Gerry Cooney, was inactivity his downfall?

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I believe he gave all that he had against Holmes. He was just not talented enough and not experienced enough. Once in the ring, I think he gave all that he had.
It really is too bad that he never fought Dokes, Witherspoon etc.

Agreed, that was the best effort of his career. I don't think a Witherspoon fight would have went well for him.

[HomicideHenry]

I used to think at one time, as a fan, that if Cooney had fought Gerrie Coetzee rather than Holmes he would have won the WBA title. However, as time goes on, I dont know if he could of. Coetzee, despite his shortcomings (injured hands, inconsistancy, etc) had the best overhand right of the 1980's heavyweight division and you seldom ever seen him hurt with a single shot. Cooney was the most powerful man in the division but I dont know if he could have stood up to Coetzee, mainly because Gerrie took the harder route and he was the far more accurate puncher. Same logic and thinking goes with Dokes and Witherspoon. That being said, though, I do think Cooney would have beaten the majority of contenders and fringe hanger on's in the 1980's. Quite a feat, needless to say, considering this was a man who all but loathed boxing and only stayed in it to have the love and support and affection of his father.

[HomicideHenry]

That's probably a blessing for Cooney, I don't know if he could have lasted with even that faded Shavers. Tex took some serious leather. I don't recall Cooney doing commentary on the Hearns/Cuevas card. Granted, it wasn't televised live at all, but CBS had it the following week. I just remember Ryan & Clancy, but I'll take your word for it. Many years ago. Your timeline is definitely off as that was 1980, well before the Holmes fight was even thought of.

From what I remember of the contest they said even then Cooney was the #1 contender in the WBC, what's amazing is despite the inactivity, etc. he was able to maintain that ranking. As for whether Cooney could have beaten Shavers or not--- I think he could have. After all, Cooney fought a very similar brutal puncher who was well passed it in Ron Lyle. And sure, Tex took alot of leather, but then again, who didn't Tex take alot of punishment from?

[SaadOffTheDeck]

That's probably a blessing for Cooney, I don't know if he could have lasted with even that faded Shavers. Tex took some serious leather. I don't recall Cooney doing commentary on the Hearns/Cuevas card. Granted, it wasn't televised live at all, but CBS had it the following week. I just remember Ryan & Clancy, but I'll take your word for it. Many years ago. Your timeline is definitely off as that was 1980, well before the Holmes fight was even thought of.

From what I remember of the contest they said even then Cooney was the #1 contender in the WBC, what's amazing is despite the inactivity, etc. he was able to maintain that ranking. As for whether Cooney could have beaten Shavers or not--- I think he could have. After all, Cooney fought a very similar brutal puncher who was well passed it in Ron Lyle. And sure, Tex took alot of leather, but then again, who didn't Tex take alot of punishment from?

That was before Cooney fought Lyle and Norton. You sure you have the right fight?

[HomicideHenry]

That was before Cooney fought Lyle and Norton. You sure you have the right fight?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1RajNtxZNg

Skip to 11:30 of the fight, he joining the commentary team with Norton. They discuss the fact that Cooney was to fight Shavers, but he had torn a muscle while in training and Cobb took Cooney's place (13:00).

[SaadOffTheDeck]

That was before Cooney fought Lyle and Norton. You sure you have the right fight?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1RajNtxZNg

Skip to 11:30 of the fight, he joining the commentary team with Norton. They discuss the fact that Cooney was to fight Shavers, but he had torn a muscle while in training and Cobb took Cooney's place (13:00).

I told you I would take your word for it, you said it was the reason he was inactive before the Holmes fight. Being a Hearns lover I knew your timeline was off.

[HomicideHenry]

That was before Cooney fought Lyle and Norton. You sure you have the right fight?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1RajNtxZNg

Skip to 11:30 of the fight, he joining the commentary team with Norton. They discuss the fact that Cooney was to fight Shavers, but he had torn a muscle while in training and Cobb took Cooney's place (13:00).

I told you I would take your word for it, you said it was the reason he was inactive before the Holmes fight. Being a Hearns lover I knew your timeline was off.

If that was what was taken as an explaination for his inactivity, I am sorry for the mistake. I just stated that I knew Cooney was scheduled to fight a few times in his career where the fights didnt take place--- and that caused some inactivity in his career. I didnt necessarily mean it was the result of inactivity prior to the Holmes fight. So, my bad.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I've just been looking at Cooney's record and didn't realise how inactive he was before fighting Holmes and Spinks. He only had 3 fights (6 rounds) in the 2 and a half years before facing Holmes, two of these ending in the 1st round. By the time he fought Holmes the last fight he had was the 54 second blast out over Norton 13 months earlier, poor poor preparation.

Then 5 years later he fought Spinks and again only had 3 fights in all that time. By the time he fought Spinks he hadn't fought for 13 months and that fight ended in one round, again terrible preparation. Then of course he took another 3 years off and fought Foreman.

Why was he so inactive, was he blocked out by King or something else? With regular fights do you think he would have achieved more?

Prior to the Holmes fight, Cooney was scheduled to face Earnie Shavers. However, an injury in sparring prevented the match from taking place---- and in Cooney's place was Tex Cobb. If you watch the fight film, they will tell the tale as I just stated and Cooney is doing color commentary. That answers your first question, anyways as to why he was inactive prior to the Holmes fight.

Christ man, you explicitly said it. No big deal. Sometimes going off of memory you make mistakes. Not the end of the world.

[drunkenpiper36]

It comes down to one of those " what if " questions. I can't say for sure if being busier would have made him better. Especially if his fights kept ending prior to the sound of the first bell. But one thing is for certain. Being off for 13 months and jumping in against the heavyweight champ of the world ( which he did twice ) is a recipe for defeat in the vast majority of cases...

[Ezzard]

As others have mentioned, his heart was not really into boxing all of the way. He really did not seem to know if he wanted to be a fighter or not.
He had some ability. He was not as slow or uncoordinated as some people think. He put up a very creditable performance vs a prime Larry Holmes. It was a competitive fight, which is more than you can so for many of Holmes' opponents that he defended the title against.

It hurt him quite a bit that he was inactive. After the Holmes; fight, a good management team would have stepped back and make a good decision of what to do next. He needed experience, and he need to learn how to win a tough when he could not just blow out his opponent. He also seemed to be lacking confidence.

After the Holmes loss, he probably should have one fight against a tomato can to get some confidence back. Then gradually fight better and better competition. Someone like Tex Cobb would have been an ideal opponent. Cobb had a great chin, fought hard, but had little defense, and was not that hard of a puncher. He probably would have given Cooney a tough 10 round fight. James Tillis would have been a good fight for Cooney as well following Cobb. He needed experience against different styles of fighters who weren't pushovers, but unlikely to actually beat Cooney. (Of course the opponents that you want aren't always available.)

After a few fights, then it would be time for him to sink or swim and go for the WBA title. He was never likely to beat Larry Holmes. How he would have done vs Dokes, Coetzee, Page etc. is the big question and we really don't know the answer.

You’d make a good manager, Alp.

The thing that sets Cooney apart from the rest of the 80s guys was that he put it all out there against Holmes. He had desire that night and he left it all in the ring. He didn’t fold after the early knockdown but fought on bravely.

I am one of those who think that if Gerry had stayed focused on being a boxer…stayed busy…and had built on his power with other skills…then he would have been a force in the 1980s…or a bigger one than he was.

But there’s a part of me who thinks he was a hyped up banger created by Don King to sell tickets. Boxing history is full of them.

[drunkenpiper36]

Gerry Cooney

Fought a gritty bout with Larry Holmes.

After that, he really wasn't interested in fighting anymore, because he had lost and let
everybody down.

Then,,,,,,,,,,,'Nose Candy'

I also think that making 10 million dollars in one night ( which in 1982, was about the equivalent of what roughly 25 million is today ) took away a lot of his motivation. Nobody was making that kind of money back then, least of all a contender with 25 fights.

[raylawpc]

"Gerry Cooney, was inactivity his downfall?"

Well, it didn't help . . .

[dempseyfire]

His poor chin and lack of defense was his downfall. People forget he often got nailed flush by journeyman as he was coming up.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

His poor chin and lack of defense was his downfall. People forget he often got nailed flush by journeyman as he was coming up.

[Space Moutain]

Cooney was announced second when he fought Holmes.

[Nile4000]

Cooney was announced second when he fought Holmes.

One of the saddest days in pro boxing history.

[drunkenpiper36]

Cooney was announced second when he fought Holmes.

One of the saddest days in pro boxing history.

It really did create an aura of disrespect. In addition, the whole "great white hope" gimmick started by Don King drew the attention of the Ku Klux Klan and apparently there were federal snipers on guard at the fight. These things set cooney up to look like a bad guy, which was hardly the case.

[Nile4000]

Cooney was announced second when he fought Holmes.

One of the saddest days in pro boxing history.

It really did create an aura of disrespect. In addition, the whole "great white hope" gimmick started by Don King drew the attention of the Ku Klux Klan and apparently there were federal snipers on guard at the fight. These things set cooney up to look like a bad guy, which was hardly the case.

Yeah, Gerry was probably too nice of a guy for the sport, to some degree.