the knockdown was good. but Weaver is recovering. & guarding when stopped. Dokes faster hands & more punches than Cooney. & is better fighter. superior complete. replace Dokes with Cooney & Weaver probable sees a hook coming. Coetzee was hard hitter. Tate was hard hitter. knocked out or stop better primer boxers than Cooney ever has. & both better boxer than Cooney. & lay it on Weaver also early. & not win early. this is why it make sense to pick Weaver to win again. i can say it again..: Cooney reputation build on loss to Holmes (Weaver did fight Holmes even better!) & destroy corpse of Lyle & Norton. washed shot fighter with low resistance in range age well over 35! Lyle is at least 39! ... it is makes nonsense to for me to equate it doing same with some the best ranked accomplish fighters in era. Weaver age 28/29, Tate 25, Coetzee 25, Dokes 24. fights each other. & Cooney gets monster reputation fights with old washed relic ancient stiffs put Tate or Coetzee in with washed Lyle & Norton & is same results & means less without the hype.
Mike Weaver fits the age criteria for Gerry Cooney, he likes them very very old. Weaver also arrived with Noah, yep, he is ripe for good ol Gerry.
Firstly the stoppage in Weaver - Dokes was terrible. Weaver was a customary slow starter but sure learnt his lesson from the above. In the first fight he came in bone dry and vulnerable where as in the second he came in dripping sweat off his face and ready to rumble. He actually initiated and welcomed the blazing start in the rematch which was Dokes intention anyway. He got tagged early but this time came back and landed bombs of his own. Cooney was hurt early by Holmes and Weaver is a far harder puncher. Cooney also has the power to end Weaver and has some good pathways to both body and head with that hook. Either one could stop the other early, absolutely. You take that Weaver from Dokes II and he's gonna peg back. He has power in both wings. Weaver has beaten far better competition but Cooney has the sort of power that can win him the fight. Weaver takes a better punch for mine, absolutely. He showed this against the big right hands of Coetzee. I think Cooney was a bit chinny. some single right hands from Holmes really had him going. This is a crapshoot for mine. It won't go past 5 IMO and could be over even sooner - either way. The only way i see it going longer is if Cooney backs off early after tasting some leather and fights more like he did against Holmes. I don't get overly critical with Weaver's stoppage loss to Thomas, early gremlins against Williams and quickie loss to Bonecrusher because i'm not sure how badly that Tony Anthony king hit from behind affected his wiring. He'd already caught him a flush right hand as Weaver dropped his hands at the bell and then followed him knocking him off his feet with a sweeping hook as he returned to his corner totally unaware Anthony was chasing him. I don't doubt Anthony got confused but Weaver didn't even remember getting knocked off his feet. He thought later he could have gone on but i reckon the right decision was called regardless of Merchant. I absolutely think his chin was better than it looked against Thomas and co. Toss a coin. Completely understand the argument for Cooney but i think it's a reasonably open affair.
