Gerry Cooney vs the Heavyweight champs.

even sharkey? A very good fighter in his prime. Sharkey would salivate at fighting this gutless bum. Give me a break. Sharkey was called the perfect fighter from the head on down once.

 

...Who destroyed everyone he ever fought who is not in the hall-of-fame; and two (Lyle, Norton) who are.

 

Did you happen to catch the Lyle fight before that against Ball? Were yoyu still picking Ronnie to win it? His ko victories over opponents was long since gone.

Same for Norton. Did you see the 10th round of the Ledoux fight by chance? Just what heavy would you be picking Kenny over at that stage of the game?

 

Norton had just beaten a young, undefeated Tex Cobb, 6 months previously.

 

Well he did stop Jimmy Young one of only two people to do so (shavers) and Young was in terrific shape and would win comeback fighter of the year the following year.
Cooney also went 13 hard fought competitive rounds with a peak all time great in Holmes.
Sure Norton and Lyle were over the hill but two first round ko's is still an impressive feat.
Truth is Cooney was decent and on a roll going into the Holmes fight. His management clearly wanted to make a name for him by beating great fighters well past their peak, they offered Ali over a million dollars to come out of retirement for a fight he wisely declined. They were hurting his development by not fighting young live bodies, their goal was to cash out but Cooney of 79-82 was a dangerous man. After that he ruined himself, he has also been on the record saying Don King froze him out of fighting the contenders of the era being that Don had a monopoly on the divsion and Cooney refused to sign with him. This could very well be true. It was a wise choice not to sign, as most King fighters end up destitute while, Cooney retired comfortably.

 

Excellent post! Going by what we saw of Gerry Cooney, I would have to say that he would at least have a puncher's chance against any of the champions. His size and deadly left hook would more than make up for some other deficiencies. That said, I would pick most heavyweight champions over him. Most of them were far more seasoned and experienced enough to negate his left hook and take him into deep water. I would pick him over Leon Spinks and maybe Tommy Burns (due to size) with a few others as toss-ups. But if he had been developed properly - gaining experience against various styles and types of fighters, being able to go the distance, developing the right hand, and equally important, confidence, he could have been a champion and maybe a great one. But there's that word "IF" again ....

 

OMG.. this guy is so overrated.

 

Yeah but just barely and lets be honest Tex Cobb was no great fighter. Ken Norton in his hayday was very good but by the time Cooney caught him his best days were far passed.

 

If it weren't for the cut, Young would have beaten Cooney.

 

He may have lost heart but the $10mill he got for Holmes sure took the sting outta getting beat. I think it was a bit of both tbh.

 

His flush left hook wasnt enough to KO Foreman. Although both were over the hill at that time.

 

Good reply. I have nothing to add really.

He'd have a good chance of winning vs.

Tate, Weaver, Coetzee, Page, Tubbs, Smith, and Berbick among others.

 

Lyle's not a Hall Of Famer, neither is Young... but at one time they were both very good, not when Cooney beat them though.

Yes, Norton is a Hall of Famer but he went 0-3 in HW World Title fights despite being the WBC HW champ for a few months. A lot of people don't think he belongs.

Norton and Lyle were washed up when they faced Cooney, extremely washed up! Young was definitely past prime.

3 Hall of Famers beat Cooney... Holmes, M. Spinks, and Foreman.

Cooney gave Holmes a few tough rounds before being stopped in the 13th round. Holmes claims he could have stopped Cooney any time after the 4th round, but wanted to punish him. Who really knows?

 

If Tate takes him in deep water, Gerry's in trouble.

I could see him decisioning Smith and kayoing Tubbs and Berbick.

He could probably kayo Weaver early, possibly Coetzee too, but the same scenario as with Tate.

Page had a top notch chin, and, if out of shape, loses to Cooney by decsion, but if 228 and under, Page would kayo and stop him from mid-rounds on, something Jones and Rappaport knew, which is why they avoided Page and Dokes.

 

ive seen cooney workout and box agree 100 percent here