I'm going to make a rare prediction, but I selected Cooney by decision... Smith was pretty durable and could go the distance, but I don't see him necessarily beating Cooney who was as talented or more so than some of the guys who James lost to.. Boncrusher had more than enough power to leave Gerry on ***** street, but he wasn't always effective at landing at the right times.. Cooney was not always the wreckless charger that we saw against Lyle and Norton.. He was actually a pretty good boxer when he wanted to be, and had power in that jab of his to make Smith respect him...
I'm not too confident in Cooney's durability. Holmes had him badly, badly hurt very early in their fight before stamina/attrition had anything to do with it. Smith was pretty easy to outbox though and was outboxed by guys he shouldn't of been. Close one and I wouldn't be laying any money down.
Cooney by UD over Smith.Smith would hurt him a few times, and Gerry's left would stun James, but not due any major damage due to the fact Smith took a good punch.
Smith has no business not winning this one by easy knockout, but he had no business losing 20 out of 20 completed rounds to Bruno and Tyson either. Unlike James, Gerry didn't freeze up out of tightness, and had no trouble pulling the trigger, even against Young, who could sometimes send frustrated attackers into an offensive shell. Cooney takes this decision by punching, mainly with his overlooked jab, a quality tool in his arsenal.
I agree, While Smith had the size and power to stop the less durable Cooney, for some reason, I just don't see it happening. Marvis Frazier probably had a weaker set of whiskers than Cooney did, and far less size, yet he took a decision over a prime Smith. James was tough, but too limited in skill and mobility.. I wouldn't be surprised if he had Gerry rocked or even floored, but don't think that he had what it took to maintain the kind of sustained beating that it would take to finish him...
