Gerry Cooney - an analysis

I reckon Weaver was definitely a better fighter than Cooney. I'd favour him slightly in a fight at their best. 8-5 odds. Weaver's defense gives Cooney a chance, but i'm not sure Gerry had as much heart as some. He was praised for going as far as he did with Holmes, but let us be honest, this was a very cautious and well measured Holmes, an easier description would be over respectful. He did however give himself least chance of losing. If not for Holmes respect for his power he would have finished him earlier in the round he dropped him IMO.

 

If you saw, I responded to Zackman's post earlier in this thread. Weaver was already a proven warrior 10 times over by 1981. His efforts against a prime Holmes ( not the one who fought Cooney ), along with his wins over Tate, Coetzee, Tillis, Ledoux and a few others would have made him way too saavy for such an unseasoned Cooney. Gerry had never been beyond 8 rounds, while Mike had gone 15 on a few occasions. Also, Gerry never showed us that he could endure an onslaught from a great fighter with a good punch, while this was the hallmark of Hercules' career.

 

Yup, Weaver time!

 

One thing not mentioned yet was how short and crisp Cooney's hook was, particularly notable for such a big man. He didn't just rely on size and sheer power for that thing, he threw it really, really well.

Was he managed badly? I dunno, depends how you look at it. Maybe, just maybe, his wacky braintrust realized that he had a hell of a lot of limitations as a fighter and would never be a long-term fix for the heavyweight division. He'd never have beaten Holmes, and with respect to Johnthomas, I would favor him over Weaver. Weaver was a better fighter, but a pitifully slow starter, and Cooney was a house-a-fire for the first few stanzas. Horrible matchup for Weaver.

If the measure of management is to make your guy as much money as they can get (and it is) then I'd say his braintrust did just fine. In fact, they did a terrific job.

 

I have no problem with this Sal, but to fob off Weaver - Cooney as if it's a breeze and an easy title was ridiculous.

I do note your spot on premise that Weaver was a slow starter and that's why i give Cooney a chance. Surely even Weaver would realise he'd better come in warm and lathered tho. Unlike Dokes (who went outside his usual pattern in a great tactical move to jump on Weaver knowing he didn't warm up properly) Cooney's fast start would not be unexpected. Weaver came in lathered in Dokes II and after taking a couple rumbled right on back.

 

he had skills but was all left hook a bit like trinidad in that if you stop his left hook he falls apart cooney had amazing power and speed for his size and was unfairly but as the great white hope...what a dickheaded thing to say. by then he was a hype job and was fighting anyone who could be beat.

his left hook was truly amazing but he was so damn stiff. also his left hook was learned while on a bag thats why he fires it so low. if you throw a punch at a bag you throw it low it's natural it gains power but he becmae a body puncher which is purely bizaar for a 6'6 man mountain.

 

Actually I thought Weaver started fast the first time against Dokes. It looked like they both wanted to slug from the opening bell. The result, rightly or wrongly, was a quick and controversial win for Dokes. But it doesn't look like an ambush on a slow starter, looks like both men were starting fast.
Just my opinion.

 

You said best, "Cooney was too nice a guy for this business". That an Valle did what I consider a poor job of training and developing him. I remember after the first round in the Holmes fight, Valle tells Cooney in the corner "don't get crazy with this guy". WTF. Getting crazy and going for broke was his best chance to win.

 

Weaver was dry in the first fight with was common with him, in the second he was lathered as he should have been.Tho he tried to go with Dokes in the first he was cold and not as effective as he should have been.

 

That the thing about Mike Weaver.There were several contenders around 81-82 who could've beaten him and at the same time, he could beat them.

 

Some Thoughts:

I believe Cooney should have fought Weaver for the WBA belt and THEN Holmes. I think Cooney could have beaten Weaver.

Rappaport and Jones cashed Cooney out, they were afraid he was going to lose to someone if he stepped up before fighting Holmes so they took the money.

Valle had a TERRIBLE gameplan for Cooney and Cooney has said in interviews that if he could do it all over again he would swarm Holmes and try to get him out of there in the first 6 rounds or so instead of pacing himself to go the distance.

I watched the fight recently and Cooney held a better account of himself than many give him credit for.

The bottom line is Cooney was poorly managed and had a second rate trainer that did not develop him correctly, but in my opinion Cooney would have never beaten Holmes but had he been better prepared the fight would have been much closer. I do not think Valle, Rappaport, and Jones had much confidence in Gerry they used him as a 'product' to make a ridicoulous amount of money at the time for a fighter as a challenger.

 

and another thing, after the fight was there ever a discussion of a rematch between them? I know Gerry pretty much dropped off the face of the earth after the fight.

 

Cooney was 99% hype, completely overrated, and still is to some extent.

He wasn't even deserving of a place in the top 5 heavyweights in the world, ever, even at his peak (1980-81), despite what the media thought (and that includes the boxing establishment).

He punched hard and he was white, that's it.

 

I would say that the crucial difference between Cooney and Grant is that in Cooneys case there was something to work with in the first place if he was managed properly.

A safely managed fighter is not necisarily a well managed fighter, often far from it. George Foremans managment sent him into a title fight never having gone past ten rounds. While it gave him an easy ride to the top it planted the seeds of his destruction when he was put in with a challenger who really made tested him hard over the distence. Cooney was similarly over protected and then thrown to the wolves without the necesary experience.