Earnie Shavers vs Gerry Cooney in august of 1980 - who would have won?

Shavers was through by 1980.If his fight with Cobb is any indication Cooney would have knocked him out.

 

Cobb would have beaten Cooney too, IMO.

 

I don't think Cooney would have just walked over and started thowing like he did against Norton.

Probably boxed a little, then opened up about round 4.

Cooney in 5.

 

Cooney would have been a very bad matchup for Shavers in the early 80's. Gerry was known for starting off quickley and dusting men early, especially when he knew he was dealing with an aging fighter who was on his last legs. Shavers had trouble when guys got to him early on, as we saw years earlier against Quarry, and this was arguably a better version of Shavers than the one who fought Cobb in 1980.

Cooney by early KO or stoppage.

 

both were unimpressive when they stepped up in competiton. Shavers was tougher, I'll give him edge there.

 

I think Cooney's chin is as vulnerable as Shavers', so it could be an early KO either way.

 

Cooney by first round ko.

 

I don't know, but it is definitely a possibility, since I don't see Cooney stopping him.:yep

 

I think so too. The fact that he was pretty much shielded from top opposition (except for old name fighters) hid this a bit, i think. It should be said though, that Cooney seemed to have no trouble destroying inferior opposition, whereas Shavers lost here and there.

 

On the subject of him being shielded from top name fighters, it's significant here that it was COONEY who pulled out of a fight with Shavers.

Cooney pulled out of so many fights that it kept the Gerry Cooney jokes flowing in boxing magazines for most of the 80s.
His managers turned down about every offer from a contender to fight him, and rejected all the initial names put forward as suitable main event opponentz by TV networks.

 

That means he probably ducked Dokes and Pages, and maybe Tillis as well.

 

Yes.
He never beat a genuine contender.

He cancelled more fights with guys who were actually good.... .... and then managed to avoid getting "injured" most often when it was a fringe fighter, has-been or bum being lined up !

 

Edge to Cooney here. Height, reach, damn good jab, and at that point he was still able to take a decent shot (witness some hellashious shots from Holmes) and still had that leverage that cracked ribs with the left hook. No doubt Earnie could crack, but I think seeing a 6'6" Cooney coming towards him behind that long jab would be a nightmare for Earnie.

 

I think it would depend on the number of rounds the fight was scheduled for. If it were a 12 round match for say some sort of regional belt or a title elimination match, then Cobb might have a chance of stopping him late. In either an 8 or 10 round match, however Cooney would likely have my vote. Earnie Shavers at the end of his career and with no real record of long term stamina went into the eight round against Cobb and was leading on some of the scorecards prior to the stoppage. A shot Ken Norton took him 10 rounds too, and managed to squeak out a win. Cooney at 25 years of age arguabley had more stamina, durability and a better offensive arsenal than either of these men. He also took a pretty horrific beating from Holmes which extended into the 13th round. A lot of people view Cooney as a bull of a puncher who did all of his work in the first couple rounds, but many forget that he was actually a pretty good boxer as well-something that Cobb really wasn't.