What If...... Gerry Cooney Had Gone The WBA Route

[Nile4000]

Cooney's biggest win was the one round KO of Ken Norton.
In-between that fight(May-11-1981) and the fight with Holmes(june-11-1982).
Cooney had been scheduled to fight.

Lee Canalito
Scott LeDoux
Earnie Shavers
Joe Bugner

all those fights fell through for some reason or another
(Cooney injuring his shoulder in training etc)

Was Lee Canalito any good?

He was a lousy actor who appeared in Paradise Alley. I can honestly say he was about as good of a boxer as he was an actor. Never stepped up a level from the time he started until he retired.

That's real bad. Tex really should have been the one for Gerry.

[tiny_acres]

Was Lee Canalito any good?

He was a lousy actor who appeared in Paradise Alley. I can honestly say he was about as good of a boxer as he was an actor. Never stepped up a level from the time he started until he retired.

That's real bad. Tex really should have been the one for Gerry.

I always wanted to see Cooney vs Cobb
I think Cooney would of taken a 10 round decision, but he would of had to earn it.
Cobb was limited on skill but tough as hell

[gilgamesh]

He was a lousy actor who appeared in Paradise Alley. I can honestly say he was about as good of a boxer as he was an actor. Never stepped up a level from the time he started until he retired.

That's real bad. Tex really should have been the one for Gerry.

I always wanted to see Cooney vs Cobb
I think Cooney would of taken a 10 round decision, but he would of had to earn it.
Cobb was limited on skill but tough as hell

Yeah Cobb made all of the decent contenders have to work real hard to get by him. Larry Holmes is one of the only guys that made truly easy work out of him. Most everybody else wound up having hell with him as the fight went on.

Aside from being tough as hell, Cobb also had good stamina and was always in good condition. That combined with being tough as all hell can take you a pretty long way.

[Caractacus]

-1980-

[Nile4000]

I definitely think the Gerry Cooney that fought Holmes could've beaten some of the other titlists of the era.

A fight between him and Berbick is 50/50 to me. Same as a fight between him and Thomas.

I think Spoon probably beats him, but it could be close.

Cooney would've probably beat Mike Weaver, Gerrie Coetzee, Greg Page or Bonecrusher Smith.

He's probably 50/50 with the Tony's.

Greg knew how to beat Gerry, stated so himself in that 1980s Sports Illustrated issue.

[gilgamesh]

I definitely think the Gerry Cooney that fought Holmes could've beaten some of the other titlists of the era.

A fight between him and Berbick is 50/50 to me. Same as a fight between him and Thomas.

I think Spoon probably beats him, but it could be close.

Cooney would've probably beat Mike Weaver, Gerrie Coetzee, Greg Page or Bonecrusher Smith.

He's probably 50/50 with the Tony's.

Greg knew how to beat Gerry, stated so himself in that 1980s Sports Illustrated issue.

Greg couldn't beat Mark Wills. Twice.

[Caractacus]

Tim Witherspoon at one point had been a sparring partner of Gerry Cooney's,
they released him because he bloodied Cooney's nose.
(from what I had read anyway))

[Ambling Alp II]

Always believe sparring stories. They are always true and relevant to what would have happened in a real fight.

[Nile4000]

I definitely think the Gerry Cooney that fought Holmes could've beaten some of the other titlists of the era.

A fight between him and Berbick is 50/50 to me. Same as a fight between him and Thomas.

I think Spoon probably beats him, but it could be close.

Cooney would've probably beat Mike Weaver, Gerrie Coetzee, Greg Page or Bonecrusher Smith.

He's probably 50/50 with the Tony's.

Greg knew how to beat Gerry, stated so himself in that 1980s Sports Illustrated issue.

Greg couldn't beat Mark Wills. Twice.

True. But.......Greg really wasn't all that after 1985. Though Wills losses came in that post-1985 time period as well as the loss to Buster Douglass.

[gilgamesh]

Greg knew how to beat Gerry, stated so himself in that 1980s Sports Illustrated issue.

Greg couldn't beat Mark Wills. Twice.

True. But.......Greg really wasn't all that after 1985. Though Wills losses came in that post-1985 time period as well as the loss to Buster Douglass.

Greg really wasn't all that before 1985 either. Greg seems massively overrated on here by a lot of nostalgic fans honestly. He's one of the weaker Titleholders of his era.

[Caractacus]

Gerry Cooney's best bet against Tim Witherspoon would probably have been to "Bum Rush" him early on
before Witherspoon could get goin'.
(it could have happened)

[Nile4000]

Greg couldn't beat Mark Wills. Twice.

True. But.......Greg really wasn't all that after 1985. Though Wills losses came in that post-1985 time period as well as the loss to Buster Douglass.

Greg really wasn't all that before 1985 either. Greg seems massively overrated on here by a lot of nostalgic fans honestly. He's one of the weaker Titleholders of his era.

Again, true, but he did accomplish the mission unlike several others.

[gilgamesh]

True. But.......Greg really wasn't all that after 1985. Though Wills losses came in that post-1985 time period as well as the loss to Buster Douglass.

Greg really wasn't all that before 1985 either. Greg seems massively overrated on here by a lot of nostalgic fans honestly. He's one of the weaker Titleholders of his era.

Again, true, but he did accomplish the mission unlike several others.

He did win a title yes. He'd rank near the bottom of Heavyweight titleholders in my opinion. Not the very bottom, but he's a lot closer to the bottom than he is the Top or even The Middle. As far as ranking him amongst ATG's that is. Obviously he'd rank well above many fringe contenders or journeymen who never accomplished sh*t, but he ranks fairly low amongst the Champions of his division.

[Nile4000]

Greg really wasn't all that before 1985 either. Greg seems massively overrated on here by a lot of nostalgic fans honestly. He's one of the weaker Titleholders of his era.

Again, true, but he did accomplish the mission unlike several others.

He did win a title yes. He'd rank near the bottom of Heavyweight titleholders in my opinion. Not the very bottom, but he's a lot closer to the bottom than he is the Top or even The Middle. As far as ranking him amongst ATG's that is. Obviously he'd rank well above many fringe contenders or journeymen who never accomplished sh*t, but he ranks fairly low amongst the Champions of his division.

I agree, Greg didn't fulfill his potential, and does deserve to rank low. As do Tubbs, Dokes, Spinks, Thomas, and Spinks as well.

[giacomino]

Cooney was scheduled to fight Mike Weaver,
(Cooney was the number one WBA contender)
But Weaver's management chose him to defend against the number two contender
James "Quick" Tillis instead.
They(Cooney's managers) offered Tillis "One Million dollars" stepping aside money,
but Tillis fought Weaver anyway and that fight turned out to be very dull from what I remember.

I was there. One of the worst heavyweight title “fights” in history before 2000

[gilgamesh]

Again, true, but he did accomplish the mission unlike several others.

He did win a title yes. He'd rank near the bottom of Heavyweight titleholders in my opinion. Not the very bottom, but he's a lot closer to the bottom than he is the Top or even The Middle. As far as ranking him amongst ATG's that is. Obviously he'd rank well above many fringe contenders or journeymen who never accomplished sh*t, but he ranks fairly low amongst the Champions of his division.

I agree, Greg didn't fulfill his potential, and does deserve to rank low. As do Tubbs, Dokes, Spinks, Thomas, and Spinks as well.

None of the 80's WBA Champs rank especially high to me. The one I rate highest is Witherspoon, but the gap between any of them is pretty narrow. As it should be since they all traded wins back and forth with one another.

[Caractacus]

Cooney would have went for a first round knock-out against Weaver too.

[Nile4000]

Cooney would have went for a first round knock-out against Weaver too.

True, but would he achieve it. I am of the feeling that it doesn't fully go his way.

[Nile4000]

He did win a title yes. He'd rank near the bottom of Heavyweight titleholders in my opinion. Not the very bottom, but he's a lot closer to the bottom than he is the Top or even The Middle. As far as ranking him amongst ATG's that is. Obviously he'd rank well above many fringe contenders or journeymen who never accomplished sh*t, but he ranks fairly low amongst the Champions of his division.

I agree, Greg didn't fulfill his potential, and does deserve to rank low. As do Tubbs, Dokes, Spinks, Thomas, and Spinks as well.

None of the 80's WBA Champs rank especially high to me. The one I rate highest is Witherspoon, but the gap between any of them is pretty narrow. As it should be since they all traded wins back and forth with one another.

I definitely feel you. Especially since a couple of them at their best could've made Larry feel bad.

[gilgamesh]

I agree, Greg didn't fulfill his potential, and does deserve to rank low. As do Tubbs, Dokes, Spinks, Thomas, and Spinks as well.

None of the 80's WBA Champs rank especially high to me. The one I rate highest is Witherspoon, but the gap between any of them is pretty narrow. As it should be since they all traded wins back and forth with one another.

I definitely feel you. Especially since a couple of them at their best could've made Larry feel bad.

Yep, but not a damn one of 'em could beat him.

[Caractacus]

What if Cooney had gone the "WBA Route" during his comeback in the mid to late 1980's ?
( which top 10 "WBA" contenders would he have had to fight to get a shot at the title ?)
https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/1725
September 1984

[Caractacus]

Cooney should have fought Frank Bruno after this fight-who would have won ?

[Nile4000]

Bruno would have won.

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

Slow starting Weaver was tailor made for fast starting Cooney. I think it would be a
KO in 1 or 2 rounds.
He could beat Coetzee and Page. I think Dokes gives him the most troubles. But it all depends if after beating Weaver would Cooney dive into alcohol and drugs like he did after losing to Holmes

- Initially it was Weaver's WBA that was solid that was Cooney to win that would've made him a different fighter going forward. Don't remember how it unraveled, but most certainly DKing had his greedy hands in the change up.

That was a vicious match up vs Holmes what all the white supremists making noise with the FBI snipers on hotel rooftops if a race riot broke out.

[tiny_acres]

Slow starting Weaver was tailor made for fast starting Cooney. I think it would be a
KO in 1 or 2 rounds.
He could beat Coetzee and Page. I think Dokes gives him the most troubles. But it all depends if after beating Weaver would Cooney dive into alcohol and drugs like he did after losing to Holmes

- Initially it was Weaver's WBA that was solid that was Cooney to win that would've made him a different fighter going forward. Don't remember how it unraveled, but most certainly DKing had his greedy hands in the change up.

That was a vicious match up vs Holmes what all the white supremists making noise with the FBI snipers on hotel rooftops if a race riot broke out.

Tillis was rated #2 and Cooney was rated #1 with the WBA.
King pressured the WBA and the WBA caved calling the Tillis fight Weavers mandatory.
It was so strange.
And yes the racist crap with the Cooney vs Holmes was over the top. Reagan calling Cooney before the fight telling him to bring the title home was blatantly racist.
Bring it home??? WTF? Holmes was an American what did he mean bring it home?
Bring it home from where?