anybody remember? what were the final odds my dad told me a story about my uncle betting and winning 2500 not sure how the odds were though he says he might have bet even up with someone which is an insane bet
If I remember correctly, I believe Cooney was a slight favorite. I don't remember the exact figures, but something on the order of 6-5.
Nah, Jim did his thing, arguably the greatest running back ever, don't think he ducked anyone, not his style.
This is why we need to be careful when talking about odds. Odds are set for the book to make money. They change depending on the action.
"fun"fact:If the ref hadn't deducted Cooney 3 points he would have been ahead on 2/3 judges their scorecards.
At the venue where I watched the closed-circuit broadcast, the fights in the parking lot after the fight we all went to see were at least as good.
I've only bet $500 on two fights in my life, Holmes-Cooney & Benitez-Duran. Fortunately I won both. We wanted the over-rated Cooney to be the favorite but our $500 only got us back $840, Larry being the odds on fav. And another thing, even if Gerry didn't get penalized for his nut-blows, the fight was Larry's thruout, he only boxed uncharacteristically cautious to avoid the big Cooney left hook. That was 'easy' money that night. Sidebar: look at Cooney after the fight. A really good effort and?....doesn't fight again for two! years. IMO? "Never has so little been done with so much talent"
Yes, I've always felt that Cooney had tremendous potential. We all knew he could punch before he faced Holmes, but against Holmes he demonstrated heart and gameness. Also, he hadn't fought in 13 months after his one-minute blowout of Ken Norton. For whatever reasons, he was not developed properly on his way to a title shot. His record contains a number of quick KOs over some real good fighters who were past it. In addition, he needed a few victories over good, tough fighters of varying styles who would extend him over the distance. That would have given him some much-needed confidence and seasoning before getting in with a fighter such as Larry Holmes. He may still have lost to Holmes, but had he used the Holmes fight as a springboard to getting the experience he needed, Cooney could have been a major force in heavyweight boxing for some years to come. In that scenario, I do not believe he would have lost to Michael Spinks, and a Cooney-Tyson title fight might have been one for the ages.
