Trevor Berbick vs Gerry Cooney

Berbick late tko or points

 

Yeah dude that would've been a better fight for sure. Cooney needed to test himself against the tough Berbick type fighters.

 

ok, I have to follow you

 

Follow me? To the lake...the ancient lake?

 

what, are you going fishing?

 

Gonna go with Berbick as the far more proven commodity. He was awkward, freakishly strong and durable, and actually beat young highly regarded contenders, like a unbeaten Greg Page, and later an unbeaten Pinklon Thomas, who was probably the #1 heavyweight in the world at the time. Whereas Cooney beat... a 40-something Ron Lyle, a near 40 Ken Norton, a Jimmy Young who was basically a trial horse by then.

This is the type of match Cooney's handlers would have avoided, lest it derail the Holmes superfight.

 

unfortunately yes. The honest way to build up to the Holmes fight would've been for Cooney to fight guys like Berbick, Spinks, Dokes, and Page, instead of watching him demolish some of our favorite 70s fighters who were long gone. Although Cooney was a great fighter, he didn't deserve the title shot. Larry should've been doing a unification match with Weaver (that would have been epic), or fighting Dokes or Page. At the very least Cooney could've taken on Tate, which probably wouldn't be a risky match for Cooney, but would still get him a Holmes fight.

 

What is your source for this Goo? I remember every man and their dog trying to get a fight with Cooney when he started to become a name. His team wouldn't fight anyone with a pulse.

 

It actually went both ways. You had some fighters who wanted to fight Cooney for the payday he brought like Weaver, Tillis, Spinks and Snipes. You also had guys like Dokes and Page who weren’t too enthusiastic about getting in the ring with Cooney. After Cooney savagely KOed Norton both Arum and King questioned putting their contenders in with Cooney. Which is why it essentially became Holmes or nothing by the end of 1981. On the flip side you also had the Wacko Twins wanting Gerry to fight soft touches like Bugner or Tate or Cobb. Cooney was unfortunately very babied and coddled and it is one reason for his downfall. He was never developed properly. From 1980 onwards up to the Holmes fight they could barely find anyone to spar with Cooney because he would hurt so many people even with the huge gloves. They were forced to use Cruiserweights and old trial horses like Bugner and Walter Santemore because nobody else wanted to do it.

 

I would pick Cooney because that hook could hurt anyone who was there to hit, but Berbick did have more accomplishment, and I really can't justify it in any way.

 

As i posted previously Madison Square Garden made an official offer to Cooney's mob to fight Page while he was waiting for the winner of Weaver - Tillis.

You are dead right Cooney was babied and didn't develop to where he could have. This is of course assuming he passed bigger tests.

 

An Ayahuasca ceremony. Ready to meet your creator?

 

All those 80s heavies took fights that were as tough or tougher than Cooney (and lower paying as well), so I find it hard to believe he was being actively avoided by them. His team trying to schedule fights with remnants of the 70s like Bugner and Shavers shows the level of opponent they were aiming for.

More likely, once Cooney got into a position where he could cash in against Holmes, they didn't want him in the ring with anyone who might derail him. They even called off a planned exhibition against Bugner.

 

Pure garbage & historically & factually wrong.