Juan Martin Coggi vs Frankie Randall

Frankie ‘The Surgeon’ Randall won the World Boxing Association light-welterweight championship from Juan Martin Coggi by a unanimous decision over 12 rounds at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on September 17, 1994. The American challenger put Coggi down three times but was himself floored during a lively opening to the contest. At the finish, Duane Ford scored the bout 115-109, while Luis Rivera and Orlando Sam each returned figures of 116-108 for Randall. Mitch Halpern was the referee.

The match formed part of a long championship programme headed by the second meeting between Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor. Coggi, a southpaw from Argentina, entered with a record of 67 wins, two defeats and two draws. He was serving his second term as WBA champion, having regained the vacant title from Morris East in January 1993 and made five successful defences. Randall stood at 49-3-1. Earlier in 1994 he had inflicted the first official defeat upon Chavez to win the WBC championship, only to lose it back by a disputed technical decision after an accidental clash of heads ended their return match in the eighth round.

The first round established that neither man intended to proceed cautiously. Randall worked behind a straight left and sought to bring his right hand across Coggi’s southpaw lead. His quicker delivery caught the champion before Coggi had settled, and Coggi went down. The Argentine rose without appearing badly shaken and resumed his advance, keeping his right glove high while looking to place the left hand from outside. Randall did not rush his work after the knockdown and continued to box at measured range.

Coggi answered in the second round. Pressing Randall back, he found the challenger with a firm counter and sent him to the floor. Randall recovered promptly, but the knockdown showed the danger in remaining directly before Coggi after punching. The champion was strongest when he could set his feet and drive the left through the centre, whereas Randall’s advantage lay in making Coggi reach, stepping away and returning with shorter, straighter blows. After the early exchange of knockdowns, Randall began to impose that method more consistently.

Through the third and fourth rounds, Randall’s superior speed became plain. He used his jab to disturb Coggi’s advance and moved to either side after completing his combinations. Coggi continued to come forward but frequently arrived too late to answer. Randall was not merely retreating. He held his ground long enough to draw the champion’s lead, then countered before moving away. Coggi remained dangerous with the left hand and tried to work Randall’s body when they came together, but he was unable to maintain the range or pace that suited him.

Randall increased his command in the fifth and sixth rounds, dropping Coggi once in each. The challenger’s punches were compact and accurately placed, with the right hand proving particularly effective against the southpaw. Coggi rose on both occasions and showed considerable endurance, but the repeated falls left him well behind. Randall resisted the temptation to seek an immediate finish. He returned instead to his jab, made Coggi reset his feet and picked his openings. The champion’s attacks became less frequent, and he was often reduced to following Randall rather than cutting off the ring.

From the seventh through the eleventh, Randall controlled most of the exchanges. Coggi continued to press and was never unwilling, but his punches lacked the timing necessary to reverse the contest. Randall met him with the jab, straight right and occasional left hook, then moved before Coggi could establish sustained work at close quarters. When the Argentine did force him toward the ropes, Randall tied him up or turned away without taking prolonged punishment. No fouls or further knockdowns materially altered the course of the match.

Coggi made a determined effort in the last round, knowing that only a knockout could preserve his championship. Randall remained composed, defended himself carefully and completed the distance without giving the tiring champion a stationary target. The verdict was beyond dispute. Randall had survived Coggi’s early success, scored three knockdowns of his own and won the greater part of the boxing between them. The victory gave him a second world championship in the space of eight months and began a rivalry with Coggi that was eventually to extend to three contests.

I’ve always thought Frankie Randall was far better than the attention he received. Beating Julio Cesar Chavez in January 1994 should have made him a major attraction, but Chavez remained the name people paid to see. Randall then lost the rematch on a technical decision after an accidental head clash and a ridiculous compulsory point deduction. Four months later he had to start again against Juan Martin Coggi.

Coggi was no soft champion. He was an experienced southpaw in his second reign as WBA light-welterweight champion, strong through the middle and dangerous with the left hand. He put Randall down early, but that was about as good as it got for him. Randall adjusted his distance, stopped standing in front of Coggi and began beating him to the punch with the jab and straight right. That is how you deal with a southpaw: keep your lead foot outside, make him reset and bring the right hand straight down the middle.

Randall dropped Coggi three times and won clearly. The 115-109 and 116-108 scorecards were fair. What impressed me was his discipline after being knocked down. He never became reckless or went looking for revenge. He took Coggi apart with better timing and cleaner work. Randall was called “The Surgeon,” and this was one occasion when the nickname fitted him perfectly.