Gerry Cooney is an all time great

THAT BA$****!

 

Great post! Boxers and trainers who do see boxing as a sport usually come out disillusioned/bitter as they learn more about the "business." Fighters "win" when they make as much money as they can and get out healthy.

 

But you have to agree that the press was hailing Gerry Cooney as the greatest fighter based on victories over well past their prime fighters in Ken Norton and Jimmy Young, how about the top contenders of his era? I am not sold on him, he got his behind beaten by Larry Holmes, who had fought the more proven heavyweights of his era. I know the real reason the press was pushing Cooney, but I do not think that I should comment, it could interpreted as being inappropriate. Cooney should have played basketball or football, he had the size. But all his management cared about was the almighty green, he was used. He reminds me of fictional character Toro Moreno of the 1956 motion picture, The Harder They Fall, starring Humphrey Bogard. The underworld puts Moreno in with tomato cans that he can beat, then fights a has been that had just fought the champion played by Max Baer Sr. Moreno finishes the job on that injured has been contender., he kills him in the ring. Next he fights the champion who gives him a horrible beating, even breaks his jaw and knocks him out. Sounds very similar to Cooney vs Holmes. Cooney's management were just money hungry. Boxing should be about the love of the sport and prestige, not shady management.

 

Nice sarcasm

 

Disagree but your opinion. Toro is your man.

 

We can see Gerry's entire resume (unless he makes a very late comback ).

The Gypsy King's resume is a work in progress.

 

Kenny was still somewhat viable, coming off a points win over Randall Cobb. He looked awful those last couple rounds vs. LeDoux but the Cobb win says he’s still a contender.

If Norton avoids Gerry he probably wins one more and gets a title shot (and likely gets stopped by Holmes this time) but he wasn’t a complete has-been like Lyle was when Gerry fought him.

Likewise, Jimmy Young still had something in the tank. I’m not sure this Jimmy is a much worse version than he was in some of his other fights. Still viable and a guy who can give anyone trouble — I don’t think the idea was that he takes Cooney to keep water and drowns him but he’s EXACTLY what people say Gerry needed: a veteran who could take him into the later rounds and make him solve a puzzle. It’s fantastic matchmaking, but Jimmy got busted open and it ended in four … otherwise I think he gets several rounds in and maybe goes the distance, and he was landing some effective counters.

Jimmy was in good shape weight-wise for Cooney, had beaten John L Gardner and would immediately after Gerry beat undefeated Canadian Gord Racette, Marvin Stinson and Jeff Sims, all pretty good scalps. He had shown the ability to extend and somewhat trouble Michael Dokes and would do the same with Greg Page. I’m not sure their resumes on the way up were much better than Cooney’s.

Cooney’s resume is fairly light on ‘live bodies’ but not completely. Eddie Lopez was a tough nut. Dino Dennis should have provided some rounds, same as Leroy Boone (soon after went the distance with Shavers and Snipes). I would have liked to have seen a Marty Monroe type somewhere on that resume but his ledger isn’t completely barren as it’s often portrayed.

 

Well good point but how many fights will Fury realistically have? Two? Three? Assuming Whyte/Charr (D level), Usyk (A++), and
Joshua (B), that's an ok but not great group of additions to his CV. Expecially as Usyk is going to humiliate him.

 

With all due respect, I realize the only reason that Gerry Cooney was pushed on the boxing public much like Jerry Quarry, but Quarry's management allowed him to fight quality rated contenders that were not on Social Security. Jerry was rewarded for fighting top contenders by getting a title shot at Joe Frazier on June 23 1969. And before that Quarry was invited into the WBA Tournament, Quarry then stopped top contender Thad Spencer on Feb 3 1968, Jerry lost to eventual champion Jimmy Ellis on April 27 1968, very close fight. Jerry was way gutsier than Gerry Cooney.

 

No doubt.

And Jerry ended up broke and broken, while Gerry ended up with a healthy bank account and his faculties.

Which is better?

Cooney showed well in his shot at Holmes. He didn’t look ill-prepared. If he had taken a tougher road maybe he would have been more prepared … and maybe he would have lost to some guys and never gotten a title shot, or been paid more on par with what Cobb made.

I can’t fault the matchmaking in trying to get him some ‘veteran rounds’ with Young — nobody else gets criticized for fighting Jimmy, even though he was older when he was there to be that veteran opponent type for others. Lyle, no doubt, had nothing left to offer.

Norton would have been considered a good win for a lot of guys at that time — WBA, WBC and Ring all ranked him in the top 10. That had little to do with Kenny being shot IMO … it had everything to do with Kenny facing a big, hard puncher who could put him on his back foot and get him on the ropes or in a corner (see Shavers, Foreman). I honestly don’t think that result changes much no matter if it was a younger, fresher Norton … maybe he lands a few more jabs or something but he gets sparked out early.

He also had some fights that got canceled due to one thing or another — it was supposed to be Gerry vs. Earnie Shavers the night Cobb beat Earnie (injury to Cooney in training) and he was set to fight Mike Weaver but the WBA ordered Hercules to fight Quick Tillis instead. It happens.

I’d take tens of millions in my bank account over ‘well we thought this fight would be a good test to get you ready, sorry you got knocked out and don’t get your shot’ any day.

 

What people say about a fighter on a message board doesn't put food on the table or make them healthy. IMO, Cooney, Holmes, and Foreman are some of the fighters who did it right. They still have their mental and physical health, and are apparently financially set. They weren't involved in many "wars" in the ring. Cooney apparently had some substance abuse problems at one time, but he has cleaned up since, the other two never had problems as far as I know.

If a fighter is broke and in a nursing home at 40 years old, or walks around his home town with drinking and/or drug problems begging for money, whether he was considered brave by posters on a message board is probably not too important to his family. Cooney had a nice career in boxing and there is nothing about his boxing career that makes me question his courage. Fans, managers, and occasionally trainers are too brave when it comes to the health and well being of fighters.

 

Gerry Cooney's management reminded me of Pimps, he did all the work, they just collected the cash. Where is Gerry Cooney's pride? Is it all about money? What about pride and prestige? Someone should have called Adult Protective Services on Cooney for battering old as the hills Ken Norton and Jimmy Young. Larry Holmes won me an easy $20.00 the night he outclassed the pretender named Gerry Cooney. By the way a healthy bank account means nothing if you have no self pride.

 

Lack of guts for Gerry Cooney, Jerry Quarry had class, fought the top contenders. Cooney fought old bums.

 

A contender whose management made a huge purse for their fighter vs Holmes. The quality of his wins prior to Holmes is debatable but I think most would agree his management didn't get him enough fights with guys that would of prepared him better for Holmes (I would be interested in someone seeing where Lyle, Young, and Norton were ranked by the Ring at the time of their fights). His drug abuse, disappearance after Holmes, and questions about his competition are always going to go against him.

If he had regrouped after the Holmes fight, cleaned up and rededicated himself maybe he could of picked up a belt in the turbulent early 80s (he was what 26 when he fought Holmes?). Instead he fought sporadically until the Spinks loss.