An old Jimmy Young was giving Cooney some problems before he was cut. How would a 1977 version of Young fare ? Imo,Jimmy would avoid most of Gerry's always dangerous punches,and stand up to the few that would land,on the way to a comfortable unanimous decision.
trouble style for Young because Jimmy was not a puncher and Gerry had size and power but was frail....I dont think Jimmy had enough to hurt Gerry, Gerry had decent stamina and Young would be on the defensive and when he did open up would be suseptable to the Hook, Jab and uppercuts of Gerry...Gerry UD 10 or TKO
My first inclination is Young, given that he boxed reasonably well when past his prime before suffering a cut against Gerry. The big question is though, how far past it was young in 1980? I think he was maybe 31 years old and in between small winning streaks. We also have to consider that Cooney was the largest man he ever fought, and probably possesed better boxing skills than the other big punchers that he faced in Foreman or Shavers. I still think that Young takes a close decision, but he'd have to be on his toes all night to do.
Very tough style for Young. Cooney, limited as he was, showed a lot of ability against Holmes at (a) cutting off the ring and (b) using his height to land to the body without exposing himself. While Gerry was no stylist, he was good at staying balanced and in position due to his plodding but methodical style. I don't think any boxer has an easy time with a prime Cooney. However, Young in his prime had about as much pure skill as any heavyweight ever and feasted on punchers. Young's main worry should be that he doesn't do enough to win rounds, though Cooney wasn't exactly a relentless workhorse either. It's a tough pick, but I'd say Cooney's harder punching, greater effective aggression, brutal body-punching and far greater will-to-win would secure this fight on a close points decision.
Yount probably outboxes him. Even at his age, young was still able to take everything cooney was able to offer. and young has pretty fast hands and is smart enough to avoid that cooney left hook. I believe that counter right hand may be able to floor cooney, who really wasn't that durable. young UD or late stoppage.
I don't think we should draw that many conclusions from the match they actually did have, not just because Jimmy was past it, but also due to the fact that Gerry reached his prime as a result of getting their match under his belt. Cooney stated that Young was a phenomenal learning experience for him. Until the cut, it looked like their match was going Jimmy's way. But part of that was a consequence of certain errors Gerry was making, mistakes not to be repeated. In a rematch, Cooney would have utilized his hook to the body more, and I believe it's safe to assume that Gerry, post Young, likewise does this with a prime Jimmy. In addition to his defensive mastery, Jimmy was tough as nails, and he showed with Cooney that he could take those hooks downstairs which later folded up Lyle in one. Norton had the right idea though, going to the body for points scoring purposes. Gerry dug his right to the body very well, although he could look awkward launching it at the head. (Despite this, it does bear acknowledgment that a Cooney right was the first shot which stunned Norton, and of course it was a long right which tore open Young's face. Victor Valle did a good job helping Gerry develop that weapon.) My guess is that Jimmy wins a prime for prime UD, but a smarter Cooney than the one who actually beat him on cuts could certainly upset that presumption.
COONEY! Both guys were ONLY "8" yrs apart in age........... Young was 32 in 1980, while Cooney was age 24....... Young was not really an old fart just yet.......... But Young became a lazy slob who liked Hostess cup-cakes & ding-dong's........ Had Young been serious in 1980, he'd have done much better.......... His shape was poor in 1980........... MR.BILL:admin:bbb:yep
Young would win his usual decision and have the intelligensia all agog over his negative cleverness as per his fights with Foreman and Lyle.
