@@liberty5069the truth is Holmes was a very envious man. He wanted to be not only the HW champ but the GOAT. He'll never be considered the GOAT. Watch the post fight Holmes Spinks I. Listen to what he said about Rocky Marciano...
Maybe the best fight of Cooney's career and he didn't come close to beating Holmes (in spite of the judges). Larry was a tremendous champion; one of the top three or four of all time. After the fight Cooney said "I want to fight more often." His career went off the rails with personal problems and it was two years before he would fight again. Glad to see he got it together in his personal life and is doing a lot of good.
Cosell cited the technicality of the Nevada state rule that the win was on a disqualification and not a technical knockout because Cooney's manager entered the ring. He was on his way to being rendered unconscious and seriously hurt by Larry Holmes. This was a TKO. Period.
Agreed. The judges didn’t do anything to enhance their reputations either with the round by round explanations in the aftermath. Another pet peeve. Truth is Cooney wasn’t in the same league with Larry.
The laughable scorecards put forth by Ford/Moretti, coupled with Cosell's lackluster rendering of the fight, obscured the masterful performance by Larry Holmes. Holmes followed the advice of two of boxing's greatest trainers (e.g., Eddie Futch and Ray Arcel) to a tee. For most of the fight, Holmes moved to his left, blocked Cooney's wide punches, and kept his elbows in when Cooney went to his body. Neither Ford nor Moretti nor Cosell seemed to see and/or acknowledge the effectiveness of the greatest jab in boxing history. There have been fighters with quicker or heavier jabs, but Holmes is the only fighter to use the jab as both a speed and power weapon. Larry's also demonstrated his adaptability by outslugging the slugger in the 10th round. The 10th round took everything out of the much younger Cooney, and Holmes then took Cooney apart in the final 3 rounds. By any measure, this Larry Holmes was one of the top 3 heavyweights of all-time.
@@landrewilkinson2919 Actually, prior to the Holmes fight, many people thought Cooney would be the best heavyweight of all time. And Holmes said himself that Cooney was the second best out there (next to Holmes himself).
Seems like everyone involved in this fight except for the boxers was on the "take." Promoter made it racial. Judges sucked balls. Cooney proved he was a legit contender and tough. Holmes proved he was one of the best champions with his all around ability. Cooney and Holmes are close friends now. Competition brings out the bad and the good. This fight had both.
I think Mills Lane did a great job as ref. He’d become a celebrity later with the Tyson fight when he bit Holyfield’s ear, but he had a great showing here.
Cooneys manager Dennis Rappaport was the main instigator in starting up the racial overtones leading up to the match. Don King was all too happy to go along with it, it meant more cash in their pockets.
Introducing Cooney second like a champ was so disrespectful to Larry Holmes. And as for the scoring that was just a joke!! Nice to see that the pair of them are actually good mates now
@@anitabingham279 to me when two people are fighting and people choose a side even based on race its not neccessarily racist. They are basically wearing the same jersey as you are. When black people support Floyd its not racisit. And for sure some support him because he is black. It was a first and rude introducing Holmes first but it gave Cooney no competitive edge. Infact it most likely fired Larry up. Also I would like to say that in my opinion Holmes might have been the best champion of all time. Watch some old sparring film of him and Ali when he was young and Ali was still pretty sharp. For Cooney to have given him one of his best fights, Holmes himself says that, shows he was no stumble bum the way people make out. Holmes suffered his entire carrer because he followed Ali. When he lost his title and the rematch to M. Spinks that was way worse. The boxing creeps in charge and the media treated the great Larry Holmes with disdain his entire carrer. I watched any fight He was in that I could back then. He was unreal and more dominate then I had ever witnessed myself.He was such a normal guy that he never got the notice for being one of the greatest if not the greatest athlete of all time. To disregard Cooney is disrespectful to Holmes. Dont forget that until Holmes Cooney was destroying everyone and put a Tyson type of fear in people. One of the best left hook, body and head, artists of all time.
@@markrobertson3015 When Americans claiming “America first” cheer Pacman to beat Floyd Its racist! When American flag wavers cheer Russians to beat Serena Williams Its racist. Norton was some sort of Champion but to introduce Cooney first is just another chapter in the racist history of the USA
Unfortunately his career was between the end of the golden age and his career was near it's end when a new great age came. He didn't have the competition during his career to give him all the deserved respect.
Cossel wanted so bad Cooney to win, he couldn't talk anymore at the end of the fight and was completly dejected. And in the dressing room, once again the same dumb question to discredit Holmes " Larry what do you think you have proved tonight" while Holmes was champion since 78. Larry managed to keep his cool while you can see the deep anger on his face. He fought all his career without any support. He had to have a great faith in his talent to keep fighting and winning all those years.
NO MATTER Who they think they are , it is crystal clear that we are the strongest in the Whole World . I shear your open opinion my DEAR brother . WE are the Indomintabl Lion
If Howard was a racist then how do you explain his close relationship with Muhammad Ali?. You obviously dont know much about the man because he was certainly not a racist.
@@tonyudogie8750 Feel better now!?? Now that you openly stated your racistic remark!?? You don't add value - but actually confirm your ignorance, and MINORITY COMPLEX (like so many of you guys suffer from)!! NB.... Influential people didn't like Holmes - cause he was competition for Ali (inter alias)... That's why they were kept appart Thus... Not because he was black - dummy.
Duane Ford shoulda been suspended from ever judging fights immediately after his scorecard was announced! Every semi close round he gave to the challenger. They tried their best to give this fight to Cooney by decision. It's like they he was watching an entirely different fight. Smh boxing is was and always will be corrupt as hell
1982 seems like a totally different world to 2022. I was 11 years old when this fight happened and I remember the racial animus surrounding it. Cooney was billed as the great white hope, can you imagine such a sentiment today?! Holmes was never given his due and no fight drew a bigger red circle around it than this one. Cooney was game but the fight was never really that close, I thought. 40 years later and these two are still friends, no matter how you saw the fight, that speaks volumes to me.
11 Ha Ha Ha!! I remember that fight like yesterday Cooney was supposed to clean Holmes clock 🕰. Cooney didn’t fight his fight. Tried to box Holmes he should have went in there to knock him out.
I was shocked as a young man watching it, Larry Holmes made it look so easy just peppering Cooney all night long with that beautiful jab!!! It wasn't even close!!!
I peppered him in Reno before the Bugner cancelled tune up to Holmes. On the plane home he sat by a friend of mine. Gave him a card to come spar with him. Said I was a punk. If I knew he couldn't take a shot I would kicked his rear.
Gerry "Below the Belt" Cooney's performance in this fight was one of the dirtiest I've ever seen. The judges Ford and Moretti should never have worked another bout again.
@@MichaelPember lol boring yeah. If you to to stop comparing him to Ali (Cause, Any fighter would look boring compared to Ali, and you know it's the truth ), you would notice that Larry is far form being boring, plus the fighter is great and classy, charisma or not.
@@jupiter-8405 the medias didn't help dude. Remember the fight vs witherspoon, the comentators were always praising Tim. They made bieleve that he has destroyed Holmes. Than ihave rewatched the fight without the sound to finally found out that he was way ahead on points. The worst is the fight vs cooney, all the americans, all the crowd in vegas were against Holmes, it was a disgrace. If larry wouldn't had stropped Cooney, Gerry was unfairly ahead on points, everthing was set up for Conney to be the next champion. i can totally understand his biterness with all that.
He could have finish him earlier in my opinion. He took too many risks to wait that long. He had Cooney in big trouble both in the 2nd and the 6th round, but held back.
@@emzid5105 Holmes did it his way..even tho I agree ..he should had gotten cooney out of there when he had him hurt each time..holmes was the one in the ring with cooney and once Holmes felt that cooney was weak enough to be tooken out ..he took him out..respect your opinion. .
@@princeblizzard8912 Thanks bro, like you said it's just my personal opinion. I wasn't in the ring, Larry was. Easy to say what should be done when you watch the fight on tv :)
Howard Cosell brought up the race issue and from his commentating you could tell witch he was for. Larry knew what he was fighting for and against. still one of my more satisfying fights of my life as a fan.....
Larry Holmes fue uno de los más grandes campeones mundiales de los pesos completos de toda la historia y debiera ser reconocido, un tremendo boxeador gran técnica, valiente, pegador y gran resistencia y recuperación, muy completo.
I remember going to our local arena watching this in b/w on a ppv. A couple of guys at work had a bet w/ me that Cooney would win. I dont' watch football baseball but i "knows" my boxing. I won 20.00 ea from those guys & collected that Monday morning !!!!!!!
The European observers of this fight including those two biased judges and Cossell were overwhelmed with wishful thinking. Crazy Cossell is saying Holmes has nothing left while he's demolishing Cooney. Shame of all time
After the fight, even Larry Holmes admitted that if Gerry had been fighting any other HW in the world active at that time for the title, he would have won it that night. He said Gerry had more heart, and a bit more power than people gave him credit for.
Gerry Cooney was an average fighter. nothing more nothing less. Michael Spinks showed that we he KO'd him. The only person Cooney beat was an old glass jaw Ken Norton.
Larry simply continually circled towards Jerry's right because Cooney was no threat with his right......Legendary Left, but probably one of the most one armed fighters in history......But that left gave him a nice career and some big KO wins. Almost seemed too nice for the fight game......Larry is so underrated in Boxing history.
Man, there were so much “ White Hype “ and”BS’ back then that they even introduced the champ first and then the challenger like he was the champ! LMAO!😂
Yes gotta snap your punches Not push them.larry had a funny build but he could punch with that right and his Jab he worked at it...And used it..great fighter
@@scorpio5165 remember this there not one jab like people think you got Alot of different Jabs or should have and I'll explain to you what I learned you can sting you can keep them back without stepping in you can bait them in with a lazy jab you can double triple jabs or more You can do alot with a jab you can win the whole fight with a Jab think about the different Jabs you fake it and hook off of it sets the rest up or keep them off you can blind them to land the power shots Ali was a great jabber when he worked at keeping it Sharp Vigil Hill had a great jab...It's worth working on it keep at it do rounds nothing but jabs fool them with that jab and learn to land it easy and hook and uppercut it can set everything up that jab Larry mastered it when you get tired you can rest on that jab and good luck Larry had little arms and little Legs but his speed and snapping his punches and That speed gave him a lot more power than most could get out of his body...Watch Frank Bruno against Tyson he had no power because he was too tight from lifting heavy weights he looked great but pushed his punches instead of snapping them watch him he couldn't keep Tyson back Mike walked Thur him and lifting heavy weights and Boxing is a no no...Light weights only in boxing God bless you keep snapping that Jab.
Exactly what you said whip is what you want Larry didn't look great in everything or on his toes but he had a nasty streak when he needed like against Berbick or Mercer watch him against Oliver McCall the old man show he is the Best of the best he could get off that canvas like no other but Ali Holmes took that punch from Shavers that when it landed it was over the hardest punch in Boxing history they say watch Holmes get up and he was a Great great Fighter it's hard to stay on top that long without being great he fooled many..Larry was Legendary
A great person and he beat up a sick Ali mercilessly just for the little money Ali wanted. Ali wouldn't have done that to him if roles were swaped... He could have easily win the Ali fight without that much beatings
@@ntl3352 ...He begged the referee to stop the fight. He idolized Ali. The ref wouldn't stop it. One of the sadder moments for boxing and, specifically, for Holmes and Ali. Holmes could have fought much harder and killed Ali (who was already showing signs of significant neurological impairment), but he didn't do that.
@Dr. Seuss he hit him with heavy punches. He could have just toyed with him as Ali would have done. Ali knew that very well which is the sad part. If you really loved a man and cared for him would you have continued pounding him because the referee didn't stop it? He should go away with his crocodile tears and fake love
@@ntl3352 ...Sometimes, as young men, we make dumb mistakes. Larry was a young man, still trying to make his name, when he fought his idol. His regret, as an old man, I'm sure is sincere (tears are real). The problem is, there are no time machines in life. You don't get do-overs. Once it's done, it's done forever. That's what I try to get younger people to understand. Don't just live in the moment. THINK in the moment.
If Cooney managed to land three punches without throwing a low blow he was given the round. And Howard describing the last round saying it was “sloppy” while Holmes lands blow after blow was laughable.
Sounds like your one of those people who made it a radical thing!Ur probably out looking for a great black hope....you better keep looking around because from the middle weights on up no black champs.Lol😂
IMO, if he hadn't lost to Michael Spinks, Holmes would be ranked the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. He's still ranked high up there but if he could have retired without losing a fight then he would have accomplished something only one other champion had ever done.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390 And yet the public didn't like him. He blamed Ali, however, he has no one to blame but himself. Always mean and bitter. A major turn off. Here is a fact. Holmes was champion for 7 years and only had 2 pay per view fights! Pathetic
@@elliottswinton3960 Holmes wasn't respected for many reasons. It's been said that during his reign as champion, the heavyweight division was weak. Of all his opponents, only three were top-caliber boxers - Ken Norton, Ernie Shavers and Mike Weaver. Also, he refused to fight Michael Dokes and Gerrie Coetzee, two champion boxers during the early 80s, both of whom were more than a match against Holmes. Having said that, he defended his belt against 19 opponents. That's more than any other champion after Joe Louis and throughout his career, only two boxers (Shavers and Mike Tyson) managed to knock him down. Very few boxers - and even fewer champions - in any division can match those records.
@@Smudgeroon74 The reason I heard is that since Holmes was the WBC and Coetzee was the WBA champion, both councils were requiring that the other guy renounce his belt and fight as the challenger while the champion they recognized would be billed as the defending champion. Neither boxer accepted that condition which is why the fight never occurred. I don't know how true this is. I'm sure there are other "conspiracy theories" out there also.
Sometimes, it can happen if the head and neck are pulled down at the same time a fighter attempts to throw a body shot in the liver area. In this fight, it looked like it was the case in the big low blow in the ninth round. Not so in other rounds. Fatigue also plays a factor in sloppy punching. It was nice to see a replay. It seemed a better fight than I remembered way back then.
Victor Valle saved his fighter from additional punishment and it was the correct decision. Larry Holmes is total domination. This is a brilliant performance for all time. I think it was Larry Merchant who said one fighter was a complete pro and one fighter was an incomplete pro.
Credit to Larry for winning his way, but would've loved to see Cooney vs Tyson. Iron Mike would've waded in under Cooneys 1-dimensional defence and blasted him apart within 2 rounds.
This was a polarizing fight to say the least. I was in sixth grade at the time and I clearly recall kids arguing on the bus divided by racial lines. Even as kids unfortunately we knew about that, and even worse we fought one another over something like a boxing match, and I don't mean fist fight I mean serious arguing.
I was 20 years old and yes I do remember it well being tremendously racially divided, it was so disrespectful how Larry Holmes was treated, how in the hell in a Championship fight, the fight announcer, annouces the champion first!!! And why would Ring magazine put Gerry Cooney the Challenger on the front page and Larry Holmes the Champion on the back page??? President Reagan requested a phone be put in Gerry Cooney's locker room so after Cooney wins the Championship the President would call to congratulate him, the fight judge's we're all white and had Cooney winning the fight, which even if you look at the fight from 40 years ago, Larry Holmes won all the rounds, he was literally pummeling Cooney thought out the fight with his jab, if Holmes wouldn't have knocked him out he would have lost the fight, which would have been bullshit!!!!
Larry was unfortunately the fighter who took Ali's title and the press and fans never forgave him for it. Larry was a true champion, fought anyone and everyone who came along. He wasn't media savoy and they treated him wrong, period. "Let's have a good fight , " Larry says to Cooney . Cooney knew the racist BS was wrong and couldn't even look at Larry. In the end it was Larry who proved who was the better man.
Forgave him? Why? He beat the hell out of Ali! Nothing to apologize for, Ali is to blame for signing a contract he knew he wouldn’t be able to cash with his mouth!
I saw the fight at a huge banquet hall in Tampa with a very amped up crowd. I remember those low blows, the racial tension palpable. Larry was treated poorly at times by the media and some terrible judging at times, not so much this fight.
I was one of Cooney's sparring partners for this and a few other previous fights. Great guy--and if anyone said he had no right hand, they never got hit with it. Honestly, he was soft psychologically. This was the fight that got inside his head and he waa never the same since.
My brother Larry and I watched this fight at the Dothan Civic Civic Center in Dothan AL. We were the only black people in the building and it was packed. Every time Holmes would land a punch we would make as much noise as we could for Holmes. But when they stopped the fight we went crazy. No one said a word to us but we really rubbed it in their faces. We both were good fighters so there was nothing to worry about LOL. Coach Dirk White
Two fine boxers - we don't see this kind of movement any longer and drive to win. One of my favorite fights to watch. They both have such great respect for each other.
Overrated Cooney! 🤮 Foreman DESTROYED him ✊ I’m glad Larry beat him as Gerry was a low blow throwing S.O.B.🤬 Larry very underrated! BEST Crisp jab ever✊ ( great heart too♥️👏and LOVED his family and didn’t care about Cosell or anyone talking shit! I’m now 58 and always respected Larry ⭐️✊👊
29:24 Today, we will be seeing this fight for whose moment of glory! Who thou shall take this land couragely! And Put our stamp of Victories to this Land!
I was 10 years old when this fight took place , and the level of disrespect shown by the white public and media towards Holmes would cause a full scale riot today. Disrespectfully , the introduced the champion Holmes first , which broke centuries of boxing tradition. Also , Cooney wasn’t even deserving of a title shot , because he was poorly matched and his ranking nor record was even close to what we would consider a serious contender at the time. And lastly , this was not to long ago as far as history goes and America claims that we are not a racist society… well I ask you how far have we come in race relations since this fight ?
I remember my middle school science teacher telling us about her and her husband watching the fight, at the Sunrise Highway movie theater in Long Island. They were the only Black folk, in the joint. They elect to sit in the back. Why the back? The back exit was right there, so when Holmes whipped Cooney, which he did, they could easily sneak out and laugh their asses all the way to their car, and get out....!
IMO, this fight failed to live up to all the hype. Holmes outclassed Cooney from the get go. If anything, this fight exposed just how overrated Cooney was. Cooney was great fighting aging heavyweights but when he came up against a top champion, he was completely out of his league.
@@Shovelhook You're absolutely right. Before Holmes, Cooney's fights seldom went more than five rounds because he usually knocked his opponents out in the first few rounds but as you said, when he faced a scientific boxer like Holmes, he was like a duck in a cockfight. Bottom line, Cooney was never as great as everyone believed he was and didn't deserve to be ranked number 1.
I think they used to call that "Spindly" "Gawky" or "gangly" I'd rather be 5'0" and have an "V" shaped athletic build than to be over 6' and look like Cooney.
I saw this fight when it happened. Great fight by both fighters. Cooney had one of the hardest left hooks in boxing history. I did not say the best I said the hardest. Let me tell you why Cooney lost this fight . His team would not him fight the top black fighters before he fought Holmes. Had they let Cooney fight those black fighters he may have had a chance to win that fight. The great Larry Holmes had been there before. If you remember Holmes and Ken Norton had a life and death fight back in 1988 or 89. Holmes pulled out the win. Holmes knew he could go 15 hard rounds, Cooney found out the hard way that he could not. Cooney was never the same after this fight. The judging was spot on I have no issues after watching it again. Boxing has always been a racist sport . Letting Cooney enter the ring last was a slap in the face to Larry Holmes. Larry Holmes top three heavy weights ever. Coach Dirk White.
Not just black fighters were avoided as Cooney should have fought Gerrie Coetzee too. Several contenders could have been a chance of putting a loss on Cooney's record coming up but in the long run he would have been better prepared when his title shot came.
Cooney had a perfect record leading up to the match with Holmes, I think Cooneys management didn't want to risk that record by having Cooney face some of the top ranked heavyweights of the time. Mike Weaver, Michael Dokes, Tim Witherspoon, Greg Page, all were capable of beating Cooney.
I don't think people give Cooney his due! I have seen him knock out a lot of fighters within the first four rounds-Norton, Lyle, Gregg, Young. I remember when Larry Holmes said that Marciano could not wear his jockstrap when asked about Marciano's 49-0 record. I don't think Holmes would have beaten Ali in his prime.
George Foreman said that Cooney hit harder than Joe Frazier. Incredible power. Holmes clearly had an iron chin, he took a lot of hard shots here off Cooney, including left hooks, and never looked badly hurt. I think Cooney was also a better fighter than some gave him credit for. I'd say here that it was fairly close on points, until Cooney got tired.
Ford/Moretti deep down wanted the "Great White Hope" to a "Great White Champion". Just like that guy at 1:00:56 at the bottom left hand corner slapping the canvas of the ring with anger.
Cooney was aggressive most of the fight, too bad about those numerous low blows. You know when a corner man tells his fighter to "rough him up", he only meant "hit him low". Cooney could have been disqualified for low blows but he wasn't. Anyway, the better boxer won.
Holmes best skill was his chin. His great chin enabled him to win his tough fights. Puches that cooney and shavers used to knockout other fighters, or hurt them causing them to cover up and fight defensive, had no impact on Holmes allowing his offensive skills to win the day
I can’t disagree with that. Holmes seemed like he was confident in his chin too. He took shots like Forman did sometimes. Bull wuz literally a real life Apollo Creed with no Rocky.
I only gave Cooney rounds 4 and 8 although the early rounds were very close. The judges disagreed with me on both fighters at times but I don't have a problem with their scoring. I just thought Larry landed cleaner mostly but no issue with the scoring seen by me. It was that close early on. I had bet on Cooney that night but was worried right away about that bet at the time. I realized how good Larry was that night.
This was actually Cooney's best fight of his entire career. Not that I agree with Ford and Moretti's judging. Gerry's win over Young was legit, as Jimmy was aging but fit, but toss out the dramatic wins over old men Lyle and Norton. Cooney had no other wins over name fighters, and no other quality performances, really.
You know what’s really an interesting bit of boxing trivia? George foreman has clearly stated, gerry cooney was the hardest puncher he has ever been hit by. He has stated this many times. G. Cooney was a legit top heavyweight , and the racial great white hope bullshit was a blight on him. Cooney was a top boxer, race has nothing to do with anything. I still made money on Holmes, but I was nervous.
In the ring, two fighters beat each other up for 13 rounds in a inhuman rage. Yet out of it, showed extreme humility and kindness for there family, people and friends.
Larry was one of a kind.He could KO you with his jab alone.I remember as a kid watching this fight with my dad.When Cooney went down Dad threw his beer and said "well dam it son there goes the last great white hope" lol.
The judge an Howard are drunk, that left by Jerry in the 8th was nothing, but Jerry n Holmes became great friends an did lots of Charity work together, Holmes may have been the 2nd greatest heavyweight ever.
Barry I am Irish have to say Larry fought a very smart fight the rap on Coonney is his endurance because of all the power in his punches if I remember the 13th round Conney gassed out From the looks of the early to middle rounds Cooney looked like he did have some boxing skills.
Cooney was naturally left handed but fought from an orthodox stance. If you watch his right, and he landed on Holmes with his right throughout the fight, there wasn't much power behind it. Why he fought this way who knows.
@@marknorris1381 That's an outstanding point Even.I.didnt realize it .Looking at the fight and if I was training Cooney I would of had him throwing more punches especially after he connects with 2 or 3 in a row. It's like he throws a few punches connects and backs away. Sort of an amateur style. Holmes had 187 years of experience in.his corner Ray Arcel Eddie Futch Richie Giachetti. Cooney had 6 years Victor Valle
They were not human beings but complete fools . Who does not in any way deserves to be in that judgement table. Unfortunately, this is present world we now live in .
This was a hugely anticipated fight. One closed-circuit venue was a race track somewhere in New York State. Something like 72,000 fans bought tickets there.
Imagine a fighter, who trained hard and prepared himself apologizing (in his exit interview) to "all the people who wanted me to win..." BS --- Cooney knew all along that this was bigger than him or a title fight and that it was being billed as a pseudo-race war!!! Shameless by all his handlers and the media circus around the fight!!!
@@ellismarcelle5579 Yes, but it was the only way to build the fight for top $$ , cuz there was nothing in Cooney s record that suggested he should have been there to start with.
Ahh man,, this is an old post but,, don’t you young folks know,, that Larry was Ali’s sparring partner ? Do you not see the similarities in A) the jab B) the straight right down the pipe ? The move left with jab. Holmes waited for Ali to retire and then went on to do what he wanted to do, and dominated during his prime.
Also I remember after Holmes beat the crap out of Frazier’s son in the ring, where he told the referee to stop the fight because he didn’t like beating him. “Save the kid for another day”. Pretty sure he liked Joe Frazier.
I don't think that Cooney was actually trying to hit Holmes flagrantly low. I think that it occurred (the low blows) because of Cooney's lanky frame and long arms. A lot of his attack was centered to the body and some of the time by the time he got there Holmes arms were in the right position to block the shot and it veered lower than it was supposed to. I don't think that I remember watching this entire fight before, or because it was so long since I watched it I forgot the intricacies of it. But although Holmes was tattooing him and boxing an excellent fight. Cooney put up a hell of a fight and if he took a better punch and had a quicker delivery you never know what might have happened.
One thing Cooney should have done was pour it on when he threw a couple of decent punches . This , in my opinion is one of the most common mistakes that boxers have the bad habit of not doing . Cooney would always pull back after he made a couple of effective punches .
Holmes was a legend who never really got the credit he deserved
He was a great champion, but his acceptance as one seemed doomed from the start, fighting out of the shadows of a beloved Muhammad Ali.
Truth
@@jenkemjones68 I agree Larry was a great fighter and a clean fighter
@@liberty5069the truth is Holmes was a very envious man. He wanted to be not only the HW champ but the GOAT. He'll never be considered the GOAT. Watch the post fight Holmes Spinks I. Listen to what he said about Rocky Marciano...
Until he met Tyson LOL nothing more than a chump !!!
Maybe the best fight of Cooney's career and he didn't come close to beating Holmes (in spite of the judges). Larry was a tremendous champion; one of the top three or four of all time. After the fight Cooney said "I want to fight more often." His career went off the rails with personal problems and it was two years before he would fight again. Glad to see he got it together in his personal life and is doing a lot of good.
Holmes never got the credit he deserved. I got him 3rd greatest hw all time.
Back when ABC was still the boxing king. At this point, the major fights were shown a week later, but still...these replays did NUMBERS for them.
P
"Cooney is the white hope. If the man were black, he'd be a nobody."
- Larry Holmes
Cosell cited the technicality of the Nevada state rule that the win was on a disqualification and not a technical knockout because Cooney's manager entered the ring. He was on his way to being rendered unconscious and seriously hurt by Larry Holmes. This was a TKO. Period.
Unlike the 1st round beating lyle got who tyson said was the hardest punchers
Agreed. The judges didn’t do anything to enhance their reputations either with the round by round explanations in the aftermath. Another pet peeve. Truth is Cooney wasn’t in the same league with Larry.
The laughable scorecards put forth by Ford/Moretti, coupled with Cosell's lackluster rendering of the fight, obscured the masterful performance by Larry Holmes. Holmes followed the advice of two of boxing's greatest trainers (e.g., Eddie Futch and Ray Arcel) to a tee. For most of the fight, Holmes moved to his left, blocked Cooney's wide punches, and kept his elbows in when Cooney went to his body. Neither Ford nor Moretti nor Cosell seemed to see and/or acknowledge the effectiveness of the greatest jab in boxing history. There have been fighters with quicker or heavier jabs, but Holmes is the only fighter to use the jab as both a speed and power weapon. Larry's also demonstrated his adaptability by outslugging the slugger in the 10th round. The 10th round took everything out of the much younger Cooney, and Holmes then took Cooney apart in the final 3 rounds. By any measure, this Larry Holmes was one of the top 3 heavyweights of all-time.
Cosell seems bias towards Holmes same way Larry Merchant always bias towards Mayweather Jr.
yep......... that Holmes jab was nasty, what a weapon.......he chopped that big Cooney oak tree down.. one of the alltime greats... Larryy Holmes.,
Gerry Cooney couldn't fight a cold with a bottle of Nyquil🥊🥊
@@landrewilkinson2919 Actually, prior to the Holmes fight, many people thought Cooney would be the best heavyweight of all time. And Holmes said himself that Cooney was the second best out there (next to Holmes himself).
He got three warnings wow
I love his post fight interview Larry had lost his patience with Howard by this time.
And rightfully so.
Seems like everyone involved in this fight except for the boxers was on the "take." Promoter made it racial. Judges sucked balls. Cooney proved he was a legit contender and tough. Holmes proved he was one of the best champions with his all around ability. Cooney and Holmes are close friends now. Competition brings out the bad and the good. This fight had both.
I think Mills Lane did a great job as ref. He’d become a celebrity later with the Tyson fight when he bit Holyfield’s ear, but he had a great showing here.
Well said it was very much racially charged!!
Cooneys manager Dennis Rappaport was the main instigator in starting up the racial overtones leading up to the match. Don King was all too happy to go along with it, it meant more cash in their pockets.
Introducing Cooney second like a champ was so disrespectful to Larry Holmes. And as for the scoring that was just a joke!! Nice to see that the pair of them are actually good mates now
watch champion norton vs challenger holmes.....norton is introduced first
@@markrobertson3015 That was a mistake in that fight. This Fight it was intentional/Racist.
@@anitabingham279 to me when two people are fighting and people choose a side even based on race its not neccessarily racist. They are basically wearing the same jersey as you are. When black people support Floyd its not racisit. And for sure some support him because he is black. It was a first and rude introducing Holmes first but it gave Cooney no competitive edge. Infact it most likely fired Larry up. Also I would like to say that in my opinion Holmes might have been the best champion of all time. Watch some old sparring film of him and Ali when he was young and Ali was still pretty sharp. For Cooney to have given him one of his best fights, Holmes himself says that, shows he was no stumble bum the way people make out. Holmes suffered his entire carrer because he followed Ali. When he lost his title and the rematch to M. Spinks that was way worse. The boxing creeps in charge and the media treated the great Larry Holmes with disdain his entire carrer. I watched any fight He was in that I could back then. He was unreal and more dominate then I had ever witnessed myself.He was such a normal guy that he never got the notice for being one of the greatest if not the greatest athlete of all time. To disregard Cooney is disrespectful to Holmes. Dont forget that until Holmes Cooney was destroying everyone and put a Tyson type of fear in people. One of the best left hook, body and head, artists of all time.
@@markrobertson3015 and
@@markrobertson3015 When Americans claiming “America first” cheer Pacman to beat Floyd Its racist! When American flag wavers cheer Russians to beat Serena Williams Its racist. Norton was some sort of Champion but to introduce Cooney first is just another chapter in the racist history of the USA
Everybody, during the early 80s, NEW that there was only ONE Heavyweight Champion of the World.
And that champion was Larry Holmes.
That's Knew no one new!
You kind of right, the very early 80s, and then Tyson had the entirety division all to himself.
Ali, the Greatest of All Time
@@charlestonbrown148 believed in his God and no one scared him.
Holmes was an all-time great! He fought everyone
Very underrated champion he fought Tyson for the money when he was 38 years old. At their peak Holmes and Tyson would have been a great fight.
@@colinjennings3661 He might even have beaten Tyson. Holmes had a great jab and the reach differential was substantial.
Indeed He was! 1love
Unfortunately his career was between the end of the golden age and his career was near it's end when a new great age came. He didn't have the competition during his career to give him all the deserved respect.
@@collingafar1638 if Holmes gets Tyson to the second half of the fight he wins
Great speech by Holmes after the fight - fight for the people!
Cossel wanted so bad Cooney to win, he couldn't talk anymore at the end of the fight and was completly dejected. And in the dressing room, once again the same dumb question to discredit Holmes " Larry what do you think you have proved tonight" while Holmes was champion since 78. Larry managed to keep his cool while you can see the deep anger on his face. He fought all his career without any support. He had to have a great faith in his talent to keep fighting and winning all those years.
Howard was totally dejected along with the rest of his kind.
NO MATTER Who they think they are , it is crystal clear that we are the strongest in the Whole World . I shear your open opinion my DEAR brother .
WE are the Indomintabl Lion
If Howard was a racist then how do you explain his close relationship with Muhammad Ali?. You obviously dont know much about the man because he was certainly not a racist.
@@tonyudogie8750
Feel better now!?? Now that you openly stated your racistic remark!?? You don't add value - but actually confirm your ignorance, and MINORITY COMPLEX (like so many of you guys suffer from)!!
NB....
Influential people didn't like Holmes - cause he was competition for Ali (inter alias)...
That's why they were kept appart
Thus... Not because he was black - dummy.
Cossel loved Ali, and could never forgive Holmes for beating him.
Duane Ford shoulda been suspended from ever judging fights immediately after his scorecard was announced! Every semi close round he gave to the challenger. They tried their best to give this fight to Cooney by decision. It's like they he was watching an entirely different fight. Smh boxing is was and always will be corrupt as hell
1982 seems like a totally different world to 2022. I was 11 years old when this fight happened and I remember the racial animus surrounding it. Cooney was billed as the great white hope, can you imagine such a sentiment today?! Holmes was never given his due and no fight drew a bigger red circle around it than this one. Cooney was game but the fight was never really that close, I thought. 40 years later and these two are still friends, no matter how you saw the fight, that speaks volumes to me.
Right. Holmes called him The Great White Dope
11 Ha Ha Ha!! I remember that fight like yesterday Cooney was supposed to clean Holmes clock 🕰. Cooney didn’t fight his fight. Tried to box Holmes he should have went in there to knock him out.
I was shocked as a young man watching it, Larry Holmes made it look so easy just peppering Cooney all night long with that beautiful jab!!! It wasn't even close!!!
I peppered him in Reno before the Bugner cancelled tune up to Holmes. On the plane home he sat by a friend of mine. Gave him a card to come spar with him. Said I was a punk. If I knew he couldn't take a shot I would kicked his rear.
Trump was president, not a whole lot changed.
How many low blows did Cooney get away with? 🤣🤣
Absolutely terrible 🤮Mills Lane was better than that!
I don't know, but he did have 3 points deducted.
such a humble champ Larry holmes, the fight was close to me ,but the scoring aside ,it was a good fight ,but the better man always wins
Absolutely Class⭐️
Gerry "Below the Belt" Cooney's performance in this fight was one of the dirtiest I've ever seen. The judges Ford and Moretti should never have worked another bout again.
Judge Dave Moretti: I scored the second Larry Holmes because of the knockdown and the jabs
Cosell: Oh Cooney's ready to go
Holmes is one of the best heavyweight champions in the world
I love Larry Holmes always told it like it is! 100% class act!
Holmes a class act? He is a bore. The man has zero charisma.
100% professional Larry Holmes😎
@@MichaelPember lol boring yeah. If you to to stop comparing him to Ali (Cause, Any fighter would look boring compared to Ali, and you know it's the truth ), you would notice that Larry is far form being boring, plus the fighter is great and classy, charisma or not.
Larry always seemed to be bitter even when he won which turned the public off him, in my top 5 greatest heavyweights ever though.
@@jupiter-8405 the medias didn't help dude. Remember the fight vs witherspoon, the comentators were always praising Tim. They made bieleve that he has destroyed Holmes. Than ihave rewatched the fight without the sound to finally found out that he was way ahead on points. The worst is the fight vs cooney, all the americans, all the crowd in vegas were against Holmes, it was a disgrace. If larry wouldn't had stropped Cooney, Gerry was unfairly ahead on points, everthing was set up for Conney to be the next champion. i can totally understand his biterness with all that.
Cooney was a tough SOB, but Holmes was an elite heavyweight champ, underrated but DOMINATED during his prime...
Holmes just made Cooney work til he was so tired at the end..you have to be a 15 round fighter..holmes is a good human begin..
He could have finish him earlier in my opinion. He took too many risks to wait that long. He had Cooney in big trouble both in the 2nd and the 6th round, but held back.
@@emzid5105 Holmes did it his way..even tho I agree ..he should had gotten cooney out of there when he had him hurt each time..holmes was the one in the ring with cooney and once Holmes felt that cooney was weak enough to be tooken out ..he took him out..respect your opinion.
.
@@princeblizzard8912 Thanks bro, like you said it's just my personal opinion. I wasn't in the ring, Larry was. Easy to say what should be done when you watch the fight on tv :)
@@emzid5105 peace..
You two have the same opinions. 😂😂😂
Howard Cosell brought up the race issue and from his commentating you could tell witch he was for. Larry knew what he was fighting for and against. still one of my more satisfying fights of my life as a fan.....
Lost big money saw defeat Norton easy try get back spinks but conney wouldn't hold won hurt ali won fights by holding,
❤❤❤
@@bennyhuxen9929And for us English speakers out there?
Larry Holmes fue uno de los más grandes campeones mundiales de los pesos completos de toda la historia y debiera ser reconocido, un tremendo boxeador gran técnica, valiente, pegador y gran resistencia y recuperación, muy completo.
The silent hunter.....LARRY HOLMES......GREAT CHAMPION.........
Larry ⭐️❤️Class all the way when Cosell interviewed him after the fight👏👏👏👏
Larry Holmes was a master boxer - he had skill and experience and ringcraft and toughness and durability and determination and self belief and...
i was really surprised to see him keep fighting after the many hard shots that Cooney gave him in the body. Holmes could really take a punch.
I remember going to our local arena watching this in b/w on a ppv. A couple of guys at work had a bet w/ me that Cooney would win. I dont' watch football baseball but i "knows" my boxing. I won 20.00 ea from those guys & collected that Monday morning !!!!!!!
Was a practice boxer for Ali
And Jupiter...he was the True Successor to Muhammad Ali.!!
And perhaps the most lethal jab in the history of pro boxing.
Very good move by Victor Vale!!! Saved Cooney some brain cells there!!!
If Jerry was winning his corner jumps in the ring for a dq saving a tko
Holmes the Easton assassin really never got the credit he deserved. I lost respect for Cooney in the Norton fight. He tried to kill the guy
Cooney was outclassed from the getgo. Gotta give him props for going as long as he did, tho.
The European observers of this fight including those two biased judges and Cossell were overwhelmed with wishful thinking. Crazy Cossell is saying Holmes has nothing left while he's demolishing Cooney. Shame of all time
The Top 3 Weapons in Heavyweight History
#3 Holmes' Piston Jab
#2 Smokin' Joe's Hook
#1 Ali's Willpower
After the fight, even Larry Holmes admitted that if Gerry had been fighting any other HW in the world active at that time for the title, he would have won it that night. He said Gerry had more heart, and a bit more power than people gave him credit for.
Gerry Cooney was an average fighter. nothing more nothing less. Michael Spinks showed that we he KO'd him. The only person Cooney beat was an old glass jaw Ken Norton.
..and still,...one of the all time greats.
Good thing larry took it out of the judges hands and stop Cooney, it was all set to rob Larry of his title.
people have forgotten what a great champion holmes was. such a shame Cooney had no ring craft to his arsenal..
Larry simply continually circled towards Jerry's right because Cooney was no threat with his right......Legendary Left, but probably one of the most one armed fighters in history......But that left gave him a nice career and some big KO wins. Almost seemed too nice for the fight game......Larry is so underrated in Boxing history.
Man, there were so much “ White Hype “ and”BS’ back then that they even introduced the champ first and then the challenger like he was the champ! LMAO!😂
Gerry Clooney and his ringside were clowns. His ringside let him low blow the whole fight but then won't let him continue ?!? Cowards
RIDICULOUS scoring by Ford and Moretti…for them to have had Cooney up 7 rounds to 5 over Holmes is just simply laughable
Holmes was quick af. Love watching his figths.
Holmes had a jab like a whip! Larry and Thomas Hearns had the best jabs I've ever seen.
I tried to mimic his jabs, but not close lol, he had speedy arms and it's a blessing..
Yes gotta snap your punches Not push them.larry had a funny build but he could punch with that right and his Jab he worked at it...And used it..great fighter
@@scorpio5165 remember this there not one jab like people think you got Alot of different Jabs or should have and I'll explain to you what I learned you can sting you can keep them back without stepping in you can bait them in with a lazy jab you can double triple jabs or more You can do alot with a jab you can win the whole fight with a Jab think about the different Jabs you fake it and hook off of it sets the rest up or keep them off you can blind them to land the power shots Ali was a great jabber when he worked at keeping it Sharp Vigil Hill had a great jab...It's worth working on it keep at it do rounds nothing but jabs fool them with that jab and learn to land it easy and hook and uppercut it can set everything up that jab Larry mastered it when you get tired you can rest on that jab and good luck Larry had little arms and little Legs but his speed and snapping his punches and That speed gave him a lot more power than most could get out of his body...Watch Frank Bruno against Tyson he had no power because he was too tight from lifting heavy weights he looked great but pushed his punches instead of snapping them watch him he couldn't keep Tyson back Mike walked Thur him and lifting heavy weights and Boxing is a no no...Light weights only in boxing God bless you keep snapping that Jab.
Exactly what you said whip is what you want Larry didn't look great in everything or on his toes but he had a nasty streak when he needed like against Berbick or Mercer watch him against Oliver McCall the old man show he is the Best of the best he could get off that canvas like no other but Ali Holmes took that punch from Shavers that when it landed it was over the hardest punch in Boxing history they say watch Holmes get up and he was a Great great Fighter it's hard to stay on top that long without being great he fooled many..Larry was Legendary
Two good guys. They are both friends today.
Larry is in the top 5 of all time greats. Not only exceptional as a boxer but a genuinely great person
A great person and he beat up a sick Ali mercilessly just for the little money Ali wanted. Ali wouldn't have done that to him if roles were swaped... He could have easily win the Ali fight without that much beatings
@@ntl3352 ...He begged the referee to stop the fight. He idolized Ali. The ref wouldn't stop it. One of the sadder moments for boxing and, specifically, for Holmes and Ali. Holmes could have fought much harder and killed Ali (who was already showing signs of significant neurological impairment), but he didn't do that.
@Dr. Seuss he hit him with heavy punches. He could have just toyed with him as Ali would have done. Ali knew that very well which is the sad part. If you really loved a man and cared for him would you have continued pounding him because the referee didn't stop it? He should go away with his crocodile tears and fake love
@@ntl3352 ...Sometimes, as young men, we make dumb mistakes. Larry was a young man, still trying to make his name, when he fought his idol. His regret, as an old man, I'm sure is sincere (tears are real). The problem is, there are no time machines in life. You don't get do-overs. Once it's done, it's done forever. That's what I try to get younger people to understand. Don't just live in the moment. THINK in the moment.
@Dr. Seuss well said but once you are an adult you become responsible for your actions.
If Cooney managed to land three punches without throwing a low blow he was given the round. And Howard describing the last round saying it was “sloppy” while Holmes lands blow after blow was laughable.
Cooney hit holmes so bad that he was almost out
Or questioning why Holmes wasn't moving more in the 100 degree heat.
Sounds like your one of those people who made it a radical thing!Ur probably out looking for a great black hope....you better keep looking around because from the middle weights on up no black champs.Lol😂
Cooney’s face is an omelette, vicious low blows and still for all three white judges he is winning the fight.
And Howard Cossell was awful in general, but his bias was palpable throughout this fight. Shameful
Holmes was as great a champion as any other heavyweight in history
Holmes won that fight hands down !!
What Really makes Holmes great never holds stands in front of you and dares you to outbox him
IMO, if he hadn't lost to Michael Spinks, Holmes would be ranked the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. He's still ranked high up there but if he could have retired without losing a fight then he would have accomplished something only one other champion had ever done.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390
And yet the public didn't like him. He blamed Ali, however, he has no one to blame but himself. Always mean and bitter. A major turn off. Here is a fact. Holmes was champion for 7 years and only had 2 pay per view fights! Pathetic
@@elliottswinton3960 Holmes wasn't respected for many reasons. It's been said that during his reign as champion, the heavyweight division was weak. Of all his opponents, only three were top-caliber boxers - Ken Norton, Ernie Shavers and Mike Weaver. Also, he refused to fight Michael Dokes and Gerrie Coetzee, two champion boxers during the early 80s, both of whom were more than a match against Holmes. Having said that, he defended his belt against 19 opponents. That's more than any other champion after Joe Louis and throughout his career, only two boxers (Shavers and Mike Tyson) managed to knock him down. Very few boxers - and even fewer champions - in any division can match those records.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390 Coetzee was a capable boxer. Surprised Holmes didn't want to fight him.
@@Smudgeroon74 The reason I heard is that since Holmes was the WBC and Coetzee was the WBA champion, both councils were requiring that the other guy renounce his belt and fight as the challenger while the champion they recognized would be billed as the defending champion. Neither boxer accepted that condition which is why the fight never occurred. I don't know how true this is. I'm sure there are other "conspiracy theories" out there also.
How can a man taller continue to throw low blows on a consistent basis? Outclassed!
looks like he threw 2 low blows in succession in the one sequence.
Sometimes, it can happen if the head and neck are pulled down at the same time a fighter attempts to throw a body shot in the liver area. In this fight, it looked like it was the case in the big low blow in the ninth round. Not so in other rounds. Fatigue also plays a factor in sloppy punching. It was nice to see a replay. It seemed a better fight than I remembered way back then.
Victor Valle saved his fighter from additional punishment and it was the correct decision. Larry Holmes is total domination. This is a brilliant performance for all time. I think it was Larry Merchant who said one fighter was a complete pro and one fighter was an incomplete pro.
Credit to Larry for winning his way, but would've loved to see Cooney vs Tyson. Iron Mike would've waded in under Cooneys 1-dimensional defence and blasted him apart within 2 rounds.
How about young George Forman, Tyson trying too walk thru that,not happening
Yeah, Cooney was much bigger than Tyson and certainly more talented than Buster Douglas or Kevin McBride
When judges be judging " they ought not be sitting together 🙄
Let's not forget how Reagan had a special phone installed in Cooney's dressing room in case he won.Mr.Holmes was afforded NO such luxury.
This was a polarizing fight to say the least. I was in sixth grade at the time and I clearly recall kids arguing on the bus divided by racial lines. Even as kids unfortunately we knew about that, and even worse we fought one another over something like a boxing match, and I don't mean fist fight I mean serious arguing.
I was 20 years old and yes I do remember it well being tremendously racially divided, it was so disrespectful how Larry Holmes was treated, how in the hell in a Championship fight, the fight announcer, annouces the champion first!!! And why would Ring magazine put Gerry Cooney the Challenger on the front page and Larry Holmes the Champion on the back page??? President Reagan requested a phone be put in Gerry Cooney's locker room so after Cooney wins the Championship the President would call to congratulate him, the fight judge's we're all white and had Cooney winning the fight, which even if you look at the fight from 40 years ago, Larry Holmes won all the rounds, he was literally pummeling Cooney thought out the fight with his jab, if Holmes wouldn't have knocked him out he would have lost the fight, which would have been bullshit!!!!
Larry was unfortunately the fighter who took Ali's title and the press and fans never forgave him for it. Larry was a true champion, fought anyone and everyone who came along. He wasn't media savoy and they treated him wrong, period. "Let's have a good fight , " Larry says to Cooney . Cooney knew the racist BS was wrong and couldn't even look at Larry. In the end it was Larry who proved who was the better man.
Larry didn't take Ali's title. Ali tried to take Larry's title. It was a very ill advised fight.
Forgave him? Why? He beat the hell out of Ali! Nothing to apologize for, Ali is to blame for signing a contract he knew he wouldn’t be able to cash with his mouth!
I saw the fight at a huge banquet hall in Tampa with a very amped up crowd. I remember those low blows, the racial tension palpable. Larry was treated poorly at times by the media and some terrible judging at times, not so much this fight.
Holmes was introduced first even though he was the defending champion. That speaks volumes.
Cooney so overrated he had no chance against Holmes
I was one of Cooney's sparring partners for this and a few other previous fights.
Great guy--and if anyone said he had no right hand, they never got hit with it.
Honestly, he was soft psychologically. This was the fight that got inside his head and he waa never the same since.
A guy 6’7” throwing low blows that often is obviously on purpose
Gr8 show n idea for this classic fight!!!!
I won $60 betting on Holmes.
I got into four fights trying to collect.
My brother Larry and I watched this fight at the Dothan Civic Civic Center in Dothan AL. We were the only black people in the building and it was packed. Every time Holmes would land a punch we would make as much noise as we could for Holmes. But when they stopped the fight we went crazy. No one said a word to us but we really rubbed it in their faces. We both were good fighters so there was nothing to worry about LOL. Coach Dirk White
Dangerous thing to do. You guys were lucky there.
Psssh. Dirk White?
More like DORK White.
Nice little novella.
See, you can be racist too 😊
Two fine boxers - we don't see this kind of movement any longer and drive to win. One of my favorite fights to watch. They both have such great respect for each other.
Overrated Cooney! 🤮 Foreman DESTROYED him ✊ I’m glad Larry beat him as Gerry was a low blow throwing S.O.B.🤬 Larry very underrated! BEST Crisp jab ever✊ ( great heart too♥️👏and LOVED his family and didn’t care about Cosell or anyone talking shit! I’m now 58 and always respected Larry ⭐️✊👊
Even before the 13th round, the fight wasn't as close as those two "judges" would have one believe. Cooney probably won three rounds in the fight.
Duane Ford shows again and again why he shouldn't have ever been allowed to judge a hot dog eating contest
29:24
Today, we will be seeing this fight for whose moment of glory! Who thou shall take this land couragely! And Put our stamp of Victories to this Land!
I was 10 years old when this fight took place , and the level of disrespect shown by the white public and media towards Holmes would cause a full scale riot today. Disrespectfully , the introduced the champion Holmes first , which broke centuries of boxing tradition. Also , Cooney wasn’t even deserving of a title shot , because he was poorly matched and his ranking nor record was even close to what we would consider a serious contender at the time. And lastly , this was not to long ago as far as history goes and America claims that we are not a racist society… well I ask you how far have we come in race relations since this fight ?
I remember my middle school science teacher telling us about her and her husband watching the fight, at the Sunrise Highway movie theater in Long Island. They were the only Black folk, in the joint. They elect to sit in the back. Why the back? The back exit was right there, so when Holmes whipped Cooney, which he did, they could easily sneak out and laugh their asses all the way to their car, and get out....!
Cooney was a pretty good fighter,he just didn't have stamina
Truly one of the best fights ever. From the build up to the actual fight. A classic.
Dc
IMO, this fight failed to live up to all the hype. Holmes outclassed Cooney from the get go. If anything, this fight exposed just how overrated Cooney was. Cooney was great fighting aging heavyweights but when he came up against a top champion, he was completely out of his league.
Your kidding right?? Cooney landed one clean shot....to the body. That's it.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390 True but also his style like slugger was wrong against skilled and fast outboxer like Holmes.
@@Shovelhook You're absolutely right. Before Holmes, Cooney's fights seldom went more than five rounds because he usually knocked his opponents out in the first few rounds but as you said, when he faced a scientific boxer like Holmes, he was like a duck in a cockfight. Bottom line, Cooney was never as great as everyone believed he was and didn't deserve to be ranked number 1.
Larry Holmes In his prime
Cooney has a funny looking body,long thin legs,skinny arms with little muscle. Just a funny looking guy
I think they used to call that "Spindly" "Gawky" or "gangly"
I'd rather be 5'0" and have an "V" shaped athletic build than to be over 6' and look like Cooney.
True, but I wouldn't want a liver shot from him.
I saw this fight when it happened. Great fight by both fighters. Cooney had one of the hardest left hooks in boxing history. I did not say the best I said the hardest. Let me tell you why Cooney lost this fight . His team would not him fight the top black fighters before he fought Holmes. Had they let Cooney fight those black fighters he may have had a chance to win that fight. The great Larry Holmes had been there before. If you remember Holmes and Ken Norton had a life and death fight back in 1988 or 89. Holmes pulled out the win. Holmes knew he could go 15 hard rounds, Cooney found out the hard way that he could not. Cooney was never the same after this fight. The judging was spot on I have no issues after watching it again. Boxing has always been a racist sport . Letting Cooney enter the ring last was a slap in the face to Larry Holmes. Larry Holmes top three heavy weights ever. Coach Dirk White.
Not just black fighters were avoided as Cooney should have fought Gerrie Coetzee too. Several contenders could have been a chance of putting a loss on Cooney's record coming up but in the long run he would have been better prepared when his title shot came.
Cooney had a perfect record leading up to the match with Holmes, I think Cooneys management didn't want to risk that record by having Cooney face some of the top ranked heavyweights of the time. Mike Weaver, Michael Dokes, Tim Witherspoon, Greg Page, all were capable of beating Cooney.
I don't think people give Cooney his due! I have seen him knock out a lot of fighters within the first four rounds-Norton, Lyle, Gregg, Young. I remember when Larry Holmes said that Marciano could not wear his jockstrap when asked about Marciano's 49-0 record. I don't think Holmes would have beaten Ali in his prime.
George Foreman said that Cooney hit harder than Joe Frazier. Incredible power.
Holmes clearly had an iron chin, he took a lot of hard shots here off Cooney, including left hooks, and never looked badly hurt.
I think Cooney was also a better fighter than some gave him credit for.
I'd say here that it was fairly close on points, until Cooney got tired.
Remember, Cooney beating past their prime fighters to pad his record. Cooney Gough a decent fight but was totally outclassed by Holmes.
Ford/Moretti deep down wanted the "Great White Hope" to a "Great White Champion".
Just like that guy at 1:00:56 at the bottom left hand corner slapping the canvas of the ring with anger.
That was Jose Sulimain who is president of the “WBC title.” 😂 smh that’s crazy.
True
Cooney was aggressive most of the fight, too bad about those numerous low blows. You know when a corner man tells his fighter to "rough him up", he only meant "hit him low". Cooney could have been disqualified for low blows but he wasn't. Anyway, the better boxer won.
Holmes best skill was his chin. His great chin enabled him to win his tough fights. Puches that cooney and shavers used to knockout other fighters, or hurt them causing them to cover up and fight defensive, had no impact on Holmes allowing his offensive skills to win the day
I can’t disagree with that. Holmes seemed like he was confident in his chin too. He took shots like Forman did sometimes. Bull wuz literally a real life Apollo Creed with no Rocky.
I only gave Cooney rounds 4 and 8 although the early rounds were very close. The judges disagreed with me on both fighters at times but I don't have a problem with their scoring. I just thought Larry landed cleaner mostly but no issue with the scoring seen by me. It was that close early on. I had bet on Cooney that night but was worried right away about that bet at the time. I realized how good Larry was that night.
All these judge's were dirty. The fix was in. Only way Larry was going to win was to knock out Gerry
Don king...Holmes on some good Peruvian marching powder😂
I went to the cooney training camp in Palm Springs when I was a kid ..met Ali and got his autograph
This was actually Cooney's best fight of his entire career. Not that I agree with Ford and Moretti's judging.
Gerry's win over Young was legit, as Jimmy was aging but fit, but toss out the dramatic wins over old men Lyle and Norton. Cooney had no other wins over name fighters, and no other quality performances, really.
You know what’s really an interesting bit of boxing trivia? George foreman has clearly stated, gerry cooney was the hardest puncher he has ever been hit by. He has stated this many times. G. Cooney was a legit top heavyweight , and the racial great white hope bullshit was a blight on him. Cooney was a top boxer, race has nothing to do with anything. I still made money on Holmes, but I was nervous.
My dad always hated Jerry Cooney for dirty boxing back then it was about honor
In the ring, two fighters beat each other up for 13 rounds in a inhuman rage. Yet out of it, showed extreme humility and kindness for there family, people and friends.
Larry was one of a kind.He could KO you with his jab alone.I remember as a kid watching this fight with my dad.When Cooney went down Dad threw his beer and said "well dam it son there goes the last great white hope" lol.
The judge an Howard are drunk, that left by Jerry in the 8th was nothing, but Jerry n Holmes became great friends an did lots of Charity work together, Holmes may have been the 2nd greatest heavyweight ever.
Barry I am Irish have to say Larry fought a very smart fight the rap on Coonney is his endurance because of all the power in his punches if I remember the 13th round Conney gassed out From the looks of the early to middle rounds Cooney looked like he did have some boxing skills.
No he was gassed out in the 9th, Larry carried to the 13th and decided that's when he would end it.
Cooney was naturally left handed but fought from an orthodox stance. If you watch his right, and he landed on Holmes with his right throughout the fight, there wasn't much power behind it. Why he fought this way who knows.
@@marknorris1381 That's an outstanding point Even.I.didnt realize it .Looking at the fight and if I was training Cooney I would of had him throwing more punches especially after he connects with 2 or 3 in a row. It's like he throws a few punches connects and backs away. Sort of an amateur style. Holmes had 187 years of experience in.his corner Ray Arcel Eddie Futch Richie Giachetti. Cooney had 6 years Victor Valle
@@williammedve1061 Larry was too good. He was a great champion in his heyday.
The judging was racially biased
They were not human beings but complete fools . Who does not in any way deserves to be in that judgement table. Unfortunately, this is present world we now live in .
Larrys a great champion. And, hes a better human being. And bless jerrys heart for his humbleness. Mills is top quality. One of the very best.
This was a hugely anticipated fight. One closed-circuit venue was a race track somewhere in New York State. Something like 72,000 fans bought tickets there.
Imagine a fighter, who trained hard and prepared himself apologizing (in his exit interview) to "all the people who wanted me to win..." BS --- Cooney knew all along that this was bigger than him or a title fight and that it was being billed as a pseudo-race war!!! Shameless by all his handlers and the media circus around the fight!!!
@@ellismarcelle5579 Yes, but it was the only way to build the fight for top $$ , cuz there was nothing in Cooney s record that suggested he should have been there to start with.
Yeah they called it off cause didn't want to see Cooney knocked out .
The crowd swells with anticipation as the light turns green!
Thumbs up if you know what that means
So cheesy of him to use the theme from the Rocky films. Cooney didn’t have a chance.
Cooney was a Bum. Even Butterbean would have knocked him out.
Ahh man,, this is an old post but,, don’t you young folks know,, that Larry was Ali’s sparring partner ? Do you not see the similarities in A) the jab B) the straight right down the pipe ? The move left with jab. Holmes waited for Ali to retire and then went on to do what he wanted to do, and dominated during his prime.
He sparred with Frazier too,I think Joe broke his ribs
Also I remember after Holmes beat the crap out of Frazier’s son in the ring, where he told the referee to stop the fight because he didn’t like beating him. “Save the kid for another day”. Pretty sure he liked Joe Frazier.
What fight was Cosell watching?
I don't think that Cooney was actually trying to hit Holmes flagrantly low. I think that it occurred (the low blows) because of Cooney's lanky frame and long arms. A lot of his attack was centered to the body and some of the time by the time he got there Holmes arms were in the right position to block the shot and it veered lower than it was supposed to. I don't think that I remember watching this entire fight before, or because it was so long since I watched it I forgot the intricacies of it. But although Holmes was tattooing him and boxing an excellent fight. Cooney put up a hell of a fight and if he took a better punch and had a quicker delivery you never know what might have happened.
Agreed
One thing Cooney should have done was pour it on when he threw a couple of decent punches . This , in my opinion is one of the most common mistakes that boxers have the bad habit of not doing . Cooney would always pull back after he made a couple of effective punches .