Gerry Cooney
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| Gerry Cooney | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Gerry Cooney |
| Nickname(s) | Gentleman |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Nationality | American |
| Birth date | August 4, 1956 |
| Birth place | Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 31 |
| Wins | 28 |
| Wins by KO | 24 |
| Losses | 3 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Gerry Cooney (born August 4, 1956) is a retired boxer from Huntington, New York best known for his loss to Larry Holmes in one of the most celebrated boxing matches in history.
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[edit] Life before boxing
Cooney was raised in a blue collar, Irish-American family on Long Island, and lived out his father's dream to become a professional fighter. Cooney's brother Tommy Cooney was also a boxer, and reached the finals of the New York Golden Gloves Sub-Novice Heavyweight division where he was defeated by Eric George.
[edit] Amateur career
As an amateur, he won international tournaments in England, Wales and Scotland as well as New York Golden Gloves titles. Cooney won two New York Golden Gloves Championships, winning both the 1973 160lb Sub-Novice Championship and the 1976 Heavyweight Open Championship. Cooney defeated Larry Derrick to win the 1973 160lb Sub-Novice title and he defeated Earlous Tripp to win the 1976 Heavyweight Open title. In 1975 Cooney reached the finals of the 175lb Open division but was defeated by Johnny Davis. Cooney trained at the Huntington Athletic Club in Huntington, Long Island, New York where his trainer was John Capobianco, Sr.
His record consisted of 55 wins and 3 losses. When he turned professional, he signed with managers Eoin O'Sullivan and Peter Lynch. He was trained by Victor Valle Sr.
[edit] Professional career
Equipped with his big left-hook and imposing size, Cooney set out on his professional career. Cooney's first paid fight came on February 15, 1977, when he beat Billy Jackson by a knockout in one round in New York. Nine more wins followed and Cooney started gaining fame as a future contender. Then he stepped up in class and fought future world cruiserweight champion S.T. Gordon in Las Vegas, winning by a fourth round disqualification. Cooney's star kept on rising with 11 more wins in a row, spanning 1978 and 1979. Among the people he beat were former victim Charlie Polite, former US heavyweight champion Eddie Lopez, and Tom Prater.
By 1980, Cooney was already being featured on national television. He beat title challengers Jimmy Young and Ron Lyle, both by knockout. By this time, he was ranked number 1 in the WBC and challenging Larry Holmes to a fight.
In 1981, he completely annihilated former world heavyweight champion Ken Norton by a knockout 54 seconds into the first round, with which he broke the record set in 1948 by Lee Savold for the quickest knockout in a main event bout in Madison Square Garden.
Then 1982 came and Cooney's life changed. Holmes agreed to fight him, with a purse of ten million dollars for the challenger, making it the richest fight in boxing history up to that time. The promotion of the fight took on racial overtones that were tastelessly exaggerated by the promoters in both camps, something Cooney did not agree with, as he believed that skill, not race, should determine whether any boxer was good. Nevertheless, if Cooney won, he would be the first white world heavyweight champion in 23 years (since Swede Ingemar Johansson defeated Floyd Patterson by a third round TKO), which prompted Don King to call him "The Great White Hope." In this circus atmosphere, the upcoming fight drew huge attention worldwide. Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney was one of the biggest closed-circuit/pay-per-view productions in history, broadcast to over 150 countries.
A game Cooney fought bravely after he was knocked down briefly in the second round. But after 12 rounds, the more skillful and ring-savvy Holmes wore Cooney down. In the 13th round, the challenger's trainer Victor Vallie stepped into the ring to save his fighter from further punishment.
After a long layoff, Cooney finally stepped into the ring again in September 1984, beating Phillip Brown by a knockout in 4 rounds in Anchorage, Alaska. He fought one more time that year and won, but personal problems took him away from the ring.
By 1987, Cooney was far past his prime and made an ill advised comeback to fight former world heavyweight and world light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. He was knocked out in five rounds. Cooney's last fight was in 1990; he was knocked out in two rounds by the former world champion George Foreman. Cooney did manage to stagger Foreman in the first round of the fight advertised as "two geezers at Caesar's". Overall, Cooney compiled a professional record of 28 wins and 3 losses, with 24 knockouts.
Cooney was ranked 53rd on Ring Magazine's list of 100 Greatest Punchers of All Time.
[edit] Boxing style
Cooney was known to have an orthodox style of boxing, good jab, big-left, and a barely used right. Most of his fights ended in quick knockouts, which although benefited him tremendously in the beginning of his career, left him unprepared for his fight with Larry Holmes. Despite having devastating punching power, it was not enough to compensate for his moderate stamina and lack of experience against true contenders. Many feel he had more potential, but was limited due to the lack of experience as stated above.
Cooney's left-hook is often called one of the most powerful punches in boxing history. Foreman, Holmes, and Lyle have all stated that Cooney's blow was the hardest they had ever taken. It is also notable that Holmes had also previously fought Earnie Shavers, and at the time, stated that Shavers was the most powerful blow he had ever received. It is also notable that Earnie Shavers had lost a 6 round TKO to Ron Lyle, whereas Cooney finished him off in the first round.
Cooney was also known for not typically throwing punches at the head, mainly aiming for his opponent's chest, ribs, or stomach.
[edit] Life after boxing
Cooney then started the Fighters' Initiative for Support and Training, an organization which has helped retired boxers find jobs. He has always tried to distance himself from the racism of the Holmes vs. Cooney promotion. In fact, he and Holmes have become very good friends over the years. In retirement, Cooney has also been heavily involved with J.A.B., the first ever boxers union. He also became a boxing promoter for title bouts featuring Roberto Duran, Hector Camacho, and George Foreman.
He is involved with the program "Hands are not for hitting" which helps to stop domestic violence.
He has been inducted into the Walt Whitman High School Hall Of Fame.
He now resides in Fanwood, New Jersey.
[edit] In popular culture
- In the episode of The Simpsons "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" he is the official greeter of Mr. Burns' Casino who gets punched out by Otto Mann.
- He appeared in the 1998 film Mob Queen as Mickey the Baker.
- He is mentioned in the movie The Great White Hype starring Samuel L. Jackson and Damon Wayans. He is mentioned in underground rap duo Zion I's song "Inner Light."
- He is featured in the song "Cooney Vs. Munly" on Jay Munly's 2002 alt-country album Jimmy Carter Syndrome.
- Jim Carrey, playing fictional character "Gerry Cooney Jr.", appears on a sketch in season 2, episode 11 of In Living Color
