Gerry Cooney
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Gerry Cooney (Born August 4, 1956) was a boxer from Huntington, New York best known for his devastating left hook to the body. Some consider him among the hardest-hitting heavyweights in history.
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[edit] Life Before Boxing
Cooney was raised in a blue-collar Long Island family, and lived out his father's dream to become a professional fighter. Cooney's brother, Tom 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 Jim Jacobs and Dennis Rapporport. He was trained by Victor Valle Sr.
[edit] 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 ST 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 United States 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 in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd and HBO cameras.
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, which Cooney may not have wanted. If Cooney won, he would be the first white world heavyweight champion in 23 years. Don King played this up by calling 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.
Cooney lost the fight by disqualification in the 13th round. When his trainer Victor Vallie stepped into the ring in the 13th round, under the Nevada state athletic commission rules disqualification was automatic. He took a year off, intending to return in late 1983, but he was cut in sparring and had to lay off for another year.
In September of 1984 he finally stepped into the ring again, beating Phillip Brown by a knockout in 4 rounds in New Orleans. He fought one more time and won, but personal problems took him away from the ring again.
In 1987, he made a one-fight comeback to meet former world heavyweight champion Michael Spinks, losing by a knockout in five rounds. Cooney's last fight was in 1990; he was blown away in two rounds by the former world champion George Foreman. Overall, Cooney compiled a professional record of 28 wins and 3 losses, with 25 knockouts.
[edit] Life After Boxing
Cooney then started the FIST Foundation, an organization which has helped retired boxers of all races 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 now resides in Fanwood, New Jersey
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.
