Mike Weaver Vs Gerry Cooney 1982 WBA title

[Robinson]

How do you guys imagine this fight going ahead...if Cooney and his people have of taken the less risky and less rich road to face WBA champ Weaver for his version of the title ?

I like Weaver, I think he is an inconsistent fighter who had great athletic abilities and when he truely wanted to had good heart. But would this have been enough against the peak 6'6, 225lb, power punching machine Cooney who had decimated everyone that was in his path.


You decide....

[Seamus]

I think the Cooney that fought Holmes would have stopped Weaver early, 2nd or 3rd round. Weaver was underrated, but he was too stationary, and Cooney was deadly against stationary targets. I can see Weaver surviving a few big shots, but before too long he'd get hit with one with his name on it.

[markl]

Weaver was a slow starter and Gerry started fast. Probably 50/50 Cooney early or Weaver late. maybe a slight edge to Weaver late.

[HomicideHenry]

People under-rate Gerry Cooney tremendously. Ron Lyle, George Foreman and Larry Holmes acknowledged that Cooney hit them harder than any other man did. And that's a statement, considering Lyle fought Foreman and Holmes fought Shavers twice; but it's generally Shavers who gets credit for being the hardest hitter of all time.

I believe Coetzee was the WBA champion at that time? I could be wrong, but I think had Cooney fought any other top 10 boxer, whether it have been Weaver or Coetzee, he would have bombed them out and been a partial champion.

Who knows, maybe had he built himself up more, he could have beaten Holmes eventually. But make no mistake, Cooney's left hook was the single most lethal weapon of the 1980's.

[Ezzard]

Weaver achieved more but I think Cooney would get him out eraly, but if he didn't Mike would probably egt the KO in the late rounds.

[Controversial]

How do you guys imagine this fight going ahead...if Cooney and his people have of taken the less risky and less rich road to face WBA champ Weaver for his version of the title ?

I like Weaver, I think he is an inconsistent fighter who had great athletic abilities and when he truely wanted to had good heart. But would this have been enough against the peak 6'6, 225lb, power punching machine Cooney who had decimated everyone that was in his path.


You decide....

Cooney by early stoppage/ko. Weaver didn't have a great chin and was stopped several times in his career, quite a few times in the early rounds.

[dempseyfire]

People under-rate Gerry Cooney tremendously. Ron Lyle, George Foreman and Larry Holmes acknowledged that Cooney hit them harder than any other man did. And that's a statement, considering Lyle fought Foreman and Holmes fought Shavers twice; but it's generally Shavers who gets credit for being the hardest hitter of all time.

I believe Coetzee was the WBA champion at that time? I could be wrong, but I think had Cooney fought any other top 10 boxer, whether it have been Weaver or Coetzee, he would have bombed them out and been a partial champion.

Who knows, maybe had he built himself up more, he could have beaten Holmes eventually. But make no mistake, Cooney's left hook was the single most lethal weapon of the 1980's.

I agree he often gets wrongly dismissed for being just "White Hype" and that along with his tremondous power, he had under-rated boxing skills.

But he also had a porous defense and a chin of glass, which is why I say this is a 50/50 fight. If Cooney gets caught with one of Weaver's counter left hooks or right hands it's goodnight Gerry.

[MEISINGER]

this fight was all but signed in 1981.the wba backed off under legal pressure from mandatory challenger james quick tillis.
cooney was offered 3million dollars and weaver 1.5 million.by far weavers largest pay day to date.

weaver was slow as mollasses coming out of the gate.and with cooney and his unbelievable power and being a fast starter.i see this fight lasting less than 1 round.

i have often thought about the scenario.if cooney were to of beaten
weaver.he would of most likely not fought holmes until 1984 or 85.
the fight would of been even larger then it was at the time.renewed interest in boxing having a popular white champion.also cooney would of been more seasoned when going against a then fading larry holmes waiting until84-85.
we most likely would of seen gerry beat holmes at that stage in his career.
cooney would of been 28 or 29 at the time.

it is an interesting scenario and i that i think if he was managed better
should of happened.

[The Great John L]

Interesting, but Cooney was very likely to have stumbled into a solid right hand prior to getting in the ring with Holmes, so in this scenario, he may have never even fought Holmes.

[DaveV17]

edit

[BoxBuzz]

we most likely would of seen gerry beat holmes at that stage in his career.
cooney would of been 28 or 29 at the time.

it is an interesting scenario and i that i think if he was managed better
should of happened.

I'm not sure Larry would agree with this line of thinking.

[MEISINGER]

we most likely would of seen gerry beat holmes at that stage in his career.
cooney would of been 28 or 29 at the time.

it is an interesting scenario and i that i think if he was managed better
should of happened.

I'm not sure Larry would agree with this line of thinking.

i am the biggest larry holmes fan in the world.i have even personally spoke with him on numerous occassions.but i firmly believe that the holmes that fought witherspoon and spinks 1.would of lost to cooney.

[KO Artist]

Interesting, but Cooney was very likely to have stumbled into a solid right hand prior to getting in the ring with Holmes, so in this scenario, he may have never even fought Holmes.

Weaver would have offered a lot more resistance than Norton, Young or Lyle.

Having said that Cooney was one heck of a puncher and, it has to be said, world class.

I can see Weaver avoiding the big bombs, to win a 15 round decision.

Equally, I can see Cooney starting fast and stopping Mike early.

If I had to choose, Gerry had so much power, a decent chin, and a big height and weight advantage, I would see him winning in 3 - 5 rounds.

But its 50/50. Good match

[KO Artist]

we most likely would of seen gerry beat holmes at that stage in his career.
cooney would of been 28 or 29 at the time.

it is an interesting scenario and i that i think if he was managed better
should of happened.

I'm not sure Larry would agree with this line of thinking.

i am the biggest larry holmes fan in the world.i have even personally spoke with him on numerous occassions.but i firmly believe that the holmes that fought witherspoon and spinks 1.would of lost to cooney.

I feel Larry would have found a way to win.

[markl]

No version of Cooney would have beaten Holmes

[I Feel Fine]

I would probably pick Cooney, but I don't think that anyone would be surprised if Weaver did win.

The Cooney who lost to Holmes might have beaten the Holmes who fought Ferguson or Butterbean, but I don't know about him beating the Holmes who fought Witherspoon and Spinks. The Holmes who fought Spinks isn't out of the question, but even there I would be skeptical. The Holmes who fought Witherspoon would still knock out Cooney.

[Nile4000]

How do you guys imagine this fight going ahead...if Cooney and his people have of taken the less risky and less rich road to face WBA champ Weaver for his version of the title ?

I like Weaver, I think he is an inconsistent fighter who had great athletic abilities and when he truely wanted to had good heart. But would this have been enough against the peak 6'6, 225lb, power punching machine Cooney who had decimated everyone that was in his path.


You decide....

I think Mike would stop Gerry late after taking some tremendous shots, but it wouldn't surprise me if the alternative outcome happened.

[Seamus]

The Conney that fought Holmes would have beat the Holmes that fought Snipes. Larry's over confidence that night almost had him suffer the ignominy of being a KO victim of Renaldo Snipes. If the rope was a foot further away, Holmes falls when he reaches for it, and doesn't beat the 10 count.

[markl]

The Conney that fought Holmes would have beat the Holmes that fought Snipes. Larry's over confidence that night almost had him suffer the ignominy of being a KO victim of Renaldo Snipes. If the rope was a foot further away, Holmes falls when he reaches for it, and doesn't beat the 10 count.

He became overconfident, but he only lost a max of 2 rounds. Not like he looked bad in the fight.

Cooney would always have trouble with Holmes. Because he was a one handed fighter. Larry NEVER got caught with left hooks. His weak spot was an overhand right.

He picked off Hooks & Crosses relatively easily. Overhand right was his blindspot for some reason.

[I Feel Fine]

Well I think Holmes was over confident that night, but it was because he was fighting Snipes and not Cooney. If he had been fighting Cooney instead of Snipes he would have been more serious.

[bobbyd]

People under-rate Gerry Cooney tremendously. Ron Lyle, George Foreman and Larry Holmes acknowledged that Cooney hit them harder than any other man did. And that's a statement, considering Lyle fought Foreman and Holmes fought Shavers twice; but it's generally Shavers who gets credit for being the hardest hitter of all time.

I believe Coetzee was the WBA champion at that time? I could be wrong, but I think had Cooney fought any other top 10 boxer, whether it have been Weaver or Coetzee, he would have bombed them out and been a partial champion.

Who knows, maybe had he built himself up more, he could have beaten Holmes eventually. But make no mistake, Cooney's left hook was the single most lethal weapon of the 1980's.

I agree he often gets wrongly dismissed for being just "White Hype" and that along with his tremondous power, he had under-rated boxing skills.

But he also had a porous defense and a chin of glass, which is why I say this is a 50/50 fight. If Cooney gets caught with one of Weaver's counter left hooks or right hands it's goodnight Gerry.

certainly not an iron jawed bear,but a chin of glass is quite definately an excaggeration indeed!!Holmes,with his above average punchin power took 13 rounds to get em outta there..no?

[dempseyfire]

People under-rate Gerry Cooney tremendously. Ron Lyle, George Foreman and Larry Holmes acknowledged that Cooney hit them harder than any other man did. And that's a statement, considering Lyle fought Foreman and Holmes fought Shavers twice; but it's generally Shavers who gets credit for being the hardest hitter of all time.

I believe Coetzee was the WBA champion at that time? I could be wrong, but I think had Cooney fought any other top 10 boxer, whether it have been Weaver or Coetzee, he would have bombed them out and been a partial champion.

Who knows, maybe had he built himself up more, he could have beaten Holmes eventually. But make no mistake, Cooney's left hook was the single most lethal weapon of the 1980's.

I agree he often gets wrongly dismissed for being just "White Hype" and that along with his tremondous power, he had under-rated boxing skills.

But he also had a porous defense and a chin of glass, which is why I say this is a 50/50 fight. If Cooney gets caught with one of Weaver's counter left hooks or right hands it's goodnight Gerry.

certainly not an iron jawed bear,but a chin of glass is quite definately an excaggeration indeed!!Holmes,with his above average punchin power took 13 rounds to get em outta there..no?

Holmes, not a big puncher by any means, had him do the Judah shuffle in the 2nd round and on the canvas. Yes Cooney got up to last until the 13th but that's also to do with Holmes fighting more cautious than usual to Cooney's punching power and the magnitude of the event.

Also, Cooney's whole boxing career was culminated in getting the title shot at Holmes. He had, like Jefferies almost a centure earlier, the burden of being the "White Man's choice" . . Gerry would've probably fought Holmes until Larry killed him that night, b/c he had so much to lose and so many unfairly making him their personification of Americana, whereas Cooney just wanted to box.

[Elton John]

Cooney stops a passive Mike Weaver inside of one

[marchegianorock]

It looks before facing Holmes. Gerry Cooney wanted Mike Weaver a less dangerous opponent he could had defeat it. But money wise change his mind. 10 million dollars to face Larry Holmes the legit heavyweight champion make to go for the money instead for the belt. With Mike Weaver he could not had make even 5 million dollars maybe 2 o 3 million dollars.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Cooney would have had a small chance to catch Mike early, other than that it's Weaver by KO in the mid rounds.

I think this was rumored for that defunct Smith super card, but it's been a long time.