Gerry Cooney

Gerry Cooney
Cooney, right, with actor Devin Harjes, November 2011
Statistics
Real name	Gerry Cooney
Nickname(s)	Gentleman Gerry / Great White Hope
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Reach	81 in (206 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	August 24, 1956 Manhattan, New York, United States
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	31
Wins	28
Wins by KO	24
Losses	3
Draws	0
No contests	0

Gerry Cooney (born August 24, 1956) is a retired American professional heavyweight boxer from Huntington, New York. Despite relative inexperience, his exciting wins and size, aided by expert promotion, propelled Cooney into a lucrative bout with world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes in 1982. Cooney performed credibly before his corner retired him in round 13, and was regarded as having made a brave and determined effort. A view of him as tactically naive in defense was reinforced when former light-heavyweight Michael Spinks defeated Cooney in five rounds. In his final bout, he demonstrated his exceptionally hard punch by staggering powerful George Foreman, but was unable to capitalize on it; again showing himself deficient at basic self-protection, Cooney suffered a devastating second round knockout that ended his career.

Life before boxing

Born into a blue collar Irish-Catholic^[1] family on Long Island, Cooney was encouraged to become a professional fighter by his father. His brother Tommy Cooney was also a boxer, and reached the finals of the New York Golden Gloves Sub-Novice Heavyweight division.

Amateur boxing

Fighting as an amateur, Gerry Cooney won international tournaments in England, Wales, and Scotland, as well as the New York Golden Gloves titles. He won two New York Golden Gloves Championships, the 1973 160-lb Sub-Novice Championship and the 1976 Heavyweight Open Championship. Cooney defeated Larry Derrick to win the 1973 160-lb Sub-Novice title, and Earlous Tripp to win the 1976 Heavyweight Open title. In 1975 he reached the finals of the 175-lb Open division, but was defeated by Johnny Davis.

Cooney trained at the Huntington Athletic Club in Long Island, New York, where his trainer was John Capobianco. His amateur record consisted of 55 wins and 3 losses.

When he turned professional, Cooney signed with co-managers Mike Jones and Dennis Rappaport. He was then trained by Victor Valle.^[2]

Professional career

Known for his big left-hook and his imposing size, the tall, lean Cooney had his first paid fight on February 15, 1977, beating Billy Jackson by a knockout in one round. Nine wins followed and Cooney gained attention as a future contender. Although his opponents were carefully chosen. He moved up a weight class and fought future world cruiserweight champion S.T. Gordon in Las Vegas, winning by a fourth round disqualification. Cooney had 11 more wins, spanning 1978 and 1979. Among those he defeated were Charlie Polite, former US heavyweight champion Eddie Lopez, and Tom Prater. These were not rated contenders however.

By 1980, Cooney was being featured on national television. Stepping up, he beat one time title challengers Jimmy Young and Ron Lyle, both by 'knockouts,' although the Young fight was stopped because of cuts sustained by Young.^[3] By now he was ranked number 1 by the WBC and eager for a match with champion Larry Holmes.

In 1981, he defeated former world heavyweight champion Ken Norton by a knockout just 54 seconds into the first round with a blisteringly powerful attack.^[4] This broke the record set in 1948 by Lee Savold for the quickest knockout in a main event in Madison Square Garden. Since his management team was unwilling to risk losing a big future pay day with Holmes by having him face another viable fighter, Cooney did not fight for 13 months after defeating Norton.^[5]

The following year, Holmes agreed to fight him. With a purse of ten million dollars for the challenger, it was the richest fight in boxing history to that time. The promotion of the fight took on racial overtones that were exaggerated by the promoters, something Cooney did not agree with. He believed that skill, not race, should determine if a boxer was good. However, if Cooney won, he would have become the first Caucasian world heavyweight champion since Swede Ingemar Johansson defeated Floyd Patterson 23 years earlier. This caused Don King to label Cooney "The Great White Hope." The bout drew attention worldwide, and Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney was one of the biggest closed-circuit/pay-per-view productions in history, broadcast to over 150 countries.

Cooney fought bravely after he was knocked down briefly in the second round. He was fined three points for repeated low blows. After 12 rounds, the more skillful and experienced Holmes finally wore him down. In round 13, Cooney's trainer stepped into the ring to save his fighter from further punishment.^[6] Two of the three judges would have had Cooney ahead after the 12th round if it weren't for the point deductions.^[7]

After a long layoff, Cooney fought in September, 1984, beating Phillip Brown by a 4th-round knockout in Anchorage, Alaska.^[8] He fought once more that year and won, but personal problems kept him out of the ring.^[9]

Cooney was far past his prime when he made an ill-advised comeback against former world heavyweight and world light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. Boxing carefully, with constant sharp counters, Spinks knocked him out in round 5. Cooney's last fight was in 1990. He was knocked out in a match of the veterans in two slugging rounds by former world champion George Foreman. Cooney did stagger Foreman in the first round, but he was simply over-matched, and Foreman knocked him out two minutes into the second round.

The losses to Holmes, Spinks, and Foreman exposed Cooney's Achilles' heel: his inability to clinch and tie up his opponent when hurt. In the Foreman fight, he rose from a second-round knockdown and simply stood in the center of the ring as Foreman delivered the coup de grâce.^[10]

Cooney compiled a professional record of 28 wins and 3 losses, with 24 knockouts. He is ranked number 53 on Ring Magazine's list of "100 Greatest Punchers of All Time".

Boxing style

Cooney, who is naturally left-handed, used an orthodox stance. This provided him with a powerful jab and a lethal left hook, but a comparatively weak right which he seldom used except in combinations. Most of his fights ended in quick knockouts; while this benefited him in the beginning of his career, it left him unprepared for his fight with Larry Holmes.^[11] Despite his devastating punching power, Cooney's moderate stamina and lack of experience proved to be his downfall.

Cooney's left-hook is described as one of the most powerful punches in boxing history.

Cooney was known for not throwing punches at the head, aiming instead for his opponent's chest, ribs, or stomach. This made him vulnerable at times, the fight against Holmes being an example.

According to George Foreman, Gerry Cooney was one of the three hardest punchers he had faced in his career along with Ron Lyle and Cleveland Williams.^[12]

Present life

Cooney founded the Fighters' Initiative for Support and Training, an organization which helps retired boxers find jobs. He has always tried to distance himself from the racism of the Holmes vs. Cooney match promotion. He and Holmes have become very good friends over the years. Cooney is also heavily involved with J.A.B., the first union for boxers. He became a boxing promoter for title bouts featuring Roberto Durán, Héctor Camacho, and George Foreman. Cooney is a supporter with of the "Hands are not for hitting" program, which tries to prevent domestic violence. He also does his part to instill and build interest in the sport by guiding aspiring young fighters in the gym.^[13]

In June 2010, Cooney became the co-host of "Friday Night at the Fights" on SIRIUS XM Radio where he shares his views with listeners on active fighters and relevant issues in the sport.^[14][15]

Gerry Cooney now resides in Fanwood, New Jersey, with his wife Jennifer and two of their three children, Jackson and Sarah. His other son Chris resides in New York. He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at Walt Whitman High School, where he graduated.

Cooney remains close friends with Holmes several years following their classic fight.^[16]

Professional boxing record

Cooney in popular culture

• In an episode of The Simpsons, "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)", Cooney is the official greeter of Mr. Burns' Casino who gets dropped by a single punch by Otto Mann.
• Cooney performed in the 1998 film Mob Queen as Mickey the Baker.
• He is mentioned in the film The Great White Hype.
• He's also 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.
• In the Season 5, 100th episode of 30 Rock, Dennis Duffy says he went to Gerry Cooney Elementary School.
• In the episode "Reverend Al" from season 10 of the FOX TV Show Married with Children, the character Al Bundy proclaimed that women could "no longer whip us (men) like a nation of Gerry Cooneys!"
• Guest starred as Angel in episode 17 of season 1 of ABC's Spenser: For Hire, "In a Safe Place" (Original airdate: February 14, 1986). Angel is an enforcer who outboxes Spenser but quits rather than hurt him.

References

1. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/gerry_cooney.html
2. SIVAULT 6/2/80, New York Daily News Archives, SIVAULT 4/19/82, New York Daily News Archives
3. Boxing 101, "Gerry Cooney vs. Jimmy Young: VHS Classic Rewind", May 25, 2012
4. Boxing 101,"Gerry Cooney vs. Ken Norton: VHS Classic Rewind", May 31, 2012
5. Boxing 101, "Gerry Cooney, Still A Gentleman 30 Years Later: Part One - The Championship Fight", April 30, 2012
6. Boxing 101 http://www.worldboxing101.com/2012/06/11/larry-holmes-vs-gerry-cooney-vhs-classic-rewind/
7. Holmes, Larry (1998). Against the odds. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312187361.
8. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122673/2/index.htm
9. Boxing 101, "Gerry Cooney, Still A Gentleman 30 Years Later: Part Two - Life After Boxing", May 1, 2012,
10. Video on YouTube
11. Boxing 101, "Gerry Cooney, Still A Gentleman 30 Years Later: Part One - The Championship Fight", April 30, 2012
12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmG_gR576EA
13. Boxing 101, "Gerry Cooney, Still A Gentleman 30 Years Later: Part Four - The Future of Boxing", May 3, 2012
14. Boxing 101, "Gerry Cooney, Still A Gentleman 30 Years Later: Part Two - Life After Boxing", May 1, 2012
15. Boxing 101, "Gerry Cooney, Still A Gentleman 30 Years Later: Part Three - Boxing Today", May 2, 2012
16. Boxing 101 http://www.worldboxing101.com/2012/06/11/larry-holmes-and-gerry-cooney-foes-for-a-night-friends-for-a-lifetime/

External links

• Professional boxing record for Gerry Cooney from BoxRec
• Interview with Gerry Cooney