Not the first time this topic has been done but I figured since both Cooney and Ruddock are circulating on here right now I figured why not. I myself like Cooney to win by KO but the opposite could certainly happen
I like Ruddock here. I think Cooney drops Ruddock but Ruddock rebounds and lands some serious leather and smashes Cooney within 6 rounds. Both guys at their best and it's major fireworks. S L U G F E S T at it's finest. Incidentally, this is one of my favorite dream match ups of 80's heavyweights. Others being Ruddock-Bruno, Cooney-Bruno, Cooney-Morrison(90's) and Bruno-Bruno.
I think Ruddock would be too durable for Cooney. he was a powerful hitter, but did not pack the kind of KO power that Lewis or even Tommy Morrison had, so I think Ruddock takes him into deep waters and scores an ugly TKO late
Not sure I agree on the Lewis and Morrison comparison. He was about their level punching wise...Lewis was just a better fighter (I have to admit I'm not sure how Ruddock lost against Morrison, that fight surprised me a lot).
yeah I actually rewatched the KO after posting it....for some reason I remembered the knockdown more, it was a one punch hook, but ruddock survived that, Morrison was peppering him with shots on the rope when the ref waived it off but for some reason I had remembered it as a clean KO punch
It is extremely close in terms of power but I m thinking that Ruddock showed more grit in fights. If he goes down he'll try and climb back up, not sure if Cooney would if severely hurt. Anyway I'll go for Ruddock in around 6 after been Kd at least once himself.
I believe that Razor Ruddock kayos Gerry Cooney. Not to be sarcastic, but Ruddock might be a bit too young for Gerry, as Cooney had never engaged with the more younger proven heavyweights of his era, the Tim Witherspoon's and the Greg Page's, just older rest home residents like Ken Norton and Jimmy Young. Ruddock has faced the likes of Mike Tyson, even though he was soundly beaten. Razor is much too durable, and a better balanced skilled fighter. Ruddock stops Cooney late in the contest, TKO 10. Gerry is a likeable fellow but he appears better suited for maybe basketball, it would help with his balance issues. Imagine what a peak 1988 Mike Tyson would have done to a 1982 Gerry Cooney, quick knockout for Mike.
Maybe not. But the same could be said in reverse. Both men built their resumes on aged opposition and both men failed at the highest level. Difference is that one of Ruddock’s aged foes ( James Smith ) almost knocked him out early in their meeting. Mind you Smith was 36 years of age, off for more than a year, a career high weight and hadn’t won a fight in nearly three years. Ruddock regularly had the tendency to get in trouble early as we saw against Lewis, Tyson and old Smith. I won’t count the Morrison fight given that Donovan was aged and hadn’t been very active in the years going into that match. Therefore I’ll give him a pass which is more than people give Cooney for his losses to spinks and foreman and under similar circumstances.... Ruddock was a slow starter and Cooney a fast one. Both had tremendous power. Cooney had more height and reach while Donovan would have been stronger in the clinches and had a slightly better chin. I don’t see this as being a given one way or the other.
Ruddock lost to Morrison so anything is possible. I don’t think Ruddock could have gone 13 rounds outside in the heat with Holmes either. Would be a damn fun fight to watch for sure.
I lean towards Ruddock for the fact that he showed more grit/survival skills and ability to come back when hurt. Cooney did manage to come back nicely after the 2nd round KD against Holmes, but Holmes fought pretty cautiously after dropping Cooney. He was taken out pretty quickly after being in his fights after that. Ruddock at least came back to beat Bonecrusher, and managed to last the distance with one of the greatest finishers ever in the Tyson rematch despite suffering a broken jaw, broken rib, and being dropped twice. His smash was also pretty quick, he might beat Cooney to the punch, having faster hands. I wouldn’t confidently pick Ruddock but I would just lean towards him slightly because of that.
After Ruddock became enamoured with "the smash" he inched forward with his left arm cocked, his weight over his left leg. You can, I guess, rip off a left hook from that position but may whatever gods you worship have mercy on you if the other guy has a good left hook too.
