I would favour Klitschko, but its not a gamblers' fight. It would be interesting to see if Cooney could replicate Klitschkos career were he around today.
Cooney did really only one thing well... throw left hooks... his hook was undeniably a sledgehammer... he gets one of those in there early, he knocks Wlad out... but I doubt it happens that way... Klit would jab and hold, jab and hold, jab and hold until Cooney, whose stamina was a well-established liability, was exhausted and then he'd open up and knock him out
I'll take my pot shot at Gerry Cooney first who might as well have tied his right behind his back as little as he used it, not even knowing as much as David fucking Tua that you gotta at least move the thing to distract a guy and set the hook up. All starting with his weight distribution I suppose which was just absurdly front foot heavy. And horrific at cutting off the ring too, which was an even bigger failing, unable to throw moving to his right condemning him to follow guys around the ring all night long a step behind, hoping for them to drop their right so he could land to slow them up. For a left hooker not to be able to step right, thats a pretty unforgivable technical hole. And I rarely even saw him throw the wide right to the body as the guy moved that way which woulda at least slowed the guy if he couldn't cut off the ring with his feet. He threw it quite a bit against Young when Young stood in front of him but didn't seem to know enough to use it to cut a guy off. In short as cdogg said, a great left hook, totally inept in every other department. Dare I say it, in many ways Cooney was nearly as inept in the face of movement as a young Tua who at least knew to step right to cut off the ring and throw the right to a guy circling left (OTOH Tua took about 15s to set his feet to throw hard though which undid that and more). So the fight comes down to whether Wlad can move left effectively and not get caught in front of Cooney long enough for Cooney to land his shot. I think he probably can. I think he'd win by KO in about 6 or 7, since Cooney would force the issue and eat leather enough to tranquilize an angry Kangaroo. Obviously Wlad might freeze up and shit his pants when he felt Cooney's hook whistle past his ear, but I'd have my money on Klitschko by stoppage.
Coke, Beer and bad career decisions are as common today as they were in 1980. Cooney would still wind up in the Betty Ford center, make no mistake about it.
superbly said! the only thing I'd give Cooney credit for over Tua is that at least he tried to throw punches, even when things weren't going his way... he never quit trying against Holmes, he just was not good enough... Tua would have been content to eat Holmes' jab the whole night and lose it 14-2 on every card
The vice of choice among todays Heavies appears to be fast-food. You are right, however, that Cooney never displayed Klitschkos discipline. I dont think so, but perhaps more lasting results against todays crop would have inspired him more. Its possible for any man.
Cooney could also throw his hook hard at a moving target, which Tua nigh on literally couldn't. Tua would just throw pitty pat 'crab touches' until he caught a guy stood still - Cooney could set his feet and throw his hook much, much quicker. With a competent trainer Cooney could have been very good. His failings were correctable, while I dont think Tua's were. Ironically by the time of the Foreman fight you can see that somebody had started to work on them and shown him how to get his rhythm and balance right moving right - but too little too late.
That's the most disappointing thing about Tua, not him being as limited as he is. I used to be a Tua fan, but that Lewis performance ugh, and half of his others.
Fat fighters generally dont have any heart. All the estrogen in their blood stream, innit. Tua was probably sobbing during Oprah by the time he fought Obed Sullivan.
True, although Riddick Bowe was one to buck that trend, & in a big way. Joe Frazier wouldve been proud of his grit in the second Golota debacle.
What do you mean? All I was saying is that IMO Wlad and Cooney are different class of fighters just like Etienne and Frazier were
No. Cooney has better wins and sure as shit would never have lost to Lamont Brewster. Wlad's better but comparing the difference to Frazier and Eittiene is....no.
Yes. I've always felt this way. When I watched the Holmes-Cooney fight I remember thinking, if this guy actually knew how to fight, Holmes might be in trouble. Even with his flaws, Cooney still gave Holmes a difficult fight before running out of steam.
Also known as hyperbole, which means that the expression is not literally true but it expresses the thought and feeling behind it. Just like it is always exaggeration to say that fighter A has NO chance against fighter B (because there can always be a freak accident)
Double talk. Awesome. Spin it any way you like. It was still a bad comparison. I often wonder how confident certain posters (not just you) are of their favorite fighter(s) when they need to resort to exaggeration (or the more fancy "hyperbole") in order to try pump that fighter a little more.
Right, so 'Kirk Johnson is a whale' is also a bad comparison, because an actual whale weights several tons and lives in a sea. My point, which I thought was an obvious one, is that in my opinion Cooney and Wlad are in different class. I just didn't realize this was one of the forbidden opinions
:atu: Your newest example really isn't the same as your first. So...more double talk. Ugh. Whatever. It's like talking to Irish. And we already have one of him. So, please definitely come back with another spin on this. Me...I'm done with it. As you were...
