Jonathan Rice Proves His Victory Over Michael Coffie Was No Fluke
When heavyweight Jonathan “Jonnie” Rice (15-6-1, 10 KO’s) first met Michael Polite Coffie (12-2, 9 KO’s) in the squared-circle, he upset him. Then, Rice validated that win by repeating with a seventh round stoppage in their immediate rematch. The rematch aired live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino located in Hollywood, Florida.
In the initial encounter, the 6’5 South Carolinian was brought in at the last minute to replace Gerald Washington. Washington had suddenly withdrawn due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Coming in off back-to-back losses, it was widely believed that Rice would be easy pickings for the then undefeated bruiser. Instead of playing the role of patsy however, Rice not only got the upper hand, he stopped Coffie in the fifth round.
RELATED: Jonnie Rice Batters And Upsets Michael Coffie In Five Rounds!
This follow-up victory certainly blows new life into Rice’s atrophied career. Conversely, this is a devastating setback for Coffie. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back from this adversity.
IS IT OVER YET?!?
The opening three rounds of the dustup were aggressively boring and lacking in any meaningful action. The two continued to paw at one another like some glorified asthmatics until Coffie was stunned in the fourth. After being hit with a hard right hand, Coffie backed to the ropes and shelled up. Although, nothing of any significance happened afterwards. Coffie would go on to get roughed up and pick up a cut on his left eye in the sixth.
For a period of about twelve seconds at the top of the ninth, it looked like Michael Coffie was going to attempt pushing the action. Following that near laughably brief assault. the bout devolved again into the mind numbing tedium that it’d been for all the previous rounds.
The two men literally spent half of the final round staring at one another breathing hard. After every punch exchange, they had a silent agreement to simply stand. Despite the extreme lack of engaging action, Coffie ended the bout with the left side of his face badly swollen and freely bleeding. Unsurprisingly, when the cards were read, Rice was awarded with a unanimous decision win.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
By: Bakari Simpson
