Let's say things are Different and Gerry stops Larry mid fight...what would happen after? What would change? Would he rematch with Larry first? Let's have some fun
Would have been a soft defense. Lets say something along the lines of Leon Spinks. DKP would have got him ranked in the top 10 somehow. Holmes would have gone after one of the other belts. And won that bout. DKP would have fed Cooney softies as long as possible since he would have been such a cash machine. So even matches like say Bonecrusher Smith would not have been made. More like Scott Ledoux or paying some of the lh to move up.
If he beat Holmes emphatically there may or may not be a rematch. If there was a rematch Cooney would certainly go in there more confident the second time around while Holmes would be several months older. Beyond that I think Gerry’s people would be careful about who they selected as challengers for as long as they could get away with it . Perhaps some recent former champs like Leon Spinks or John Tate and then who knows. They wouldn’t be matching him with Tim Witherspoon. Spoon had been previously fired from Cooney’s training camp for getting the better of him in sparring .
Cooney was never going to be a long reigning at the top fighter , as soon as he became wealthy the drive went into neutral. And by the way,,,,,, he ain't ever beating Larry Holmes
It's worth a "what if".. even though almost nobody picked Cooney to win against Holmes.. nobody I knew.. Somebody said Dokes.. would have befuddled him with handspeed, a downcast Cooney
Cooney wouldn't have known what to do because I've always maintained that in his guts and his nuts he was never really all that devoted or dedicated to boxing, it was just something he was fairly good at.
Haha, kids in my high school sure thought Cooney would win. I collected about $30 in lunch money off them on small bets!
As for what happens if Cooney wins, I agree with @zadfrak that Larry would soon capture one of the other titles and begun angling for a rematch. Gerry would have marked time with a few softer defenses: First up, James Tillis, who beat Earnie Shavers on the Holmes-Cooney undercard. After some early difficulties, Gerry gets to his body and stops Quick in eight in late 1982. Next, in spring 1983, comes Renaldo Snipes, off a recent win over Trevor Berbick. Cooney in three. Summers of 1983 sees Gerry’s careful management match him with WBA cruiserweight champion Ossie Ocasio. Cooney has more trouble with the awkward Jaws than expected before getting a TKO win in 12. Fall/winter 1983 (or very early 1984) is where it gets interesting — either a rematch with Larry or a risky defense against Mike Weaver. I’m saying they go with Larry because they can make it into more of a mega-fight. And I’ll go with Holmes’ hardened resolve to take out Cooney late.