BoxRec

True or False?

In Gerry Cooneys dressing room there was a phone with a direct line to the White House so if Cooney won Ronald Reagan could ring him up to congratulate him?

Heavyweight Champion of the World Larry Holmes didn't have a direct line in his dressing room?

I heard that, might be true - could well believe it. Cooney made the front of Sports Illustrated before the fight, with no sign of the champion Holmes at all. No wonder Larry was bitter - more so than usual that is

KOJOE90 wrote:True or False?

In Gerry Cooneys dressing room there was a phone with a direct line to the White House so if Cooney won Ronald Reagan could ring him up to congratulate him?

Heavyweight Champion of the World Larry Holmes didn't have a direct line in his dressing room?

Late in the fight when Cooney was fading, one of his cornerman shouted out America needs you. I never heard of the white house hot line.

KOJOE90 wrote:True or False?

In Gerry Cooneys dressing room there was a phone with a direct line to the White House so if Cooney won Ronald Reagan could ring him up to congratulate him?

Heavyweight Champion of the World Larry Holmes didn't have a direct line in his dressing room?

I doubt that it was true. Anyway, if I recall correctly it was Holmes, not Cooney, who fanned the flames of the race issue.

Whatever the case, Holmes and Cooney are good friends today, which is nice to see!

Nero3000 wrote:

KOJOE90 wrote:True or False?

In Gerry Cooneys dressing room there was a phone with a direct line to the White House so if Cooney won Ronald Reagan could ring him up to congratulate him?

Heavyweight Champion of the World Larry Holmes didn't have a direct line in his dressing room?

I doubt that it was true. Anyway, if I recall correctly it was Holmes, not Cooney, who fanned the flames of the race issue.

I think Holmes merely stated that had Cooney not been white he wouldn't have been getting purse parity. Which is, sadly, true. Anyway, Holmes too got a big payday and a chance to showcase his skills against the almost perfect foil.

KOJOE90 wrote:True or False?

In Gerry Cooneys dressing room there was a phone with a direct line to the White House so if Cooney won Ronald Reagan could ring him up to congratulate him?

Heavyweight Champion of the World Larry Holmes didn't have a direct line in his dressing room?

Without knowing anything about that I would say such an incident would have made a huge media story, espescially if it involved a sitting president. Once that got out to the mainstream press it would have been in every major newspaper and on every television and radio station out there.

I think it's mentioned in Holmes' book as well.

There was a "thing" at the time that Reagan supported Cooney because of their shared Irish background. Not sure about the phone - in fact I doubt they'd have done that.

Reagan was so popular he probably didn't need to pander for the Irish American vote, and as he was reported to have given both Colin Powell and Condi Rice their first "breaks" I doubt you could say his support for Cooney (if it were the case) was anything racial. Anyway things like that looked different back then.

J

I was 13 yrs old when that fight happened ,I was watching it with my dad and the only thing that stuck with me all these yrs about that fight,is that they anounced Holmes(the Champ) 1st then Cooney(The challenger) 2nd . I have never seen that before or sense. Talk about a slap in the face for Holmes.

john2345 wrote:There was a "thing" at the time that Reagan supported Cooney because of their shared Irish background. Not sure about the phone - in fact I doubt they'd have done that.

Reagan was so popular he probably didn't need to pander for the Irish American vote, and as he was reported to have given both Colin Powell and Condi Rice their first "breaks" I doubt you could say his support for Cooney (if it were the case) was anything racial. Anyway things like that looked different back then.

J

Jim Brown was right about him, though.