Gerry Cooney vs. Wladimir Klitschsko
Gerry Cooney vs. Wladimir Klitschsko
Which of these "Great White Hopes" would you have picked if they were to box each other in their primes?
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Guest
- Heavyweight
COONEY vs KLITSCHKO
GOOD QUESTION. COONEY NEVER DID FULLY DEVELOP AS A FIGHTER WHILE KLITSCHKO HAS BEEN BROUGHT ALONG SLOWLY, MAYBE TOO SLOWLY, BUT HAS BEEN GIVEN TIME TO DEVELOP. KLITSCHKO WOULD BE THE BETTER BOXER. COONEY WOULD AT LEAST BE AS POWERFUL WITH A BETTER TENDENCY TO USE IT. KLITSCHKO HOLDS BACK. COONEY WOULD TAKE MORE CHANCES, AFTER ALL, HE IS IRISH. 
KLITSCHKO, AS I SAID, WOULD HOLD BACK. HE WOULD SHOW COONEY MORE RESPECT LIKE HE DID WITH RAY MERCER. THE HOLMES FIGHT SHOWED THAT COONEY DIDNT KNOW HOW TO PACE HIMSELF. THE LONGER THE FIGHT THE BETTER FOR KLITSCHKO. IF KLITSCHKO WEATHERS THE EARLY STORM HE TAKES COONEY OUT OF COONEY COUNTRY (4 ROUNDS OR LESS). IF COONEY STARTS LANDING LOW BLOWS LIKE HE DID AGAINST HOLMES THAN MAYBE HE MAKES KLITSCHKO MAD. THEN WE HAVE A DIFFERANT BALL GAME. LARRY HOLMES HAS STATED THAT IF COONEY HAD BEEN GIVEN TIME TO DEVELOP, IF HE HAD FOUGHT MIKE WEAVER FIRST FOR THE WBA TITLE AND THEN FOUGHT HOLMES IN EARLY '84 INSTEAD OF MID '82 THAT "GERRY WOULD HAVE KICKED MY ASS". MAYBE LARRY IS JUST BEING KIND. HE AND COONEY ARE CLOSE FREINDS NOW. THE WAY IT TURNED OUT THOUGH I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT COONEY HAD THE PUNCHERS CHANCE WITH KLITSCHKO EARLY WITH KLITSCHKO GETTING A LATE TKO VICTORY IF THE FIGHT GOT THAT FAR. Dan Coli
KLITSCHKO, AS I SAID, WOULD HOLD BACK. HE WOULD SHOW COONEY MORE RESPECT LIKE HE DID WITH RAY MERCER. THE HOLMES FIGHT SHOWED THAT COONEY DIDNT KNOW HOW TO PACE HIMSELF. THE LONGER THE FIGHT THE BETTER FOR KLITSCHKO. IF KLITSCHKO WEATHERS THE EARLY STORM HE TAKES COONEY OUT OF COONEY COUNTRY (4 ROUNDS OR LESS). IF COONEY STARTS LANDING LOW BLOWS LIKE HE DID AGAINST HOLMES THAN MAYBE HE MAKES KLITSCHKO MAD. THEN WE HAVE A DIFFERANT BALL GAME. LARRY HOLMES HAS STATED THAT IF COONEY HAD BEEN GIVEN TIME TO DEVELOP, IF HE HAD FOUGHT MIKE WEAVER FIRST FOR THE WBA TITLE AND THEN FOUGHT HOLMES IN EARLY '84 INSTEAD OF MID '82 THAT "GERRY WOULD HAVE KICKED MY ASS". MAYBE LARRY IS JUST BEING KIND. HE AND COONEY ARE CLOSE FREINDS NOW. THE WAY IT TURNED OUT THOUGH I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT COONEY HAD THE PUNCHERS CHANCE WITH KLITSCHKO EARLY WITH KLITSCHKO GETTING A LATE TKO VICTORY IF THE FIGHT GOT THAT FAR. Dan Coli-
Guest
- Heavyweight
Vlad wins by kayo
This fight would have been no contest. Vladimir would have mopped the floor with Cooney because Big Gerry had no chin and no defense.
One of Cooney's biggest assets was his size. At 6'7", 225lbs., he often overawed his opponents with his aggressive, straight-forward attack. Against Vlad, who is 6'7", 245lbs., Cooney would have been dealing with a guy every bit as big as himself. Gerry would have been forced to show Klitschko respect.
Keep in mind that Vlad has extremely fast hands, a great jab, and an excellent defense. From the first round onward, he would have been able to keep Cooney at bay, he wouldn't have had much trouble whipping his blows home to Cooney's jaw, and he probably would have been able to block Big Gerry's cumbersome blows.
Cooney wouldn't have been able to block Vlad's punches. I think Vlad would have landed his powerful right hand early in the fight, possibly as early as the first round, and from there Cooney would have fallen apart rapidly.
Just think about how Gerry's legs turned to jelly every time Larry Holmes hit him with the right hand. Klitschko is a harder puncher than Holmes.
Cooney simply didn't take a good punch, and for this reason he probably would have been kayoed by Vlad within three rounds.
Ghetto Whopper
One of Cooney's biggest assets was his size. At 6'7", 225lbs., he often overawed his opponents with his aggressive, straight-forward attack. Against Vlad, who is 6'7", 245lbs., Cooney would have been dealing with a guy every bit as big as himself. Gerry would have been forced to show Klitschko respect.
Keep in mind that Vlad has extremely fast hands, a great jab, and an excellent defense. From the first round onward, he would have been able to keep Cooney at bay, he wouldn't have had much trouble whipping his blows home to Cooney's jaw, and he probably would have been able to block Big Gerry's cumbersome blows.
Cooney wouldn't have been able to block Vlad's punches. I think Vlad would have landed his powerful right hand early in the fight, possibly as early as the first round, and from there Cooney would have fallen apart rapidly.
Just think about how Gerry's legs turned to jelly every time Larry Holmes hit him with the right hand. Klitschko is a harder puncher than Holmes.
Cooney simply didn't take a good punch, and for this reason he probably would have been kayoed by Vlad within three rounds.
Ghetto Whopper