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These two white hopes challenged Holmes around the same time in their careers, but how would they have donw against each other. Would Cobb's chin have held up to Cooney's bombs?

cybox wrote:These two white hopes challenged Holmes around the same time in their careers, but how would they have donw against each other. Would Cobb's chin have held up to Cooney's bombs?

Yes Cobb could take it but he was a terrible offensive fighter. His TKO over Earnie Shavers says more about how tired Shavers got from pounding on Cobb's head for 8 rounds than how fantastic Tex was. Cooney over twelve.

Cooney by decision win in ten.Cobb would rough him up occasionally though.

This is actually a fairly intriguing matchup, and I see three possible scenario outcomes.

Scenario 1. In spite of his relatively poor boxing skills, Gerry Cooney was still a crippling puncher with more power than anyone Cobb ever faced. As I've alluded to before, Cooney couldn't hit a moving target, BUT he could murder a stationary one. So in scenario 1, Cooney hit's Cobb with everything he's got including body shots like he did Lyle and head shots like he did Norton. This wouldn't be Holmes or Dokes with there jab, punch, look for the opening or even the punches of a past his best Shavers. This would be what Cooney does best, a straight ahead sledgehammer assault against a very tough, but easy to hit target. How does this one end ? After Cooney hits Cobb with 8 unanswered bombs to the head in the 4th round, the referee steps in and stops the bout. Cobb protests that he's had much worse beatings and that he could easily have gone 15 rounds getting hit like that, but it's still Cooney TKO 4.

Scenario 2. Almost exactly like the first scenario, except that this one is based on Cobb being able to take everything Cooney can throw. After Cooney has exhausted himself trying to KO Cobb, Tex suddenly turns the tide in round 5, and in the 7th he drops Gentleman Gerry three times for the KO. Cobb KO 7

Scenario 3. This one combines one and two, except in this one Cooney survives Cobb's big rally in rounds 5 thru 7, and after that the momentum goes back and forth as both fighters hold and hit, hit and hold for the remainder of the bout. At the end Cooney get's a close but unanimous decision. Cooney W UD

Which scenario do I prefer ? Well I've always maintained that Cooney could beat anyone he could hit, and in Tex Cobb, no matter how tough the guy was, he's got a stationary target that he can wail on with everything he's got, so I say the most likely outcome would be Scenario 1.

Seamus wrote:Gerry Cooney was still a crippling puncher with more power than anyone Cobb ever faced.

earnie shavers ring a bell?

Cobbs offense was so limited that Cooney would win a wide UD.