Was Gerry Cooney a good boxer or was he just a "great white hype"?

Question

Was Gerry Cooney a good boxer or was he just a "great white hype"?

Answer 1

I think he could have been.  Joe Bugner said that Cooney's hook was harder than Joe Fraizer's.

Was he a white hype?  Obviously.  His handlers put him in with the "anti-Cooney", Larry Holmes: and underrated and underrespected heavyweight champ.  They knew that their 6'5" Marciano would turn Holmes into a coward.  Knowing what we know now, Cooney was un-prepared for a big fight and would have been better off winning the WBA crown and worked his way up to Holmes' level.  But I guess everyone knows that, now.  But back then, everyone that wasn't a smart boxing fan gave Larry Holmes little chance to win, so isn't that the definition of "great white hype"?

Answer 2

He was a helluva a good fighter. Just because he lost to Larry Holmes does not make him hype.

Larry beat a whole bunch of fighters who were black, do their credentials as a fighter get questioned? No.

Only stupid people who are racists towards whites as fighters say that.

Answer 3

Cooney was a good fighter but what I disliked about him was he could dish it out but when faced with a decent puncher he couldn't take it.  If he had better defensive skills and a better jaw he would have been awesome but how many other wannabes could we say that about.  He was a cringer when he took a good shot he cringed like a sissy.

Answer 4

He was a good boxer, with a nice, devastating left hook.However, I think because of his complexion, I feel he got more press than a couple of contenders who were also in the thick of things, Page and Dokes.

Answer 5

Cooney had skills and power and if he had faced one of the lesser 80s heavyweights, he probably would have won a version of the title.

He wasn't a great fighter and he had a vulnerable chin but he did have good skills and his left hook was devastating!  Unfortunately, he will mostly be remembered for his skin color and loss to Larry Holmes.  And that is a shame.

Answer 6

I believe that if Gerry Cooney people had not protected him so much he would have been heavy weight champion he had it all size a good jab he could move a great right hand and one of the best left hooks in the history of the game. I don,t think Cooney had the confidence to beat Larry Holmes  because leading up to that fight he had been fed a diet of no name fighters and when you do that you start to think am I any good why don,t my people let me fight the best out there.I am shocked that Cooney did not become a world champion

Answer 7

Watch his fight against Holmes and you will see that he was indeed a good fighter, that was a prime Larry Holmes who he pushes to the limit, he was maybe overhyped a bit because of being white but doesnt that happen to every White Heavyweight in America i mean look at Tommy Morrison. I must say though that Cooney was not all hype though, as well as testing Larry he knocked Ken Norton out quickly and ended his career and you have to be a decent fighter just to floor Norton the only other fighter i remember doing that to Norton was the extremely heavy handed Shavers, Ali couldnt do it in any of there 3 fights. I would rate Cooney as good but not great.

Answer 8

Gerry Cooney had the heart of a lion and he also had good boxing skills. He was more of a puncher than he was a  polished boxer. His left hook was one of the best and could drop any other boxer of his era.  The white hype was just to promote his fights. It was up to him to perform once he was in the ring

Answer 9

jerry cooney was ok but he had a glass chin and he had a checkered career

Answer 10

he was a good boxer, a big guy with good punching power and decent skills, he had a terrific left hook and he does have some good wins on his resume, don king took advantage of his race to turn into a gate attraction and bring in more money, he knew that cooney never stood a chance against holmes but he also knew that there would be racist people stupid enough to think that he could win and willing to pay big money to see their great white hope win the title from the bid bad black man (a la rocky balboa)....in reality he never had the skill level or the chin necessary to win against larry holmes, the easton assassin is the closest i have seen to a complete heavyweight whereas cooney was just good but not exactly great.....i think gerry cooney deserves some respect i rate him higher than tommy morrison.