Holmes vs Cooney - 43 years ago today, June 11, 1982 - Gather 'round.

Dementia Pugulistica · Jun 13, 2025

RulesMakeItInteresting said: ↑

It was a huge and very exciting fight when I saw it on live tv. I could see from the second round that Cooney was going to lose but he gave the kind of fight he'd never have to be ashamed of.
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Based on the heart that Cooney displayed that night, one has to wonder how things would have worked out for him had he not been "rushed" to the title. But I guess his demons would have messed him up no matter what.

mr. magoo · Jun 13, 2025

JohnThomas1 said: ↑

It's almost frightening mate

I still remember sitting there watching the top 4 bouts, live. I was young, but still!!!!!
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It is frightening. To think that the 1980’s and even the 90s were that long ago

mr. magoo · Jun 13, 2025

Fergy said: ↑

That's scary actually.
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Agreed. I can remember being a kid and feeling like a 40 year period could never possibly go by as if it were an eternity

Pugguy · Jun 13, 2025

InMemoryofJakeLamotta said: ↑

I was 82 in 1982 but somehow in 2025 I'm in the body of a 30 something man. I'm a medical marvel
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Is that you Dorian? About time you started posting here. First hand witnesses are extremely handy. Do you recall the first FOTC and, if so, what are your thoughts on it?

Greg Price99 · Jun 13, 2025

mr. magoo said: ↑

It’s weird. If you were to go back 43 years FROM 1982 you’d be in the 30’s.
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As someone born in 1982, you've just made me feel everyone one of my 42 years.

Fergy · Jun 13, 2025

mr. magoo said: ↑

Agreed. I can remember being a kid and feeling like a 40 year period could never possibly go by as if it were an eternity
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I no exactly what you mean mate.
And my dad used to say that time speeds up as you get older, and my god he was bloody right!

mr. magoo · Jun 13, 2025

Greg Price99 said: ↑

As someone born in 1982, you've just made me feel everyone one of my 42 years.
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Now imagine actually remembering 1982

mr. magoo · Jun 13, 2025

Fergy said: ↑

I no exactly what you mean mate.
And my dad used to say that time speeds up as you get older, and my god he was bloody right!
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Incredible how that happens

Titan1 · Jun 13, 2025

Remember seeing it with my dad on closed circuit. Was rooting for Larry, and he didn't disappoint, but it was an interesting fight.

Philosopher · Jun 14, 2025

Dementia Pugulistica said: ↑

Gather ‘round, fight fans, and let me spin you a yarn as I don my fedora, light a stogie and pour myself a dram. The date: June 11, 1982. The place: Caesars Palace, Las Vegas—a neon oasis where the desert heat was matched only by the fever of expectation. The protagonists: Larry Holmes, the Easton Assassin, and Gerry Cooney, the Great White Hope, squaring off in a heavyweight fable that was as much about America as it was about boxing.

Larry Holmes record at the time an unblemished 39-0, was a craftsman of the jab, a man who could split the atom with his left hand and rearrange your dental work with his right. He’d danced with Ken Norton, outfoxed Earnie Shavers, and battered Trevor Berbick. Holmes was a champion in the mold of Louis and Ali—skilled, proud, and, to some, under-appreciated. His flaw? Perhaps it was that he followed Ali, and in the shadow of the Greatest, even the sunniest day can seem overcast.

Gerry Cooney, 25-0, was the Irishman with a left hook that could knock the taste out of your mouth and send your ancestors shivering. He’d dispatched Ken Norton in 54 seconds and battered Jimmy Young into submission. But Cooney was green—his resume a patchwork of faded names and quick knockouts, his chin untested by the fires of championship rounds. His flaw? Inexperience, and the weight of a nation’s hopes pressing down on his broad shoulders.

The odds-makers, those wise men of the desert, installed Holmes as a 2-to-1 favourite. But in the smoky backrooms and the fevered imaginations of the press, the fight was closer than a razor’s edge. This was more than a title defense—it was a referendum on race relations in Reagan’s America. Holmes, the Black champion, carried the legacy of Joe Louis and Jack Johnson, while Cooney, the “Great White Hope,” was cast—fairly or not—as the latest in a long line of white challengers meant to “restore” the heavyweight crown.

The promotion played it up, stoking old fires. Tickets were printed in black and white. Security was tighter than a banker’s wallet, with fears of racial unrest. Holmes himself said, “If I win, they’ll say I beat a white guy. If I lose, they’ll say I lost to a white guy.” Cooney, for his part, bristled at the role, wanting only to be seen as a fighter, not a symbol.

Holmes was a surgeon with gloves, a man whose jab was as precise as a tailor’s stitch. He could box, he could brawl, and he could take a punch. But he was also a slow starter, sometimes letting opponents into the fight before lowering the boom.

Cooney was a wrecking ball with a left hook, a puncher who could end your night before you’d broken a sweat. But he was untested in deep water, and his right hand was more a rumour than a threat.

When the bell rang, Holmes boxed circles around Cooney, snapping the jab, moving, making the younger man miss. But Cooney, to his credit, showed heart—absorbing punishment, firing back, and even hurting Holmes to the body. In the 13th, Holmes broke through, dropping Cooney and forcing the referee’s hand. The champion had retained, but both men left the ring with respect.

This was more than a fight—it was a morality play, a snapshot of America’s complicated soul. Holmes, the champion who never got his due, proved his greatness. Cooney, the challenger burdened by history, proved his courage. The odds, the records, the racial overtones—all faded in the face of two men doing what fighters do: giving their all.

So raise a glass, fight fans, to Holmes and Cooney, to the sweet science, and to the stories that live on long after the final bell. For on June 11, 1982, under the desert stars, boxing reminded us that in the ring, as in life, it’s not the colour of your skin, but the content of your character—and the power of your punch—that counts.
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Sugaresque. Not one of the Rays. Bert Randolph... nice post, enjoyed that. Px

steve21 · Jun 14, 2025

Rico Spadafora said: ↑

It was a good fight with a solid battle proven champion against an unproven contender. Lot of misconceptions about this fight though. Holmes at the time was living in the shadows of Ali and was considered 'boring' fighter for the most part who would drag out fights instead of finishing his opponent earlier and he wasn't very media savvy either so a lot of the writers picked against him out of spite not that they thought Cooney would win they just didn't like Holmes personally and hoped he would lose. Cooney was knocking guys silly or cutting them really bad regardless of the level of opposition. Boxing fans love knockouts and savage KO's that is going to generate a lot of buzz and hype regardless of opponent (look at Tyson's first 20 or so fights as another example of this) Cooney (like Tyson) was also from New York being the media capital of the world so yes he's going to get attention based on that alone. The ring announcer Chuck Hull who was basically exclusive to Las Vegas cards on several occasions would announce the champion first he did it in another Holmes fight years before the Cooney fight and others so it wasn't done for just this fight he had a habit of doing it. The phone line from Reagan seems to be an urban legend with many people involved in the fight and Cooney himself giving contradicting info sometimes saying it was and other times was not true. This fight was a huge event that had tons of non sports and non boxing media attention it was THE big event of the Summer of 1982 in America.

I read Cooney's book which is a good read and he subconsciously sabotaged himself for this fight he didn't think he could win had a ridiculously long training camp like 6 months with a few week break in between for the shoulder issue and was drinking on and off during his camp. I think Gerry essentially suffered from mild panic attacks and he had a ton of pressure on him from outside sources. He wasn't ready to fight Holmes and even if he had 3 or 4 more fights before I don't think it would have mattered his career was always going to go the way it did based on his personal demons and drinking/drug problems. People **** on Cooney but he had huge potential it was just wasted by his own self sabotaging ways and his inept management. Speaking of Mike Jones and his trainer Victor Valle wanted the Holmes fight and Rappaport wanted to wait it out and fight the winner of Weaver/Tillis for the WBA which would have been a better path and more winnable for Gerry. I think Weaver was injured after the Tillis fight and sat out for several months and Cooney's management was aware of his personal demons and wisely got him the Holmes fight but even then he had a 13 month layoff which is insane. In the end they took the big money fight which was the right thing to do as one misstep by Cooney (which was going to happen eventually with his lifestyle) and the Holmes payday was gone. So, they took a mentally fragile inexperienced fighter who doubted himself coming off multiple injuries (shoulder, back, ankle) and a 13 month layoff and put him out in the boiling heat of Las Vegas under the hot tv lights to fight one of the greatest pure boxers of all time AND on top of all this instead of listening to Valle's game plan which was to try and bore in and rough up Holmes in the first four rounds to stop him Cooney hung back and tried to 'outbox' a masterful boxer so he could "go the distance in case he had to". Cooney essentially tried to 'spar' Holmes for the first 10 rounds and by the time he realized that wasn't going to work he had blown his load and had no power/energy left when he got more aggressive in that 10th round (which is a great round from both fighters)

Either way none of this matters as Cooney wasn't ever going to win that fight no matter how many what ifs you can think of because he lacked the experience lacked the confidence and Larry Holmes was just a damn good prizefighter. No shame in losing to Holmes at that time. I've also seen Holmes say that fight took a lot out of him mentally and physically because of all the preparation and mental stress during the build up to the fight. Holmes took Cooney very seriously.
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Good summary, and corrects some points I wasn't aware of or misremembered - I was lucky enough to see it "live" on closed-circuit when that was the only way to see big stakes championship fights. There were several bouts on the undercard which I'm sure I saw, but don't remember. I DO remember the inadvertent low blow Cooney landed - maybe Round 10? - and when the shot landed, all 3,000 men in the civic center yelped; it was visceral.

SwarmingSlugger · Jun 14, 2025

Dementia Pugulistica said: ↑

Based on the heart that Cooney displayed that night, one has to wonder how things would have worked out for him had he not been "rushed" to the title. But I guess his demons would have messed him up no matter what.
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He did show a lot of heart in there. He had terrible management that saw him as one big pay day. It really ruined his career, not to mention his drug and alcohol problems. If he had decent management he could have bounced back in a year or so and beat Larry in a rematch, Holmes himself has said so.

Rico Spadafora · Jun 14, 2025

SwarmingSlugger said: ↑

He did show a lot of heart in there. He had terrible management that saw him as one big pay day. It really ruined his career, not to mention his drug and alcohol problems. If he had decent management he could have bounced back in a year or so and beat Larry in a rematch, Holmes himself has said so.
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I’ve seen Holmes say multiple times if Cooney would have left Rappaport and Jones after the Holmes fight he could have easily bounced back and been a very formidable contender for some of the belts but when he didn’t Holmes said he knew Cooney’s career would suffer.

Rico Spadafora · Jun 14, 2025

steve21 said: ↑

Good summary, and corrects some points I wasn't aware of or misremembered - I was lucky enough to see it "live" on closed-circuit when that was the only way to see big stakes championship fights. There were several bouts on the undercard which I'm sure I saw, but don't remember. I DO remember the inadvertent low blow Cooney landed - maybe Round 10? - and when the shot landed, all 3,000 men in the civic center yelped; it was visceral.
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The

steve21 said: ↑

Good summary, and corrects some points I wasn't aware of or misremembered - I was lucky enough to see it "live" on closed-circuit when that was the only way to see big stakes championship fights. There were several bouts on the undercard which I'm sure I saw, but don't remember. I DO remember the inadvertent low blow Cooney landed - maybe Round 10? - and when the shot landed, all 3,000 men in the civic center yelped; it was visceral.
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The big upset on the undercard was Greg Page losing to Trevor Berbick. King had wanted to match the Holmes - Cooney winner with Greg Page had he won. Holmes had already beat Berbick in a very boring fight so that was not going to happen. Everyone thought Page was going to easily beat Berbick. Such is boxing.

UnleashtheFURY · Jun 14, 2025

Rico Spadafora said: ↑

I’ve seen Holmes say multiple times if Cooney would have left Rappaport and Jones after the Holmes fight he could have easily bounced back and been a very formidable contender for some of the belts but when he didn’t Holmes said he knew Cooney’s career would suffer.
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The drinking and poor management destroyed his career.

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Holmes vs Cooney - 43 years ago today, June 11, 1982 - Gather 'round.

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