When Larry Holmes and Gerry Cooney finally met on June 11,1982 after months of negotiations and delays, I had no doubt that Larry would win. Even though he had been the legitimate heavyweight champ for four years, he didn’t get the respect from the press or tv commentators like Howard Cosell, who found fault with everything he did. To see this one on closed-circuit, I had the pleasure of only driving three miles from my home to the Coliseum in Voorhees, New Jersey, the training home of the Philadelphia Flyers. They turned their tennis courts into a theatre with a huge screen, far more convenient than driving to Philadelphia or Atlantic City to watch a big fight.
Larry was effective from the opening bell and dropped Gerry with a sharp right hand in the 2nd round. Cooney did hurt Larry in the body on a number of occasions and was competitive through the 9th round. Fatigue took in from that point on and by the 13th round, Holmes pounded him with head shots until Cooney sagged to the canvas ,holding onto the ring ropes as he fell. His trainer Victor Valle ran into the ring to stop the attack and to protect his fighter from any further punishment.
I was thrilled that Larry finally started to get the respect after the huge win, even from Howard Cosell. Cooney on the other fan went into hibernation, starting drinking and using cocaine and stayed out of the ring for two and half years. He had been protected by his ‘Wacko Twins’ managers Dennis Rappaport and Mike Jones and had never fought anyone but old men until he met Holmes. The best man won that late spring night in 1982 and I was happy he did. Larry would remain the champion for 71/2 years while Cooney would only fight 5 times between 1982 and 1990, finally retiring after being knocked out by George Foreman in January 1990.
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