I have no doubt that Usyk eventually stops Cooney, but could Cooney have made a fight out of it? He’s a very good body puncher and has a pretty underrated right hand. He’s got fast hands and has hurt some sturdy chins like Foreman and Holmes in his fights with them.
Cooney was competitive against everyone not named George Foreman. and even in that fight he gave Foreman a good punch in round one. Usik is not Foreman. Usik would still win, however.
Competitive? Probably. I see it going the distance and Usyk winning something like 9-3 or 10-2 but some of the rounds being close with Usyk just about nicking it. Ultimately, Cooney's only major shot at winning is to land a liver left hook that southpaws are vulnerable too. But Usyk is a consumate pro and i am sure he will do his homework and avoid the big left hook to liver somehow. Usyk UD 12, 9-3, and yes, Usyk will have to survive some thunderous body shots but Cooney lacks the right hand that he needs to win this fight. A great left hook will bother Usyk but it won't be enough.
I think it would play out similar to the second Dubois fight. Once Cooney tries to look for the KO after getting frustrated, he will get badly countered.
I was sort of thinking the same thing. That version of Cooney was very good and highly motivated although I would still favor Usyk - but not by much. Cooney at one point really hurt Holmes to the body and he could do the same thing to Usyk.
I wouldn't associate those words with joshua at the top level, otherwise every single world champion is excellent. Dubois made him look like an amateur. It was certainly an excellent experience to watch a prime joshua get ragdolled again and brutally knocked out