Gerry Cooney vs Shannon Briggs

Good fight. Two guys who hit very hard but neither much for taking it. I went with Cooney by KO but the opposite could certainly happen

 

Holmes had him down very early.

Spinks had him all over the place with multiple knockdowns.

I didn't say Cooney had bad stamina or that he was less skilled than Briggs. I said he didn't take single flush shots as well as Briggs. That's not even debatable.

 

The best version of Briggs was against Lewis, especially during the first three minutes. He showed two handed power, feints, and lateral movement. He was out boxing Lewis even before landing the big shot.

I see Cooney not being able to avoid getting hit flush and lacking the ability to survive.

I think Briggs would probably stop him.

 

Briggs would rush across the ring at Cooney and a firefight would ensue one in which Briggs begins to lose. He would probably be stopped on his feet. Very similar to the Marion Wilson fight. Cooney was a much bigger puncher and as we saw against Lyle and Norton liked to start fast himself.

 

There is no *way* Conney is a "much bigger puncher" than Briggs with all those first round KOs.
He may well have hit slightly harder-with the left hook.
Lyle & Norton were almost done by the time Coonet got to them.
Just like Cooney was done, & young, by Foreman.

I believe Briggs would weather the storm better.
In a battle of 2 sluggers it is not likely to go long or be a tactical match.
It is not one sided, but Conney gets stopped.

 

This one could go either way but I think Gerry was a bigger puncher. Short and sweet. Cooney kayoes Briggs.

If it goes longer than 5 rounds, Briggs wins.

60/40 Gerry.

 

Cooney was only stopped by hall of fame fighters - Holmes, Spinks and Foreman. Two of which when he was shot do to alcohol abuse. His win over Young and strong showing against prime Holmes is better than anything Briggs has done. Briggs running away from Foreman is clear indication he wouldn’t last with peak Cooney. Briggs knocked over a bunch of stiffs for his ko’s, as padded as Cooney’s record was he still beat trial horses and fringe contenders on the way up, like John Dino dennis, and Eddie Lopez.
I’ll stick with Cooney and since their styles mesh for an action fight early on I like Cooney tko early

 

You may be right, I would need to examine Brigg's opponents more carefully.
Do others think none of his 60 victories like over Botha, 53 by KO, amounts to a hill of beans?

 

Botha bout ended in a draw. One in which almost everyone felt Botha won, even Briggs in post fight speech.
Briggs record is really bad. Foreman was ancient when they fought. Schulz best him, Savarese almost did some believe he did, and yet Briggs ran the entire night. I just don’t think he was very good. His best fight was his performance vs Lewis. You could say he was durable more durable than Cooney. But overall Cooney was better fighter.

 

You're being intellectually dishonest. Spinks never stopped any notable heavyweights but he beat the **** out of Conney, who was supposed to beat him. Foreman only stopped one guy during his comeback who was in the top ten, and the guy was a blown up, chinny 175 who was well ahead on the cards.

 

The Liakovich win is superior to anything Cooney accomplished.

 

Cooney was an alcoholic for the Spinks bout and Washed up with 2 fights in 5 years when he fought a very active Foreman. Either way only elite guys beat Cooney. He didn’t lose to Marion Wilson or Sedrick Fields. In fact if Briggs has proper losses on his record for Botha and Foreman in his very last fight. His record would be incredibly dubious.

 

Briggs was way out of shape for Fields and gassed out as an inexperienced fighter against Wilson. Not the first guy to do either. Not the first champion to do either.

As for Cooney, he was in his early 30s, had taken out 24-1-1 Eddie Gregg in a round in his last fight, and was favored to beat Spinks.

Cooney was even on the cards after four and got the dog**** beaten out of him in the fifth. He failed to defend himself when in trouble, which is the exact same problem he had against Holmes. My question is, did the alcohol kick in during the fifth and make Cooney forget how to defend himself, similar to how the heat must have kicked in and caused the same issue against Holmes?

Or was Cooney just an incomplete fighter who never learned how to get himself out of trouble?

 

Cooney was at his best in the Holmes fight I never mentioned alcohol for that bout. I happen to think he looked like garbage in the Spinks fight and I don’t see how he was ahead I gave him one round. If I remember. It’s been awhile since I watched it. He was made the favorite over Spinks because he was a big puncher, anyone that saw Spinks vs Holmes should of known Spinks would be major threat. As for Eddie Gregg he’s similar to Briggs imo just without the opportunity Briggs got and I see a fight of Cooney vs Briggs playing out the same way.
As for Cooney’s defense yes it was a fatal flaw that he never corrected - he didn’t tie up Foreman either in his final fight.

 

Prime Vs Prime Cooney knocks young Briggs before 4