If Cooney had beaten Holmes, who does he fight next?

Very good question. Cooney probably gets $15 million or more, in that initial defense.

I sure don't think they match him tough and would be looking for a face first or at least easy to reach type guy and obviously a guy that did not show good form in their recent bouts. John Tate fit that criteria but I think they don't want to take that big of a chance.

How about a Knoetze coming out of retirement? You had Shavers still around & was a name that could sell, but dangerous. Mercado maybe. Ledoux? Saad Muhammad moving up in weight?

 

With the money involved surely it would have been Holmes again.

 

Possibly Tex Cobb in an all white brawl. It wouldn't have been a Page, Dokes, Berbick or such. They would have gone a very basic defence then chased bigger money next outing, maybe a Holmes rematch depending on scenario's.

 

A Holmes rematch would have had the biggest appeal. I go with the consensus that his first defense would be a relatively easy one. Gerrie Coetzee,maybe. Or a unification bout with then WBA champ,Mike Weaver.

 

Absolutely this.

 

I'd go that way if I was their management. Tex Cobb was no threat to Cooney: he didn't have the punch to hurt Gerry or the skill to win rounds against him.

 

holmes in a rematch and he would lose by a knockout in 9.

 

Well one thing's for certain, Cooney's camp did NOT like Tim Witherspoon, after Tim had bloodied Cooney's nose in sparrring. So that fight was most likely never going to happen. My guess is that he would have taken an easy match with a second rater before getting back in the ring with Holmes for a rematch.

 

i wouldn't doubt for one min that they would have took the low road and put him in there with ali ..

 

Possibly Holmes, Cobb, or maybe a Snipes.Dokes would've been the #1, but I don't think Cooney was in a rush to fight him or Greg Page.

 

While I'm not claiming that Cooney would have had a Marcianoesque career path of defending the title at every mandatory that came up the pike, I think some are too quick to writing him off as a man who would have avoided challengers. In 1981, Cooney wanted Mike Weaver, but Bob Arum talked the WBA into letting Hercules defend the belt against James Tillis. In the meantime, Don King was keeping all of the division's best fighters away from Gerry. Therefore, I think most people are deceived into thinking that he was a man who took the easy path rather than to take worthy challenges from good fighters, and I don't think that's the case. Had he beaten Holmes, his confidence as well as that of his managers would have been magnified, as would their interest in getting him the best paying fights possible. Don King would no longer be in a position to hold back big named opponents.. My guess is that a rematch with Larry Holmes and possibly a unification with Dokes would have been the next two bouts... The only hesitation I have, is Tim Witherspoon, given that he was a high risk - low reward opponent, and Cooney's people did not like how Gerry looked in sparring against him, but I could be wrong.

 

The WBA demanded Weaver fight Tillis as Tillis was the numero uno contender at the date he was supposed to sign for his mandatory. Weaver - Cooney was actually signed. Tillis was offered $1 000 000 step aside money and told em to stick it basically.

 

Next we can talk about who Tex Cobb would have fought if he had beaten Holmes.