Would Joshua try to slug it out with Cooney or would he go to the hippity-hop style like he did in his last two fights?
It certainly matters. Cooney could EASILY win this fight. AJ is garbage and so is his chin. I'm not even talking about the Ruiz stoppage loss. That bum Dillian Whyte hurt him with a left hook, and a 700-year-old Wlad was ever so close to stopping him. Why on Earth would he be some lock against one of the most devastating left hookers in heavyweight history? And Cooney, if nothing else, was a wicked finisher. Moreover, Cooney did better against a prime Holmes than I see AJ doing. I think Larry would chew AJ's bum ass up and spit him out inside of 8.
The list of title contenders who Holmes stopped inside eight: Marvis Scott Frank Leon Spinks Scott Ledoux Leroy Jones Lorenzo Zanon Alfredo Evangelista Ossie Ocasio Not exactly a murderer's row. As for the fight, I guess Cooney has a puncher's chance but probabilities are clearly on Joshua's side
AJ is far from garbage and his resume, skills and talents piss all over Cooney's. AJ's improved a lot since Whyte, and if nothing else, Whyte has a damn good left hook. Sure, it isn't Cooney-esque, but it's proven to do damage. And Joshua didn't even really get hurt, he stopped in his tracks put his hands up higher and kept walking forward. Furthermore, would Cooney be a lock over Ruiz from Joshua I or Parker? Certainly not IMO, I'd pick him to lose to both. And Klitschko at 40 clearly had more left than the old men Cooney beat. Let's not forget what happened when Cooney fought a 40 year old HW ATG himself... But anyway, the styles favour Joshua. His best strengths are building combinations off sneaky shots. Has been since the Olympics. If he turns a right over on Cooney, then works an uppercut or hook then he'd have Cooney sound asleep. And I don't see why Joshua can't do better vs Holmes. Aside from lasting awhile, Cooney had virtually no success outside of low blows. I think I had him down by ten points after the deductions.
