Chuck Wepner vs Tex Cobb

[Nile4000]

15,Hwy, who wins?

[cannonball]

Cobb

[Joson]

This one's too close to call.

They're both mummies in boxing gloves. Have the same primitive style, are equally slow and flatfooted, same size, and nearly impossible to hurt.

It definitely goes the full distance. Who knows which guy wins it.

[RScarf1]

I would be rooting for Wepner because he is from New Jersey and I met him, but I think Cobb would win because he had close decision losses to Ken Norton and Michael Dokes, although Norton was past his prime. Cobb also lost by unanimous decision to Larry Holmes.

[oogiebe]

Cobb easily. Would bloody up Chuck while wearing Chuck's fists out.

[HomicideHenry]

1 of the problems is outside of Ali, and snippets of Scott Frank and Buster Mathis and Sonny Liston there really isn't much film to go on with Chuck Wepner. There's no footage of his fight with Terry Hinke that made him a top ten contender to begin with. So just how good Chuck actually was is hard to say.

I'd lean towards Cobb but neither guy is gonna hurt each other and it's going the distance. It will be pretty sloppy and wild at times, and other times a boring mauling affair.

[DrDuke]

Two bar brawlers, but Cobb was definitely a bigger threat to the top fighters.

[Joson]

Cobb easily. Would bloody up Chuck while wearing Chuck's fists out.
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IMO, Cobb's punches lacked power and snap. He was a clubbing hitter. For this reason, I question if he'd cut Wepner.

[Joson]

1 of the problems is outside of Ali, and snippets of Scott Frank and Buster Mathis and Sonny Liston there really isn't much film to go on with Chuck Wepner. There's no footage of his fight with Terry Hinke that made him a top ten contender to begin with. So just how good Chuck actually was is hard to say.

I'd lean towards Cobb but neither guy is gonna hurt each other and it's going the distance. It will be pretty sloppy and wild at times, and other times a boring mauling affair.

I'm pretty certain the Terry Hinke fight didn't make Wepner a top-ten contender. Hinke was a clubfighter from the boondocks who had a good "won-lost" record against mostly fourth-rate foes. His only notable wins were over club fighters Rodney Bobick and Terry Daniels.

Hinke's reputation was based on his status as George Foreman's sparring partner. That's not the same as being a legitimate top-ten or top-20 fighter.

In the winter of 1974-75, Foreman was thinking about fighting Wepner in any easy tune-up title defense. George sent Hinke to test Chuck before making a final decision. Wepner cleared that hurdle by KO'ing Hinke, but that didn't make Chuck any kind of contender.

Wepner crashed the worldwide top-ten ratings in 1973 by "winning" an outrageously unfair decision over Ernie Terrell. Everyone who saw the fight agreed that Terrell appeared to have won an easy decision, taking the vast majority of the rounds by using his dominant left-jab. But the officials gave the nod to Wepner. The fight took place in New Jersey, Wepner's home state.

[scorpio83]

Cobb by either decision or stopping Wepner with his cut eye injury in the late rounds.

[HomicideHenry]

1 of the problems is outside of Ali, and snippets of Scott Frank and Buster Mathis and Sonny Liston there really isn't much film to go on with Chuck Wepner. There's no footage of his fight with Terry Hinke that made him a top ten contender to begin with. So just how good Chuck actually was is hard to say.

I'd lean towards Cobb but neither guy is gonna hurt each other and it's going the distance. It will be pretty sloppy and wild at times, and other times a boring mauling affair.

I'm pretty certain the Terry Hinke fight didn't make Wepner a top-ten contender. Hinke was a clubfighter from the boondocks who had a good "won-lost" record against mostly fourth-rate foes. His only notable wins were over club fighters Rodney Bobick and Terry Daniels.

Hinke's reputation was based on his status as George Foreman's sparring partner. That's not the same as being a legitimate top-ten or top-20 fighter.

In the winter of 1974-75, Foreman was thinking about fighting Wepner in any easy tune-up title defense. George sent Hinke to test Chuck before making a final decision. Wepner cleared that hurdle by KO'ing Hinke, but that didn't make Chuck any kind of contender.

Wepner crashed the worldwide top-ten ratings in 1973 by "winning" an outrageously unfair decision over Ernie Terrell. Everyone who saw the fight agreed that Terrell appeared to have won an easy decision, taking the vast majority of the rounds by using his dominant left-jab. But the officials gave the nod to Wepner. The fight took place in New Jersey, Wepner's home state.

I stand corrected, although I think my confusion was from the ESPN documentary on Chuck and he basically implied because of defeating Terry Hinke he got ranked #8 in the world.

I will say though that you bringing up Hinke as Foreman's sparring partner, and that being the test for consideration, reminds me of Corn Griffin who was a sparring partner for Primo Carnera and when Braddock beat him that suddenly jump-started Braddock's career that was basically nonexistent at that point.

And it's all kind of ironic in a way because Chuck Wepner's father was also a boxer in New Jersey and had been a sparring partner for guys like Jack Dempsey and James J. Braddock.

[gilgamesh]

I'd think Wepner would probably have an inkling more skill, but it'd probably be offset by Cobb's significantly tougher chin, and constant pressure.

I figure they'd each win a lot of rounds, and honestly either could win a close decision.

If there's a stoppage it'd probably be cuts, and it'd be Cobb. But I'd lean toward narrow decision to either guy.

Depending on the night.