Is Gerry Cooneys power underrated or overrated ?

I think it might be underrated. Dude used to knock people out with body shots which is hard as hell to do

 

Cooney is a top five ATG puncher, not quite Shavers, Wilder, or Foreman level, but his hook was a notch above Tyson, Weaver, Tua, Frazier (tho his hook wasn't anywhere near as consistently accurate or fast as Frazier's and Tyson's imo).

 

When it comes to raw power he’s probably way up there.

 

Little doubt Cooney was a big big puncher.

I am however slightly sympathetic to those saying well it would have been nice to see it proven vs decent contenders.

 

I agree with all that, it is just that Cooney just did not look like he had limited muscle mass, his muscle tone did not seem great. Even without being fat.

If his head was screwed on straight, he at least should have learned to deploy his right hand much more often & effectively.
Just that-not that a better defense & learning how to clinch when hurt...
Would have made him a significantly better fighter.
Like many who had drug problems that decade, he never realized his potential.

 

If you want an idea of what it would have been like if Cooney had won ....look at Kelly Pavlik

 

I think it was very real but getting it to land against the top guys was different than the older guys he fought and the lesser quality guys. If he landed I think it was as good as anyone's great punch.

 

I'd never thought about it before but you're right. Cooney's body seemed to lack definition and muscle tone after the Holmes fight. He started looking soft. Good call

 

I believe you are right, Gerry Cooney lacked real balance, sort of clumsy when he tried to throw a left hook. Many experts back then were comparing him to Jerry Quarry. But Quarry fought stiffer competition his own age and Jerry was a good combination puncher.

 

I think Cooney's power is rated about right - no one says he wasn't a really powerful guy. He was. No one said his punches didn't hurt. They did. He was tall, long, powerful, and a tad bit of a better boxer than some might think - at least based on his performance with an all-time great like Holmes, with whom he was competitive. But I think his height, reach, power, and fact that he got into top shape for that fight - all helped make him competitive. All that said, he did not have the greatest defense or chin, not enough experience to beat a guy like Larry Holmes, so against a really fast guy like Holmes, who had a good defense, footwork, timing, sense of range, underrated power, and the experience and knowledge of how to pace himself and pick his punches, he was going to have problems. After that fight, he never was the same again, physically or mentally.