30 yrs ago this May, Cooney waxed Norton at MSG. WICKED!

Norton was definitely way past his best and coming off some very bad performances, no longer a viable contender. But he was a recognisable name.

Brutal KO.
Referee Tony Perez was late jumping in. I guess he didn't want to get in the way of Cooney's hook ! :shock:

 

Done.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fb0Qidm9Fg[/ame]

 

pretty awesome display of power... and the right hand set everything up.

i swear, the eyes may deceive, but cooney still has one of the prettiest left hooks any heavyweight possessed... especially any tall heavyweight.

 

Jesus, can't stand seeing Norton getting pummeled like that in the corner. Awful.

 

This is one of the striking things about Victor Valle's development of Cooney. Gerry's right tore open Young's face, stunned Norton initially, and later flattened Philipp Brown. As deadly as his hook was, his right was diligently evolved into a highly serviceable weapon as well, one mysteriously absent in the challenge of Holmes

And he delivered it in a surprisingly short, tight arc.

Norton was coming off a competent performance against Cobb where he shook off the rust. Clearly not the same as he was in his prime, but not as far gone as many suppose at this time. But Ken was actually a slower stater than Frazier, Palomino and Mike Spinks, and this would have always cost him dearly with Gerry. (He spent most of his match with Cobb countering off the ropes, due to Tex's immense physical strength and toughness. Fortunately, Cobb couldn't punch with leverage. Trying to fight Cooney off the ropes would be suicidal though, and was never attempted by anybody who survived him for any length of time.)

 

Good insights. Norton was only 35 (young by today's HW standards) and though he certainly had lost a step he was only 3 years removed from one of his greatest performances when he fought Holmes. It wasn't so much him being shot, chinny or old... he just got caught early and couldn't recover before more bombs landed. Maybe 10 years earlier he could have, but just maybe.

 

A split decision against Cobb, a gift draw with LeDoux and a one-round massacre defeat against Shavers are serious indicators that Norton was either, 1. close to being "shot", or 2. not a particularly good fighter at all anyway.

:deal

 

Ref should have got in their quicker.

 

Norton never took big punches well, but christ that was brutal. :scaredas:

 

i remember watching this on tv somewhere as a kid and thinking wow

 

Cooney definitely displayed great potential in this bout. This could/should have been the moment when his management put him in with some young contenders,in order to give him a bit more seasoning,before throwing him in with a prime Larry Holmes. But no,their heads were turned by a quick megabucks payday. Bloody disgrace.

 

To be fair, lots of people reckoned Cooney could KO Holmes, so it wasn't just his management's mistake. Holmes had been badly hurt by Snipes in his previous fight too, which would have added to their confidence.

Cassius Clay's management did the same thing putting him in with Sonny Liston.