Eddie Machen versus Gerry Cooney

[goose 5]

12 rounds.

[Scypion]

I would take Machen in his prime over Cooney.

[DrDuke]

Machen was superior from the technical side, but he could be hurt and Cooney was dangerous, especially early on.

Machen by dec or late stoppage, if he wouldn't get iced earlier in the fight.

[Nile4000]

Machen frustrated Liston, and could definitely to the same to Cooney. Machen UD.

[Ambling Alp II]

I would pick Machen hands down except for the fact that he was so much smaller than Cooney. So I don't know what to say.

Machen was easily the better fighter on an inch-for-inch, pound-for-pound basis. As for Cooney, in retrospect, I just don't have much faith in him. Gerry was very easy to hit, he didn't take a punch well, and he was clumsy. But to repeat myself: the size differential between this pair, coupled with the fact that Machen wasn't a big puncher, make this one too hard for me to call.

The dreaded "size differential". Always a factor.