Jan. 15, 1990: Foreman vs Cooney

They billed Foreman vs Cooney as “The Preacher and The Puncher,” but it quickly became known as “The Geezers at Caesars,” this unique crossroads battle between two aging heavyweights looking for respect. Gerry Cooney had lost his in the eight years following one of the biggest fights in boxing history and his first career defeat, a thirteenth round TKO loss to champion Larry Holmes. After that setback, his career had dwindled away, a result of his choosing to spend more time in nightclubs than the gym, pulling out of various fights at the last minute, and squandering his talent as one of the hardest hitting heavyweights since, well, George Foreman. In 1987 he lost by fifth round knockout to Michael Spinks and hadn’t been heard from since.

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The Preacher and The Puncher

Big George, a former world champion dethroned by Muhammad Ali in 1974, had retired from boxing in 1977 following a decision loss to Jimmy Young and a spiritual crisis in his dressing room immediately after the bout. While in the shower he suddenly found himself in a dark pit of death and despair and he pleaded with God to help him. He subsequently retired, became a born again Christian and spent the better part of a decade working as a pastor at his church in Houston, Texas.

In 1987, to everyone’s bewilderment, Foreman returned to the ring, ostensibly to raise money for Houston’s George Foreman Youth Center. No one took his comeback seriously. At 38 years of age, he looked like a cartoon, his huge belly bulging out over the high waistband of his boxing trunks. But George paid the naysayers no mind and went about scoring knockout after knockout over various club fighters and fringe contenders. The Cooney bout, the twentieth in his unlikely return, was seen as Big George’s first real test, a match to determine if the new George Foreman and his comeback could be viewed as something other than a cringe-making sideshow.

They call it a crossroads fight because the stakes are high. Both Cooney and Foreman knew a loss likely meant the end of their respective careers and both prepared accordingly. Cooney hired veteran boxing coach and manager Gil Clancy — briefly Foreman’s trainer in the 70s — to anchor his corner, while Foreman had the legendary Archie Moore in his. And if the writers and pundits dismissed Foreman vs Cooney as a joke, the public knew a potentially explosive heavyweight match-up when they saw one and promptly sold-out Caesars in Atlantic City. And soon after the bell rang for round one, as many expected, it did not take long for the fireworks to start.

Foreman, constantly coming forward, was intent on walking Cooney down and cornering him, while “Gentleman Gerry” boxed smartly, snapping the jab and sidestepping George’s advances. The busier Cooney had the edge in most of the exchanges in the opening round and just before round’s end he wobbled Big George with a short left hook on the inside. Round one to “The Puncher.”

Cooney topples and the fight is over.

But round two was a very different story. It appeared Cooney lacked the stamina to sustain his strategy of staying one step ahead of Big George. Under constant pressure, he relented and tried to stand his ground with “The Preacher.” The second he did, the fight was Foreman’s and the former champion wasted no time landing heavy shots to both body and head. A haymaker uppercut froze Cooney and George’s follow-up fusillade put him down. Hard. Gerry gamely climbed to his feet only to have Foreman casually stride up and land a devastating, drive-by left hook that put him out on his feet. Foreman landed a follow-up right, Gerry toppled over, and the referee didn’t bother to count. Cooney lay on the canvas for over a minute.

The bout’s aftermath proved it to be a true crossroads fight: “The Puncher” never fought again, while “The Preacher” went on to astound everyone while completely transforming his image and persona. The following year Foreman gave Evander Holyfield one of his toughest battles, and then, in 1994, to the astonishment of all, the 45-year-old warrior actually regained the heavyweight championship of the world with a one punch knockout of Michael Moorer.

– Michael Carbert 

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One thought on “Jan. 15, 1990: Foreman vs Cooney

  • January 16, 2018 at 10:06 pm
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    Devastating beauty of a fight. Violence as art.

    Reply

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