Legendary nights

Kaptain

Master
Joined
Nov 25, 2004
Messages
3,384
Location
Minnesota
HBO runs a series called legendary nights that often has dealt with race and boxing. So far I have seen the Golata v. Bowe fight and riot, Arguello v. Aarron Pryor, and most recently Holmes v. Cooney.


Cooney really was a destroyer. He knocked out many opponents in the first round including Ken Norton in 54 seconds. I was 12 years old at the time and can remember the media basically refering to Cooney as a Great White Hope joke who didn't have a chance. I have now seen the entire fight and it was very close right up until the end. Cooney hurt the untouchable Holmes several times and Holmes was actually saved by the bell once - by his own admission. Cooney's fights usually didn't last very long and he was relatively an inexperienced fighter. Even so, he lasted until the 13th round. Everything I've ever heard or read about the fight basically said that it was a one sided joke. Nothing could be further from the truth.


Cooney earned a huge pay day and, unfortunetly, seemed to lose the desire to Box and further.
 

dkr77

Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
348
Location
United States
Cooney had one of the best left hooks of all time andone of few boxers who could end the fightwith a body shot. He was definitely not the stiff the main stream press painted him to be.
 

speedster

Mentor
Joined
Dec 9, 2004
Messages
704
I too saw the Cooney-Holmes fight recently on ESPN Classic Canada and it was a lot closer than I remembered it.Cooney certainly had his moments.The brawl that followed the Golota-Bowe fight was all racial in reverse,the black guys couldn't stand one of their own taking a beating at the hands of a white guy.The Arguello-Pryor fight was a classic.In the 13th round Arguello hit Pryor with such a devastating shot that his head snapped so far back that he was staring at the Miami sky.Any normal human would have went down,but Pryor's trainer,Panama Lewis was using a "special mix" for Pryor in between rounds,so he was on something.Panama Lewis was also the snake that removed plenty of the padding from the gloves of his fighter Alfredo Escelera in his fight against Tom Collins.By the end of the fight Collins face looked like it was steamrolled.
 
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