What if Gerry Cooney had somehow gotten lucky against Spinks?

[Rico Spadafora]

Originally Posted by mr. magoo

In one of his interviews several years ago, he said that Don King owned most of the top fighters in the division, and Cooney couldn't get any big marquee opponents. Apparently, he was also negotiating to fight Mike Weaver, but Bob Arum talked ( or bribed ) the WBA into giving James Tillis a shot instead.

Weaver for the WBA belt would have been a much better choice then he could have fought Holmes in 1983. I don't think Rappaport and Jones wanted to risk their golden goose against anyone before they could get that Holmes payday.

[mr. magoo]

Originally Posted by Rico Spadafora

Weaver for the WBA belt would have been a much better choice then he could have fought Holmes in 1983. I don't think Rappaport and Jones wanted to risk their golden goose against anyone before they could get that Holmes payday.

I think Cooney's people were really pushing for the Weaver fight. Had it come off, it probably would have been sometime in the late fall of 1981. Cooney had a good chance against Weaver in my opinion. Mike was a very slow starter who sometimes got in trouble early in fights, while Cooney was most dangerous in the first 3-4 rounds. Gerry also had a significant height and weight advantage. I wouldn't be surprised if a fight like that ended in similar fashion to the Lyle and Norton bouts...

[Bad_Intentions]

Originally Posted by Bill1234

He probably would have gone for the big money fight with Tyson and get beat up, disapear for a while, then have the fight with Foreman, and stay retired.

[Stevie G]

Originally Posted by mr. magoo

I think Cooney's people were really pushing for the Weaver fight. Had it come off, it probably would have been sometime in the late fall of 1981. Cooney had a good chance against Weaver in my opinion. Mike was a very slow starter who sometimes got in trouble early in fights, while Cooney was most dangerous in the first 3-4 rounds. Gerry also had a significant height and weight advantage. I wouldn't be surprised if a fight like that ended in similar fashion to the Lyle and Norton bouts...

I agree. It would have been a smarter fight for Cooney at that stage of his career. He could afford to have waited for a Holmes bout.

[dmille]

$$$,$$$,$$$

[MRBILL]

I lost 25 bucks on Cooney in 1987.......... I thought that Cooney was too big and powerful for Mikey Spinks at the time..........

The overall fight was good............. Cooney did come to fight, but he was rusty and off-key compared to the sharp as nails Spinks Jinx..........

I was stunned when Cooney hit the deck 2 X in rd 5........ But I guess it was coming......... My initial bet was Cooney inside of 4 rds............ I was wrong..... Spinks hammered Cooney bad in the 5th........... Peace...

MR.BILL

[Bummy Davis]

Originally Posted by mr. magoo

I think Cooney's people were really pushing for the Weaver fight. Had it come off, it probably would have been sometime in the late fall of 1981. Cooney had a good chance against Weaver in my opinion. Mike was a very slow starter who sometimes got in trouble early in fights, while Cooney was most dangerous in the first 3-4 rounds. Gerry also had a significant height and weight advantage. I wouldn't be surprised if a fight like that ended in similar fashion to the Lyle and Norton bouts...

Gerry had a much better chance vs Weaver for the resons you state and it may have been a needed confidence builder. Look what confidence did for fighters like Weaver after Holmes 1...Gerry had balls but lacked confidence...people that know Gerry's history can understand why he did.

[MRBILL]

Originally Posted by Bummy Davis

Gerry had a much better chance vs Weaver for the resons you state and it may have been a needed confidence builder. Look what confidence did for fighters like Weaver after Holmes 1...Gerry had balls but lacked confidence...people that know Gerry's history can understand why he did.

Bum,

OOOHHH!! Ouch........ Cooney was psyched after kayoing Norton in '81...... Yet, it 'twas misleading....... Larry Holmes brought team Cooney back down to Earth in 1982........

But yes, I agree 100%......... Cooney would've KO'd Mike Weaver in 1982.......

Holmes was too GREAT to lose to Cooney in 1982.......

Even though Cooney was rich and banging bitches and doin' lines of coke in 1986 / '87, I still thought he'd pound Mike Spinks enroute to a 4th round KO in 1987........ I lost money in a pool at work...... ARGH!!


MR.BILL

[kenmore]

Originally Posted by mr. magoo

Let's pretend for a moment that Gerry Cooney actually showed up in great shape for the Michael Spinks fight in 1987. Of course, even a top form Cooney probably wouldn't have won, but let's say he landed a big shot and somehow managed to pull off a big win..

What do you think his next step would have been?

- would Mike Tyson have been his next fight, and do you think Cooney would go for it.

- Would he pull another disapearing act for several years, as he often tended to do.

- Would he have fought someone else in the interim, perhaps Biggs or Tucker, or maybe an obscure journeyman?

- Would he have permanantely called it quits?

The Cooney who beat Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, and Ken Norton may indeed have beaten Mike Spinks. It's also possible that if Cooney had only had two or three tune ups in the year prior to fighting Spinks, he may have won. I'm not saying for sure, but it could have happened.

Anyway, if Cooney had beaten Spinks -- because of superior skill or because of a wild, lucky punch -- his next bout would have been Tyson. No two ways about it.

The consumer demand for Tyson vs. Cooney would have been too huge, plain and simple. There is no way that Cooney -- if he had beaten Spinks -- could have walked away from all that money.

[kenmore]

Originally Posted by Rico Spadafora

Weaver for the WBA belt would have been a much better choice then he could have fought Holmes in 1983. I don't think Rappaport and Jones wanted to risk their golden goose against anyone before they could get that Holmes payday.

You hit the nail on the head.

[Bummy Davis]

Originally Posted by MRBILL

Bum,

OOOHHH!! Ouch........ Cooney was psyched after kayoing Norton in '81...... Yet, it 'twas misleading....... Larry Holmes brought team Cooney back down to Earth in 1982........

But yes, I agree 100%......... Cooney would've KO'd Mike Weaver in 1982.......

Holmes was too GREAT to lose to Cooney in 1982.......

Even though Cooney was rich and banging bitches and doin' lines of coke in 1986 / '87, I still thought he'd pound Mike Spinks enroute to a 4th round KO in 1987........ I lost money in a pool at work...... ARGH!!


MR.BILL

The wacko twins were smart they went for the money they knew Gerry had substance problems his brother checked into rehab and Gerry had the same problems. I happen to know Cooney at the time and people close around him. Gerry was a mess. Gerry's father used to belittle him and tell him how worthless he was...Gerry never really thought of him self as worthy and he did have some losses in the lightheavyweight division a tko loss to Johnny Davis but I saw Cooney win as a middleweight and southpaw( great power) but Gerry was fragile on the recieving end. It was Holmes best win. Geryy was gangly but his left arm was freakish. I saw many of his fights and can attest to his power but he had one arm and was frail but may have had a shot to take a title had it not been a top form and carefull Holmes.

[sweetsci]

I think I've told this story here before, but I was in the Navy and out at sea when Spinks-Cooney happened. After the fight the rumor around the ship (who knows how these things get started!) was that Cooney had KO'd Spinks in the second and had broken his jaw severely in the process. So for several hours that was my reality. I felt really sorry for Spinks but just knew he shouldn't have been in the ring with a big hard-hitting guy like Cooney. Now, imagine my surprise when the real result came through...

Hindsight is 20/20, but the above result isn't too far-fetched considering that the only loss he'd suffered was the gallant effort against Holmes, had knocked almost everyone else out impressively, and that Spinks would be crushed in a similar manner against Tyson a year later.

Had Cooney won like that, Tyson-Cooney would've been enormous. Perhaps Cooney's confidence would have risen (was he over-confident against Spinks, or was he just too messed up to train properly?) and he would've trained well and gone in ready, or perhaps his existing emotional problems would've led to cancellations and lack of confidence going in. Either way, I think, a 1988 Tyson would've gotten Cooney out of there within three rounds.

[MRBILL]

Originally Posted by sweetsci

I think I've told this story here before, but I was in the Navy and out at sea when Spinks-Cooney happened. After the fight the rumor around the ship (who knows how these things get started!) was that Cooney had KO'd Spinks in the second and had broken his jaw severely in the process. So for several hours that was my reality. I felt really sorry for Spinks but just knew he shouldn't have been in the ring with a big hard-hitting guy like Cooney. Now, imagine my surprise when the real result came through...

Hindsight is 20/20, but the above result isn't too far-fetched considering that the only loss he'd suffered was the gallant effort against Holmes, had knocked almost everyone else out impressively, and that Spinks would be crushed in a similar manner against Tyson a year later.

Had Cooney won like that, Tyson-Cooney would've been enormous. Perhaps Cooney's confidence would have risen (was he over-confident against Spinks, or was he just too messed up to train properly?) and he would've trained well and gone in ready, or perhaps his existing emotional problems would've led to cancellations and lack of confidence going in. Either way, I think, a 1988 Tyson would've gotten Cooney out of there within three rounds.

Cooney was 238 and tanned going into the '87 fight with Spinks....... Cooney looked strong, but his skills were rust as hell.........

Against Foreman in 1990, Cooney looked gaunt at 231 pounds and was pale as a ghost......


MR.BILL

[kenmore]

Originally Posted by Bummy Davis

The wacko twins were smart they went for the money they knew Gerry had substance problems his brother checked into rehab and Gerry had the same problems. I happen to know Cooney at the time and people close around him. Gerry was a mess. Gerry's father used to belittle him and tell him how worthless he was...Gerry never really thought of him self as worthy and he did have some losses in the lightheavyweight division a tko loss to Johnny Davis but I saw Cooney win as a middleweight and southpaw( great power) but Gerry was fragile on the recieving end. It was Holmes best win. Geryy was gangly but his left arm was freakish. I saw many of his fights and can attest to his power but he had one arm and was frail but may have had a shot to take a title had it not been a top form and carefull Holmes.

Since you are a New Yorker who watched Cooney live as an amateur, I am curious about something. Did you manage to see Cooney's amateur kayo over the Soviet Nikolai Aksyonov? It was held in MSG in the fall of 1975. It was a team meeting between USA and USSR heavyweight squads, telecast live by ABC.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Cooney won via a classic, one punch kayo in the first round. Left hook to the jaw. Aksyonov was a top notch, tough and highly seasoned fighter, too.

[Body Head]

well his claim to fame was beating and old past prime Lyle and Norton....Cooney was never that good. He would have never beat Spinks.

He did have nice power tho, ya i guess you could call him a "What if"