Two big guys who could punch and ones who arguably got some oppertunities that were undeserved.. C00ney deserved his shot against Holmes, but not his fight with spinks. Simon earned his rematch with Joe Louis by virtue of a tough fight in the first match that he probably shouldn't have gotten in the first place. My pick is C00ney by KO
I think that it would be unfair to characterise either of them as being undeserving of their opportunities. Today we throw out hats in the air, if the champion defends against a challenger with the equivalent credentials.
If Joe Louis couldn't stop Simon in the first round, in two attempts, it is a fairly safe bet that C00ney wouldn't do it.
That's very true and I agree. And Gerry C00ney certainly earned a shot against Larry Holmes which he made the best of and fought a good fight. But he really shouldn't have gotten a title shot against Michael Spinks in 1987. I know it was all about the money for both of them and probably also meant as a stay busy fight for Spinks while waiting to face the eventual unified champion. But Gerry hadn't done enough in the previous three years to warrant fighting for lineage a second time, even though no belt was on the line. As for Simon, he gave a very admirable performance in his first meeting with Joe Louis perhaps warranting another chance.. Did he truly earn the first opportunity ? That's subject for debate..
I don't think he does ether. Abe Simon, though limited, was a rather tough and rugged challenger with some durability, punching power and heart. He'd certainly give C00ney some problems and perhaps even beat him on the right night. Would I personally favor him to win under normal circumstances? Probably not. I think Gerry moved around a bit better for a big man, had slightly better skills and likely hit harder too. He used to knock guys out with " body shots" and that's pretty damn hard to do unless you hit like a truck.
I will flesh that debate out, for the purposes of this thread. Simon had been on a bit of a run of form coming into the Louis fight, which included wins over Gunnar Barlund and Roscoe Toles, who were both in the end of year rankings. This run ended when he was outpointed by the unranked Jim Thompson, in a controversial decision. I guess that whether or not he was a good choice of title challenger, would depend upon whether you thought this decision was fair and accurate.
I can understand your point but Louis was 6'2" 200lbs and ****ey was a lean 6'6" 225 and hit harder punch for punch. Maybe a 1rd blowout was a stretch but a KO for ****ey isn't as great as Louis was he was still a modern cruiser and IMHO if a Giant like Abe Simon didn't have the punch resistance to handle a Louis onslaught I see ****ey turning him and hooking his acromagelic jaw off.
I am willing to believe that C00ney might have hit harder than Louis punch for punch, but he was basically a one dimensional fighter, while Louis was a complete finisher. It should also be noted that all of C00neys knockouts came against men ranked outside the top ten. As for Simon he was not one of the best or brightest of his era, but he could give one hell of a punch, and take one hell of a punch. As for C00ney, he remains a bit of an enigma in my eyes. I dont think that we ever found out how good he really was.
Good post...probably simon ...too tough...I saw ****ey work out.as well as Tyson and young foreman ****ey hit harder than either of them with one hand the guy could really hit.but no de and 0 chin.thanks
