Could Gerry Cooney’s Comeback Have Been Successful?

No. ruined by booze and cocaine.

 

That is the only option worth exploring.

 

Cooney's one issue was being sent straight for Holmes, and that wasn't even his fault. He had a good boxing background, he didn't want to be "The Great White Hope", and he was getting coddled by the guys managing him. No fight with Earnie, kicked Witherspoon out of his training camp, he could've had a lot more had he taken it slower.

 

no. he was done
even in his 1984 comeback he was low risk high reward.

looking for big $$ w/o facing good comp

Foreman was huge $$.

 

Woof. Maybe if Cooney was in his prime, he'd have a chance. But Briggs would likely get there first, and Cooney didn't have too much resilience to getting knocked around by big punchers- He didn't fight Shavers for a reason.

 

I think Victor Valle’s resume as a trainer over a long period of time >>>>> Kevin Rooney’s.

Kevin took a once-in-a-lifetime machine in Tyson to a title but did little else worth noting (Vinnie Paz, but he was already a proven commodity by the time Rooney hooked up with him). Victor trained world champs including Alfredo Escalera and Billy Costello and built them from the ground up.

 

Gerry's career trajectory should have taken a different turn after he beat Ken Norton. His management should have taken the next logical step which would have been to match him up with current contenders at the time - Berbick,Snipes,Leon Spinks,Page et al. Shame that WBA fight against Mike Weaver was cancelled as Gerry would have had a good chance. A fight with Larry Holmes could still have taken place in 1982/83 with Cooney doing better than he did but Holmes still wins in my opinion.

 

Foreman was the best option for him. It’s not like Douglas or Holyfield would’ve granted him a paycheck and he was flawed even at his best.

 

I agree that he could’ve done this though.

 

Then for Cooney's first defense, Real Deal shows 'em how real that Great White Hope is...

 

Cooney earned $10mil for that fight. That's $33mil in today's money as per google. You get offered $33mil, you take it. You don't turn down lifechanging money, period. For all his handlers hurt his legacy, they maximized his bank account. Kind of hard to say they did him wrong in a way.

 

Holyfield would slaughter Cooney at that point.