, Francesco Damiani, Pierre Coetzer, and Corrie Sanders. Du Plooy retired in 1993 after a win, and scored another comeback win in 1997 but promptly retired. Death. Du Plooy became overweight after his retirement. He  suffered from heart problems in the few years leading up to his death. Several months before his death, he had a heart attack.