Coetzee vs Cooney in their primes.

Cooney vs. Live Opponent = Bye Bye Cooney IMO.

Cooney's only notable wins were over acknowledged has-been. Coetzee at least proved he could win the big one.

I'll take Coetzee by mid round stoppage.

 

The Coetzee who KO'd Dokes in 1983 was peaked at 215 pounds.... That version of Coetzee prolly beats the 1982 version of Cooney...... Either way, a KO stoppage is for sure.......

MR.BILL

 

Cooney never won his biggest fights while Coetzee did upon occassion did win in his big fights. Some fighters seem to find ways to sabotage themselves.

 

It could go either way. I like Cotezee because I think he took a better punch, and had more foucs in the ring.

 

i will play devils advocate here and take cooney by ko coetzee, cooney starts faster and lands his big bombs hurts coetzee and ends it early


in all honesty i think this could go either way but i will plump for cooney

 

coetzee's chin wasn't as bad as cooney's.coetzee by ko

 

Prime for prime, Coetzee was a much better overall fighter than Cooney,and far less fragile..the Coetzee right would prevail in the 2nd round. A ko for Coetzee.

 

Coetzee took a solid punch and could hit. I think Gerrie could take Cooneys punch but Gerry Cooney would not be able to take Coetzees, in this battle of the G.C's

 

Agreed,

Cooney's boxing ability was underrated. He could use good footwork had a great jab and hook to the body. His right wasn't bad either. He also could be very dangerous in the opening rounds, and would have likely been the hardest puncher as well as fastest starter that Coetzee ever faced. In a 12 round fight, I might pick Coetzee to wear him down and stop him late, but that's assuming that Gerrie can last that long with Gerry

 

All my instincts are telling me to put my money on the more proven Coetzee.

 

I go w/ Coetzea in 5. Gerrie had a terrific chin, he just had not to good stamina in 15. Gerry, on the other hand had glass temples and a shot by Gerrie there would knock Gerry out in 5 methinks!

 

Before you commit to the idea that Cooney would have been the fastest starter Coetzee ever faced, watch Leon Spinks charge out of his corner like a bull in a calculated attempt to score an early knockout while Gerry covers up smartly on the ropes. (Leon admitted in interviews before their match that this was his intention, and he tried to carry it out.)

I agree with your assessment of Cooney, especially concerning his right (which was the punch that initially stunned Norton and tore open Young's face). But people sometimes forget that Gerrie's stylistic idol was Ali. Over ten rounds, he outboxed the murderous punching Knoetze, and gifted stylists Randy Stephens, George Chaplin and Quick Tillis. He decisioned Mike Schutte over 12, and produced a credible showing over 15 against Tate. He knocked out the rugged Stander in eight, the latest round anybody stopped Big Ron in. He also boxed Thomas to a standstill, and Pinklon had the best left hand in the division after Holmes.

The resumes just don't compare. Coetzee defeated a number of world class opponents of different styles and abilities in a variety of ways. In 1982 and 1983 he would have been a dreadful opponent for Gerry to try rebounding from the Holmes loss against. Coetzee also had some bad defeats, but he took a lot more chances than Cooney did.

ps: I mistakenly voted for Cooney by KO, so he should have only 2 votes for KO at the moment, and Coetzee 9 for a knockout.

 

I sure would not like the Cooney chances 1 iota if he was the guy taking his act on the road & agreed to fight Coetzee in South Africa. They'd sell out to 60-80,000 for the fight and there'd be about 3 people in the crowd pulling for Gerry. I think under those conditions it'd look a lot llike the Stan Ward fight.