Everyone wanted a shot at the Heavyweight champion of the world. The undisputed and undefeated king, Mike Tyson, had ruled the division for over three years. While he continued to reign, a shot at the crown became so financially attractive that comebacks had become commonplace.
On January 15, 1990, 26 years ago to the day, Olympic gold medalist and former Heavyweight champion George Foreman squared off against former top contender Gerry Cooney.
Now age 40, Foreman (64-2, 60 KOs) had begun his comeback in March of 1987. After 10 years away from the ring, “Big” George was fighting on a very regular basis. In less than three years, he had fought 19 times, winning every bout. Only one opponent had made it to the final bell in his second career.
At 33, Cooney (28-2, 24 KOs) had been away from the ring for two and a half years. Since losing his first bout in a mega showdown against then champion Larry Holmes in 1982, Cooney had fought only four times since. “Gentleman” Gerry was stopped in his previous bout, in June of 1987, against Michael Spinks.
The bout was billed as “The Preacher versus The Puncher.” Cooney, recognized as a gigantic puncher, had a crushing left hook that had put away men like Ron Lyle and Ken Norton. Foreman could punch, too. He played the role of the preacher as his time away from the ring included becoming a reverend at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Houston.
Fan interest was mixed. Detractors argued the bout should have been billed “Two Geezers at Caesars” while many fans held their breath anticipating a slugfest between two enormous bombers.
Dan Dierdorf teamed with Alex Wallau to call the action.
The Convention Center in Atlantic City played host to the bout as nearly 13,000 fans were in attendance. Scheduled for 10 rounds, the fight aired on closed-circuit and pay-per-view television.
Ring announcer Michael Buffer introduced referee Joe Cortez and then the fighters. Round 1 was quickly underway with both men meeting in the center of the ring.
At 231 pounds, Cooney wore black trunks with white trim. He gave away 22 pounds to Foreman who tipped the scales at 253 pounds. A determined Cooney looked to circle Foreman and pop his left jab. He occasionally dipped to his left and fired his trademark crippling left hook to Foreman’s body.
Foreman, looking calm and focused, slowly plodded forward with his massive arms crisscrossed in front of him to defend against Cooney’s incoming firepower. Wearing white trunks trimmed on each side with blue and red, Foreman was firing his own telephone pole left jab.
Less than one minute into the first round, both men began unloading the heavy artillery. Foreman fired blistering right hands while Cooney was clearly comfortable bombing back with his left hook.
With just 20 seconds to go in the round, Foreman again moved in to attack. Cooney countered and hammered home a cruise missile in the form of a left hook. The crowd rose as Foreman’s legs buckled and the big man momentarily staggered.
Wallau wailed, “And that time Gerry got a little left hook in and he wobbled Big George! First damage to either fighter done by Cooney with an inside left hook to Foreman’s head!”
The bell sounded to end the round. Cooney’s trainer, Gil Clancy, liked what he was seeing. Foreman, as had become his custom during his comeback, stood in his corner in between frames.
The bell sounded to begin Round 2 and Foreman charged right at Cooney. Foreman had decided to turn up the heat and shift into a higher gear. Big George was sharp with his left jab while blasting right and left uppercuts to Cooney’s jaw.
At the midway point of the second round, Foreman leaped in with a left uppercut that might as well been thrown from the third row. The punch landed flush and impaled on the side of Cooney’s face.
Dierdorf’s voice rose, “Oh! Look at the left! And Gerry Cooney’s in big trouble! He’s ready to go! And there he goes!”
Foreman continued to club away with bulldozing right and left hooks until Cooney collapsed to the mat. The crowd stood and roared as Cooney climbed off the canvas and back to his feet.
After taking the standing eight count from Cortez, Cooney slowly advanced as Foreman raced towards him from the neutral corner. Foreman immediately dipped his hips and fired a thundering left upper cut. Dierdorf screamed as Cooney’s head rolled, “Ohhh!”
As Cooney’s body folded, Foreman hammered him with a crushing right hand sending him to the canvas where he lay in a motionless heap. Wallau wailed, “And that’s it!”
Dierdrof finished the call, “This fights over! This fights over! George Foreman blows away Gerry Cooney in the second round!”
Foreman had stopped Cooney in devastating fashion.
After the fight, Foreman said Cooney had hurt him after having tasted his power. “He hit me harder than anyone I’ve ever been in the ring with.” Foreman went on to fulfil his dream and reclaimed the Heavyweight title in November of 1994.
Cooney hung the gloves up for good after the loss to Foreman. Both men will be remembered for their remarkable power matched only by their heart, desire, and will to win.
