Was discussing this with my friend. Both of us not old enough to remember this era. What was the bigger fight in terms of anticipation or sales ?
Holmes Cooney was wayyy bigger, Gerry was seen as a brutal puncher vs Holmes a master boxer and who's style would prevail. The only question I had about Tyson Spinks was when Spinks would be obliterated. I thought it'd take longer honestly
Yes, Cooney-Holmes for sure. The winner of Tyson-Spinks was never really in doubt for most. Only recall one writer picking Spinks in that one (by TKO10), whereas Cooney was thought to have a legit chance by many in the sport against Holmes. The "White Hope" thing didn't hurt either, which they didn't hesitate to use in the promotion of this.
Tyson-Spinks historically because it pitted the lineal champ against the guy who had all the belts. But as far as an event, how big it was with the public, how many people were aware of it and excited about it and had opinions on who would win and how — Holmes-Cooney is way above it. It was a megafight, setting PPV/gate records that stood forever (has it ever been broken?). It was by far the biggest sporting event across all sport in the country and probably around the world in that time period, whereas Tyson-Spinks was … not.
I dunno. Tyson-Spinks was on every major magazine cover. Not sure that Holmes-Cooney was. Tyson-Spinks was the final coronation of the Undisputed/Lineal heavyweight champion. First time in 10 years. The anticipation was YUUUGE, says Donald Trump. Like the others above have said: the winner of Holmes-Cooney was uncertain where Tyson-Spinks was never really in doubt. The Holmes-Cooney fight holds the attendance record for a boxing match in Nevada with 29,214 attendees paying a total of $6,239,050.[8] Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney grossed over $45 million, with $8.4 million from the live gate, over $20 million from closed circuit, and more than $5 million from the relatively new payperview. The fight is estimated to have netted $30 million ($75 million today) with each boxer to receive 35% of the net while their managers, Don King for Holmes and Mike Jones and Dennis Rappaport for Cooney, to each get 15%. Holmes and Cooney reportedly made around $10 million apiece, which is about $25 million today after inflation. (Don King was also accused of stealing $2 or $3 million of Holmes’ purse But the sales for Tyson-Spinks rank much, much higher. Tyson vs. Spinks was the richest fight in boxing history up to that point, grossing around $70 million, $10 million more than the previous record holder, the Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard bout in 1987.[3] $12.3 million came from the 21,785 live gate,[3] almost double the previous live gate record of $6.8 million set by Hagler vs. Leonard.[46] 700,000 households bought the fight on pay-per-view television,[47][48] generating $21 million.[49] A further 800,000 tickets were sold at closed-circuit theatre TV venues, generating $32 million.[50] The fight also surpassed the 1987 Super Bowl as the highest-grossing single day sporting event in history.[51] It is estimated to have generated $344 million in gambling revenues in Atlantic City, over $100 million more than a typical four-day weekend in June.[52] The Trump Plaza casino achieved a record drop of $11.5 million on the day of the fight.[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...minutes/32bc5948-e8b7-4e5a-99cc-51c75eea1699/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson_vs._Michael_Spinks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Holmes_vs._Gerry_Cooney
Holmes V Cooney was the biggest in terms of excitement. A lot were picking Cooney, even top experts. In terms of historical importance, that's where Tyson v Spinks wins. It was the lineal title, for those that followed boxing, it was a big fight, the final piece in the jigsaw to get the true champ. But as it's been mentioned already by excellent posters, there was no doubt s really who'd actually win in Tyson - Spinks.
