27 Years Later, Holmes-Cooney Lives On

It’s hard for me to believe it’s been 27 years since Larry Holmes and Gerry Cooney squared off in Las Vegas. June 11th, 1982 the two heavyweights squared off at Caeser’s Palace.

I was 12 years old at the time. Old enough to remember this wasn’t an ordinary heavyweight championship fight. My family were huge boxing fans. If boxing was on, no matter who was fighting, we were around the television watching. My late uncle would go to the horse track to watch the big fights on closed circuit. Later, he would attend big fights in Atlantic City.

What was different about this fight were the conversations. It went beyond boxing strategy and predictions. It was obvious that Holmes and Cooney had become one of social importance.

Don King and Dennis Rappaport knew the best way to make the fight one of the most profitable of its time. Make it all about race. They knew it would sell tickets and keep it in the headlines. Black champion boxer against white, Irish boxer. It said more about King and Rappaport than it did the fighters. Both men, literally, tried to using a boxing match to tear apart the country. And for what? So they could make a few extra dollars. Only in America.

As if Holmes’ insecurities weren’t exposed enough, the champ had to take a 50-50 split with the challenger. Rappaport also negotiated having Cooney announced second. Something that’s usually reserved for the champion. HBO’s Legendary Nights does a great job taking a look back at the social impact of the fight.

Holmes would win the fight on a stoppage in the 13th round and, thankfully, it was. The fight is remembered as one that Holmes dominated. But, think about it, if Cooney doesn’t get discouraged and hit Holmes with three low blows, he’s ahead on two scorecards. “It was going to be a robbery,” King said. This is the one right thing the deplorable promoter got right. Could you imagine what would have happened if Cooney won the fight by decision? Mills Lane probably stopped a riot and a serious black eye on the sport back when the sport was still important in the nation’s mind.

As time has past, I’ve found that night was unrewarding to both fighters. Holmes never received the respect he deserved. What made it worse was he was one step away from tying Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0 when he lost to under Michael Spinks. After his loss to Spinks, Holmes’ post fight tirade made it even harder for him to get the respect he deserved.

For Cooney, this night is what he’s most known for. Even more than his dominating performance against Ken Norton. It was obvious that Rappaport viewed Cooney as a commodity not a human being. His career was never the same after that. Michael Spinks and George Foreman dominated him. He would retire after the Foreman loss.

Hopefully boxing is well past that point. When Deontay Wilder squared off against Tyson Fury, there was little to no talk about the race of each fighter. There was no social consequence at stake.

Over the twenty plus years, Holmes and Cooney have become friends and, at times, appear together. Something no one could imagine on a steamy night in June.

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