1981: Muhammad Ali v. Gerry Cooney

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by SteveO, Jan 11, 2008.


Page 1 of 3
  1. SteveO

    SteveO MSW Full Member

    4,255
    14
    Feb 4, 2007
    Let's say that it's Cooney fighting Ali instead of Trevor Berbick.

    Ali is coming off of a 14 month layoff and a loss to Larry Holmes.

    Cooney is coming in undefeated off of 3 knockout victories over aging contenders Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, and Ken Norton, with the last two being 1st round KO's. The fight with Ali would be about 7 months after stopping Norton.

    How would this fight play out? Ali is, of course, badly damaged at this point, and Cooney probably as good as he was ever going to get.

    Would Cooney win? Would he stop Ali? Would Ali not answer the bell for a round? Or would Ali still have enough left to stop the big man?

    Thoughts?
     
    SteveO, Jan 11, 2008
    SteveO, Jan 11, 2008
    #1
    Richard M Murrieta likes this.
  2. SteveO

    SteveO MSW Full Member

    4,255
    14
    Feb 4, 2007
    Anybody?

    For what it's worth, I think Ali would have not answered the bell for a round. I think Cooney would be tenative early before battering Ali badly.

    If it makes it until 10, I don't see Ali winning on the cards, either.
     
    SteveO, Jan 11, 2008
    SteveO, Jan 11, 2008
    #2
    Richard M Murrieta likes this.
  3. anut

    anut Boxing Addict banned

    6,731
    11
    Apr 4, 2007
    ali gets tkod in 2 rds...
     
    anut, Jan 11, 2008
    anut, Jan 11, 2008
    #3
    Reinhardt and Richard M Murrieta like this.
  4. Sonny's jab

    Sonny's jab Guest

    Cooney would struggle to a decision over 10 rounds. He wasn't as good as Berbick.
     
    Sonny's jab, Jan 12, 2008
    Sonny's jab, Jan 12, 2008
    #4
    Richard M Murrieta and El Gallo Negro like this.
  5. SteveO

    SteveO MSW Full Member

    4,255
    14
    Feb 4, 2007
    So, something like 6-4 Cooney?
     
    SteveO, Jan 12, 2008
    SteveO, Jan 12, 2008
    #5
    Richard M Murrieta likes this.
  6. Sonny's jab

    Sonny's jab Guest

    Yes, and his corner would have to set a fire under his ass to get him through it.

    Even a brain-damaged Ali was better (or more durable) than anyone Cooney beat. A fat Jimmy Young was less durable than Ali.

    Ali made Berbick work for that victory, he'd make Cooney do the same.
     
    Sonny's jab, Jan 12, 2008
    Sonny's jab, Jan 12, 2008
    #6
    Richard M Murrieta likes this.
  7. ChrisPontius

    ChrisPontius March 8th, 1971 Full Member

    19,404
    279
    Oct 4, 2005
    I thought Cooney looked pretty good against Young actually, especially if you consider how bad Young makes punchers look (see Foreman two years before). Of course Young had declined pretty bad, i don't think he would've lost to Cooney in his prime. Young suffered a horrible cut in the 4th (he did okay up to there, Cooney's jab rarely hit him) which just put him out of the fight. He couldn't see and just walked around, blocking and taking punches. Cooney was not THAT good and never really beat a top10-contender, but i'm pretty sure he'd deal with that shot Ali. Just throwing a few punches a round would pretty much do it.
     
    ChrisPontius, Jan 12, 2008
    ChrisPontius, Jan 12, 2008
    #7
    Richard M Murrieta likes this.
  8. Sonny's jab

    Sonny's jab Guest

    Yes, Jimmy Young suffered a bad cut, so I shouldn't have said Ali was necessarily more durable than Young. I think he was a stronger fighter though. I dont see Cooney knocking Ali out, cutting him OR outpointing him by a wide decision. Cooney would scrape past Ali.
     
    Sonny's jab, Jan 12, 2008
    Sonny's jab, Jan 12, 2008
    #8
    Richard M Murrieta likes this.
  9. C. M. Clay II

    C. M. Clay II Manassah's finest! Full Member

    2,276
    19
    Sep 23, 2006
    Well, Ali would last longer than Norton or Young did, but he would get stopped.
     
    C. M. Clay II, Jan 12, 2008
    C. M. Clay II, Jan 12, 2008
    #9
    cross_trainer and Richard M Murrieta like this.
  10. ThinBlack

    ThinBlack Boxing Addict banned

    4,768
    27
    Sep 18, 2007
    Ali would last to the distance, but lose 7 out of 10 rounds to Gerry.
     
    ThinBlack, Sep 26, 2012
    ThinBlack, Sep 26, 2012
    #10
    Richard M Murrieta likes this.
  11. Seamus

    Seamus Proud Kulak Full Member

    65,838
    52,999
    Feb 11, 2005
    Cooney tees off until it is stopped.
     
    Seamus, Sep 26, 2012
    Seamus, Sep 26, 2012
    #11
    cross_trainer, Reinhardt, Richard M Murrieta and 1 other person like this.
  12. jowcol

    jowcol Boxing Addict Full Member

    4,333
    843
    Jul 22, 2004
    What's the point here folks? An obviously battered near 40 approaching boxing brain-dead Ali against Cooney? Who already had padded his 'credentials' against over the hill punching bags!!!
    Why don't we re-visit Marciano-Louis while we're at it?....geez o pete!!!
     
    jowcol, Sep 26, 2012
    jowcol, Sep 26, 2012
    #12
    Reinhardt and Richard M Murrieta like this.
  13. Senor Pepe'

    Senor Pepe' Boxing Junkie banned

    9,408
    49
    Mar 14, 2012
    A 'bad beating' where Muhammad Ali was killed.

    After taking a 'brutal' left hook beating for 3 Rounds, Ali's foolish
    cornermen send him out for the 'fateful' 4th Round, where he gets
    battered into a 'neutral corner', and a defenseless Muhammad Ali with
    his hands down by side, gets hit with '5' straight brutal left hooks.

    Ali falls to canvas, and never regains consciousness.
     
    Senor Pepe', Sep 26, 2012
    Senor Pepe', Sep 26, 2012
    #13
    El Gallo Negro likes this.
  14. Stevie G

    Stevie G Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

    25,456
    9,330
    Jul 17, 2009
    Pretty accurate scenario,imo. Ali still had his ring smarts,if nothing else. He'd get outworked.
     
    Stevie G, Sep 27, 2012
    Stevie G, Sep 27, 2012
    #14
  15. boxing_lunatic

    boxing_lunatic New Member Full Member

    1
    0
    Dec 29, 2020
    Ali vs Cooney happened. I remember it:
    This content is protected
     
    boxing_lunatic, Dec 30, 2020
    boxing_lunatic, Dec 30, 2020
    #15
Page 1 of 3