Interestingly Gerry was only 26 YO when this fight happened ,in the HW game today he would not be expected to be at his peak for another 5/8 years! When you look back at the fight Cooney was a reasonable fighter.
This is a better breakdown: Cooney pickers: Everyone who hated Holmes. Holmes pickers: Everyone else.
A lot of the folks picking Cooney were going with punching power/youth/Holmes getting tagged by Snipes. People saw that knockdown against a guy like Snipes at the time--and nobody on the planet was picking Renaldo in that one--as a sign he was deteriorating and sliding down the ladder. And easier to hit than he was in the past. They saw Cooney as a threat and figured he'd bomb Holmes out the way Larry got starched by Wells. And don't most boxing fans evaluate punching power as the be all and end all of most fights? But it was the same then as it is now with the casual boxing fans siding with the popularity factor of one guy over the other. Kind of like the recent DLH==Pacquiao fight where casual fans were fortunate to have seen 2 or 3 of Manny's fights. So guess who they pick to win the fight? But they were aware of the other guy's popularity so they go with that. And make no mistake, Cooney was a very popular guy going into that bout & it's a matter of public perception.
I saw this fight on-screen at the felt forum. 50 bucks for a ticket if I remember right Anyway, my 2 cents worth- Early in the fight, Cooney was knocked down and looked like he wanted to run out of the ring. He settled down a bit though and actually had a very good round, the 10th I think. Although he made money with the "wacko twins", I think he was badly mis-managed. Experience-wise, He was a good 4 or 5 rights away from title shot. He always looked awkward to me, like his legs were too long or something, But he had some serious power. Victor Valle was a gentleman, and loved the kid, but I wonder what Clancy could have done with him early. Also I'm almost certain, that he was a natural south paw but boxed righty. He seems a nice guy, and he's doing some good work now (f.i.s.t.) I think. All in all, I think he had the tools, (not sure about the desire), if handled really professionally, to have had a more impressive career than he had. Today? Cooney vs. Klitschko?? hmmm.
Here's the definitive answer (well maybe not :roll I was there, 28 years old, a boxing fan since 60-61 thanks to my Dad. I (we, my buddy and I) were so sure we bet $500 apiece on Larry. I've read the posts on Gerry's drug use, mis-management, etc..but IMHO, had Gerry been managed better, lose the drugs (whenever this happened?), and kept active prior to Larry he would have ALWAYS lost this fight in any scenerio. A better prepared Cooney may well have floored Holmes but woundn't have kept him there. As boxing fans we can easily see the true heart of a champion irregardless of any training or out of ring 'issues'. Larry had it, Gerry didn't. Simple as that. Cooney was mismanaged but good fighters with something under that left tit see that and adjust early, he didn't and basically got his arse handed to him by an ATG. The fight went down as it should have. Hall of Fame Larry ruled, Hall of Shame Gerry drooled...my $0.02
I was about 11 when this fight took place and I remember my dad wanting Cooney to win so bad from this fight on Cooney was known as a Yellow Belly Bum in my house according to my dad. ahh Good Times
When yo look at it in this context you have to ask what Cooney might have been able to do without these problems. Hell what could the whole era have been if cocaine was uninvented in the mid 70s?
Yeah, Cocaine messed up the 70's and crack destroyed the 80's. Many fighters from the 80's were also destroyed by drugs too.
Many people thought Gerry had a serious chance to win it. I felt that Holmes had too much skill, and experience, for Cooney to win.I remember seeing a certain elder gentleman at the closed circuit viewing for the fight, and he asked me who was I picking to win.I told him Larry, and he told me he felt Gerry was going to win.