Patterson vs Cooney

I hate to say it, but at some point Cooney will hurt him badly.

 

Yes, I think most hearts if not all would be with Floyd. I will say, Cooney’s effort, though abbreviated and against a sub par Jimmy Young, was pretty well rounded - showing off a very good jab.

We would perhaps allow that if Floyd could manage to leap in and land one of his lightning power combos - he could hurt Gerry somewhat or even significantly?

 

I said it the other day, Cooney is an anomaly. We simply don't know how good he is, because of the lack of contenders on his record. His performance against Young suggests to me he's better than his record implies.

 

My take is that the Cooney who up until he faced Holmes would beat Floyd but the post Holmes Cooney , would get beat, like he did against Spinks .

 

The wise and savvy Floyd who outmaneuvered Chuvalo and pounded London's body savagely would be too fast for the slow Cooney, who was extremely deficient in physical strength.

The admittedly much smaller but also far more skilled Cooper likewise brought only a left hand to the table, and got utterly decimated. I expect Floyd to take this into deeper waters, where Gerry never won a stoppage beyond round six.

Logistically, Floyd's hit and run style from Chuvalo was sufficient to quickly wipe out the 6"3-1/2 210 pound Tod Herring and 6'4" Bill McMurray very quickly, suggesting that with his deadly gazelle hook, he could logistically reach the 6'6" inch Cooney's susceptible cranium.

Patterson's hook that decked Jerry Quarry was so lightning fast that the only way anybody knew he unloaded it was by JQ's reaction upon impact. Henry Cooper said his hands were faster than Ali's, and Sir 'Enry had just challenged Ali at his championship reign lightest (201 pounds).

Gerry has to connect. I think he'd be far too slow with shots that aim far too high. Nor does he have the defense to evade Floyd's lightning speed.

If Floyd does get decked, he always got up, due to immaculate conditioning and heart.

Cooney never beat anybody with speed, greatness or experience remotely resembling Patterson's at his post championship best. He's not drawing traps like Ingo (who went 1-2 with Patterson, getting counted out the last two times). Gerry has no surprises to offer, and not the physical strength to match his size. If former LHW Michael Spinks can do it, so can Floyd.

Slow tall big man target is the easy pick. Low lightning fast veteran who gets underneath everything will be underestimated by most everybody.

Floyd by later round KO.

 

I don't think it's impossible for Patterson to do what Spinks did, move, box and tear him up. When I play this fight out in my mind, they're two different classes of athlete. You gotta find him to hit him and Floyd could move, but Patterson also had a bad habit of squaring up (he was usually square) and planting his feet right in the danger zone. Patterson could smoke Cooney, but at some point during his exchanges Patterson could get too comfortable and eat a horrible shot that ends things. But Floyd would be able to stick, move, and land his big leaping shots. If he connected, Cooney was definitely hittable and movable. Floyd KO.

Interesting fight. Kind of sick of all the Gerry Cooney discussions since he wasn't that relevant outside of building the lore of Holmes.

 

Then why didn't he go and hurt one of the other contenders of the era very badly?

 

Floyd Patterson was more skilled, more talented and had a wider range of abilities. And Needless to say he was leagues ahead of Cooney in accomplishments. It’s daunting however to think that Gerry would have six inches in height and about 35-40 lbs in weight over him. Not to mention a whole lot of power behind his shots. And let’s be honest. For as tough as Patterson was, his chin was very breakable…. To be clear, so was Cooney’s. But I think Cooney’s height and reach coupled with his superior power and tendency to start off fast would give him the head start he needed to hurt Floyd first. And that’s what I suspect this fight would come down to. This isn’t going to be a long drawn out boxing match where one guy wins a decision or maybe gets a late round cut stoppage. This is likely ending in the first two rounds and every indicator seems to be leaning in Cooney’s direction.

 

Are you saying that Cooney wouldn't stand a good chance of ko ing Floyd?

 

No but I think that it would be a rash man who bet on him heavily.

 

I'm just going by Cooney hit like a truck and Floyd didn't have the best of chin s.
Floyd proved him self more than Cooney, he was a lot better fighter, but I don't like this match up for him.

 

If we were managing Patterson, I would be "yeah I agree, let's give this Cooney guy a swerve."

However although Floyd did not have the best chin, top notch power was no guarantee of success against him, as Johansen found out.

 

Prime Cooney by tko

 

I don't think this is a straightforward assignment for Cooney.

Patterson has some serious skills, but it's a tightrope walk for him, nonetheless.

I'd favor Cooney based on his size-advantage and that killer left hand, but victory in this fight is not beyond the reach of Patterson. It could be quite the intriguing match.

 

The fight of if's...

If Cooney gets him.....in he doesn't.....