I think this is a great match up. I want you guys to think hard about this one and type your opinion. My call is this: Wilder wins, he catches Cooney mid fight. I think Cooney is underrated and I'd put him above Wilder but in h2h he loses this one. I think if Cooney was to beat Wilder he'd have to press him from the start and that wasn't GK style. Cooney was a puncher but not a brawler. Wilder KO 6
Are you thinking the 1982 Cooney that fought Holmes or the overall, pre-past prime Cooney? I think the difference would be between the second Fury fight and the first. I think Holmes is right, Cooney was good enough to be a heavyweight champion. I always thought he should have went the WBA track.
1982 Cooney. He went downhill big time after that. And btw IMO Larry Holmes is the most underrated HW of all time.
Wilder by stoppage after some interesting moments in first rounds. Exciting fight, but I'm confortable with my prediction.
They were equals in power as well as height and reach. Cooney was slightly more skilled but I think Wilder might have had a better chin. This is up for grabs. Can’t see either of those guys taking those exchanges for very long.
wilder would have to land early to have a prayer, I think Cooney would knock him out in a rd or two. Gerry was a very fast starter.
I have said before, given better management, Gerry Cooney could have developed into a serious contender. If someone like Cus D Amato or Eddie Futch would have worked with Gerry, they could have taught him the fundamentals, how to fight going the distance. Beating up two elderly heavyweights like Ken Norton and Jimmy Young did not teach him anything but padded his record, a recipe for defeat because Larry Holmes was no elderly fighter in 1982. Cooney should have fought a Tex Cobb, Greg Page, Tim Witherspoon, or a Pinklon Thomas. No human being should have been made into a meal ticket by anyone. I have to go with Deontay Wilder, he was more proven, and he would take out a Gerry Cooney, badly in need of balance, in round 5, too much power, and Gerry is no Tyson Fury to score a win. Matching Cooney with a 50 year old Luis Ortiz would be a better fight as Gerry's best wins are over older fighters. It is kind to wish that Cooney was a great fighter, but the fairy godmother does not exist, nor does Mr. Rourke from Fantasy Island. But Gerry is a likeable fellow, someone you would like to have a beer with. As I have said before, Jerry Quarry in his prime was a better all round fighter, he fought guys close to his own age that were serious contenders.
what cooney had was speed and power and a killer instinct. I think you had to be a larry holnes or on his level to beat cooney. Cooney was no joke as many believe he was
Any accomplished HW with limited skill avoids Wilder's only danger, his windmill right. Wilder was a manufactured champion who only fought one worthy challenger, Tyson Fury. Cooney was probably a step below Fury, but way better than the other Wilder tin can challengers. Cooney by KO 6 in an exciting fight.
