What the hell? He couldn't beat the old version. In all fairness, Cooney had probably lost more than Foreman due to cocaine and booze, and even as brief as their fight was, Foreman has sometimes said that Cooney hit him the second hardest after Lyle, so a primes fight would be great, but it would have a similar result.
If we’re taking a prime foreman then presumably we’re also looking at a prime Cooney. If Gerry boxes intelligently which he sometimes did, the fight may last longer than some think and George may get rocked along the way. In the end I don’t think Gerry had the durability needed to outlast Foreman unless he got lucky and somehow stopped George early
It’s not impossible, is the best I can say. If Cooney roared out of his corner at the first bell & landed flush, he’d have Foreman in real trouble. Foreman did prove against Lyle though that he could take it something awful, & that was without match fitness to boot. In a hundred fights, Cooney would probably take at least a few wins. Not much more than that though. In every way almost, Foreman was his superior.
I like this. I can see Cooney lasting longer than a lot think, the Cooney that fought Holmes especially. Yes he would lose, more than likely by ko but he'd get his shots in.
Always liked Gerry’s performance against Jimmy Young. Fused his power in with very good boxing skills. A real pleasure to watch. That version might buy some more time but I feel that George’s first solid connections will see Gerry immediately on the one way slippery slope - similar to how Norton went out.
A prime George Foreman, let's say the night of Jan 22 1973 when he dethroned Champion Joe Frazier of his title would have come out swinging, Gerry Cooney did lack balance for his gangly frame. George with his thudding blows would have scored a knockdown right away, then smothered Gerry with an avalanche of wild swinging blows. Foreman by TKO 2.
Not much different to their actual bout in 1990 Cooney might have some success early on rocking Foreman with his big left hook. But then as soon as Foreman starts landing it will be curtains for Cooney. I see Foreman winning by KO within 3 rounds.
I guess the reason that I have a hard time envisioning a longer lasting fight is that George Foreman did not have the stamina to go deep into a bout, if it goes past five rounds, his opponent has a better chance to drag him deep into the waters, you do have to admit some of Gerry Cooney's big victories were over fighters that have seen better days.
Yes, his biggest win s were definitely over Lyle and Norton. But I think that Cooney, from the Holmes fight could hang in there and throw some leather, at least for a few rounds But he's not beating George unless he gets VERY LUCKY. lol
And that is a very a real possibility. In fact there’s a better chance of that happening than any other scenario. But the one caveat is that Gerry Cooney was also a very fast starter and also had punching power he could hurt George with. Not something I’d bet on but it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility either.
Let's remember that we have never seen prime Gerry Cooney in a fight with a very good rival. The greatest - Holmes, Spinks, Foreman came out after breaks that did not have a positive effect on his boxing. Besides, Holmes was never the same after that. Who would win, Foreman or Cooney? Still George because he had a better chin, more strength, hit the same and was just as big. But the fight could be more like Foreman-Lyle than Foreman-Frazier