After his loss to Larry Holmes on June 11, 1982, Gerry Cooney went into a self admitted period of depression and alcohol abuse. He withdrew from the public, and made no plans to go back into the ring at all. His reputation sank, and his image became that of a fighter with no heart.
He didn’t fight at all the remainder of 1982 and 1983. Finally in the fall of 1984, he ventured back into the ring. His first bout was in Anchorage, Alaska against Philipp Brown, who he knocked out in the fourth round. At least he was back in the ring, and vowed fight often, and make a concerted effort to win the heavyweight championship.
On December 8th, he traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, and knocked out George Chaplin in two rounds. Both fights were on CBS, and it seemed as if Gerry was serious about his comeback. I always loved a story like his, and hoped he would do as he said.
Unfortunately, he did anything but. He never stepped into the ring in 1985, and had one fight in 1986. An easy one round knockout on May 31st in San Francisco of Eddie Gregg. Amazingly, after this one knockout live on ABC, his name was back in the discussion when it came to title shots. Cooney could punch, he was nice looking, and he was white. That would be reason enough, and the fighter his managers set their sights on was IBF champion Michael Spinks.
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