SPORTS
UJ
UJ
PORTLAND OBSERVER
Portland Observer
Volume XII, Number 36
Section II
W hy Cooney will win Holmes in three!
Som e w ill say, “ O h , no, I d o n t
w a n t to h ear a n y m o re a b o u t th a t
great white hope m y th .” O k a y , be
lieve it or not it does exist. How ever,
this w riter believes that Cooney docs
possess the skills to defeat an aging
L a rry H olm es, but also realize that
there's something extra Cooney will
have in his fa v o r and th a t m y
frie n d s is the rig h t p ig m e n ta tio n .
C all it fair or not but always realize
that it is a fact.
Fact: It has been m ore than tw o
decades since In g em aar Johannsen
knocked out Floyd Patterson to be
com e the firs , w h ite h e a v y w e ig h t
since Rocky M arcian o.
Fact: T h e re w ill be no b lack
ju d g e s at rin g s id e when G e rry
C o o n e y and L a r r y H o lm e s c lim b
through the ring and se, foot on the
QERRVCOONEY
by Ron Sykes, Sports E d ito r
apron.
As we go to press the outcome o f
the most b a lly h o o e d h eavyw eigh t
fig h t o f this decade w ill not yet be
k n o w n . B u t, w hen this newspaper
reaches the streets a verdict w ill have
been rendered. A nd if all the smoke
ever clears those eyes you w ill finally
see pecking through this heavy maze
w ill belong to one G e rry C o o n e y .
Yes, we realize that Cooney has yet to
meet a top-ranked heavyweight, and
w e're rem inded every day th at he’s
only had a mere 22 fights, and how
often must we hear that those oppo
nents C o o n e y d id d e fe a t w ere a ll
ch arter members o f the " O v e r-th e -
hill-gang.”
S o, n ow th a t a ll these s ta rtlin g
revelations have been m ade, and to
this w rite r stacked end to end they
w o u ld n 't am ount to a h ill o f beans.
I ’ ll give you the reasons why we pre
d ict a Cooney victory.
Fact: I f a decision is necessary,
and I d o n 't believe it w ill be, then
Cooney w ill have the help that he'll
need to keep this thing fro m going
another couple decades on the black
side, but G erry w ill see that no help
is needed by fla tte n in g H o lm e s
around the fifth or sixth round.
Fact: L a r r y H o lm e s has done
most o f the ta lk in g , w h ile C oo n ey
chose to let his fists do the talking.
Fact: Holm es, one o f 12 children,
b o rn in 1949 to Jo h n an d Flossie
H olm es, in C u lb e rt, G a ., w ill be in
the best shape o f his life . T h o u g h
com fortably rich. Holmes is still de
scribed as a h u n g ry fig h te r . H e
know s very well how fa r he’ s come
and is not in a h u rry to re tu rn . H e
once loaded tru c k s fo r a g arm en t
c o m p a n y , w o rk e d in a car w ash ,
p o u re d hot steel an d d id a little
farm ing to make ends meet.
H olm es w ill bring a perfect 29-0
record into the ring but like Cooney
. . .H o lm e s ’ re c o rd was not m ade
ag ain st a ll to p n otch fig h te rs . In
1976 L a rry faced such blockbusters
as Joe G h o ls to n , F red A skew and
R oy W illia m s — h a rd ly household
names. A n d i f 1976 was b ad , then
*77 d id n ’ t get any b e tte r w hen he
K O ’d T o m P ra te r, H o ra c e R o b in
son, Y o u n g S a n fo rd and Ib a n A r
rington all inside ten.
H o lm e s ’ s tiffe s t c o m p e titio n
came in 1978 when he faced an old
but hard-hitting Ernie Shavers.
It was a c la s s ic .. .th a t is i f you
view a slugging m atch as such fo r
these tw o gallant gladiators ripped
each other with rights and lefts from
round one 'til Holmes finally K O ’s a
very tire d Shavers in the 12th. But
n o t b e fo re E rn ie had n e a rly had
L a rry out in the 8th. O n closer per
sp ective H o lm e s ’ re c o rd leaves
much to be desired. W ith all the talk
about C o o n e y ’s lack o f top caliber
opponents, then wha, about Larry!
F ro m 1977 through 1982 Cooney
has only fought 85 rounds; he’s won
25, o f which 22 were knockouts. In
1977 he won a fo u r-ro u n d decision
over M a tt Robinson; ,978 he go, the
decision over Sam M c G ill in eight
rounds and January 1978 Eddie Lo
pez m an ag ed to s u rv iv e a b ru ta l
eight rounds only to d ro p a u n a n i
mous decision to C o o n e y . C o o n ey
has amassed 8 firs t ro u n d k n o c k
outs in his b r ie f c a re e r. G e rry
C o o n e y ’ s m ain assets are his fists.
The young man from New Y o rk is a
devastating puncher and is quick o ff
the m a rk . H olm es has a history o f
being h it and going d o w n . H e w ill
get hit by Cooney and the belief here
is th a t he w o n ’ t ge, u p . “ N u f f ”
said.
SENTRA FEVER
GET IT HERE!!
a
by A ! M cG ilb erry
June is busting out all over and so
will Las Vegas on June the 11th. A ll
the high rollers and stars o f film and
stage will be there. The occasion, o f
co urse, is th e h e a v y w e ig h t c h a m
p io n s h ip . G e rry C o o n e y , c h a l
len g er, and L a rry H o lm e s , c h a m
pion, will be in the square circle try
ing to decide w ho w ill be standing
victorious at the end o f round 15 or
by k n o c k o u t o r T K O in an e a rlie r
round. T h e victor o f course w ill be
Larry Holmes.
I k n o w p u b lic s e n tim e n t is fo r
C oo n ey to w in . W hy? Because the
m e d ia is p ro m o tin g h im in every
w a y . “ W h a t a c h a m p io n he w ill
b e ,” they say. Hogwash! Sure he is
younger an d m aybe even stron g er
bu, beat Holmes? N o way.
F ig h ts a re w on in th e rin g and
not on p a p e r and he w ill have to
beat L a rry . A n o th er thing is he has
never fought a man like L a rry , who
w ill hit him back harder than he has
ever been h it b e fo re . H o lm e s w ill
p un ish h im ro u n d by ro u n d w ith
tha, great ja b that he has. Folks, let
me te ll y o u , L a r r y is g o o d . V e ry
good.
It is a shame that he had to fight
after A li. W e all loved A li, but after
the last F ra z ie r fig h t A li was
th ro u g h . H e knew how to fo o l the
people and the judges. It was show
time and we all loved just to see our
hero in action.
B ut a ll fig h te rs lose som etim es
an d o u t o f the ashes cam e L a rry
Holm es. H e could not recite poetry.
H e d id n 't tell stories; he d id n ’ t joke
w ith C a s e ll. A ll he c o u ld do was
fight.
F ig h tin g is to u g h business and
Larry is just that. H e has fought all
comers and has ducked no one. He
d id it easy som etim es, got careless
sometimes, but as always a, the end
he remained victorious. H e has mas
tered his tra d e ; he is a c o m p le te
fig h te r. H is nam e w ill go d o w n in
history as one o f the greatest cham
pions o f ali time. Yes, A li, all tim e.
C o o n e y has been p ro m is e d ten
m illio n d o lla r s . C a n you b elieve
that? W h a t a g u a ra n te e fo r a guy
who never fo u gh t a top contender.
Michael Doaks and Greg Page really
w a n te d h im , b u t w h y sh ou ld he
fight tough guys when he could fight
bums and get a title shot? T he pub
lic should be ashamed fo r going for
this type o f hype. M illio n s o f dollars
will be spent to see this spectacle.
W tif*
LARRY HOLMES
W h y not H o lm es against D oaks
o r Page? W h y C o o n e y ? M o n e y ,
m oney, not records, or being tested
to earn the shot at the title . T h a t’ s
why Cooney is fighting Holmes. H e
should be fighting R ocky on the m o
vie screen. T h a t ’ s th e closest th is
fight w ill come to reality.
So, folks, d on ’t go to your refrig
e ra to r o r to the can dy c o u n te r. It
w ill be over quick. Holm es in three.
Satchell Page
by A t M c G ilb e rry
Som eone fin a lly caught up w ith
Satchel P aige. It had to be the big
reaper fo r no one else could catch
h im } he was running the game o f life
so fast.
H e was a legend in his own tim e, a
master o f the Am erican game called
baseball.
H e was black and great; he could
th ro w the baseball faster than any
m a n ever d id b e fo re o r since. H e
ju s t c o u ld n ’ t p la y in th e m a jo r
leagues because o f his color.
H e p layed ag a in s t th e m a jo r
league stars a fte r the W o rld Series
each y e a r. H e show ed th e s p o rt
w orld he was the best ever to throw
a b a ll— b e tte r th a n F e lle r, G ro v e
and the rest.
H e made a living by barnstorming
across the country— entertaining the
whole country by striking out teams
o f m ajor and m inor calibre.
H e was h u rt because Jackie was
the firs t o f his race to go in to the
m ajo r leagues, then he saw C am p y,
N e w k , D oby and others go into the
m a jo rs . I t b o th e re d h im so m uch
that he stopped playing the game he
loved so very much; his disappoint
m en t in not m a k in g th e m a jo rs
p la y e d so heavy on his h e a rt he
stayed at home and w ondered why
not him , why! why!
But soon they called fro m C leve
la n d . A t th e age o f 5 5 , w h en his
great speed had slowed to where you
c o u ld now see th e b a ll, S a tc h e l
Paige stood in fro n t o f eighty th o u
sand p eo p le w ith tears in his eyes
and threw his first pitch in the m ajor
leagues.
H is dream now fu lfille d , he could
relax and say, “ T h an k G od I finally
made it .” I t ’s too bad that the coun
try co uld not have seen him at his
greatest level o f speed. H e was really
great.
N ow he is on the greatest all-star
te a m . H e is th e n e w ly a p p o in te d
c a p ta in . I can see h im w in d in g up
striking out Babe, M e l, L o u , Jackie.
G o sh , he is s till the fastest o f them
a ll. T h is league has no re s tric tio n .
Everyone can play. Strike them out,
Satch, yo u ’re a w innerl
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