He captured the vacant WBA heavyweight championship in 1979, succeeding Muhammad Ali following his first retirement.

In the 1980s there were 15 men who held claim to at least a portion of the heavyweight championship between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989.

On 20 October, it will be 43 years since Gerrie Coetzee from South Africa and John Tate from the USA collided for the vacant WBA Championship

The second of seven children, Tate’s father skipped out at an early age, leaving his mother and grandparents in charge of his upbringing.