BoxRec

Ezzard wrote:Agree on that. But Cooney was woeful. Nobody was really sure if he was in retirement and he’d fought about 5 rounds in as many years. I’d have backed Cooney of the Holmes fight to beat Spinks.

Still a decent win for Mike.

Very true. Cooney entered the ring weighing a career high 238 lbs, and had only seen perhaps one round of boxing in a near 3 year period. There were also reports of alcoholism and other unfavorable lifestyle habits. When watching the fight on youtube, cooney hardly looked motivated and certainly deconditioned. It wasn't a bad fight for Spinks, as it was after all a lucrative payday and a win over a notorious puncher. But the name and the purse belied the quality of the opponent.