Page 10 Portland Observer, June 17, 1982
SPORTS
PORTLAND OBSERMER
Long live the King!
by A l McGilberry
He came to Los Vegas unloved.
The media favored Cooney four to
one to win the crown. They said he
was old and only fought stiffs and
pretenders. Time Magazine ignored
him completely. Sports Illustrated
put him on the inside flap.
He was the heavyweight cham
pion o f the world that very few peo
ple loved or admired. They always
came to see the opponent, not espe
cially the fine skills he possessed.
What did he have to prove? He
had defended the crown 11 times.
He had fought 39 times profession
ally and had never been beaten. He
beat A li, Norton, Young, Weaver,
Shavers, a ll comers and was de-
claredthe winner everytime. He is a
great champion but not loved by the
people who report sport.
But tonight was different; he was
fig htin g before one o f the largest
crowds in boxing h isto ry, and he
would prove to a ll doubters the
skills and professionalism o f Larry
Holmes.
The crowd roared a fter Cooney
was announced; they hissed and
booed fo r L a rry but he knew the
rights would soon be his greatest
moment o f triumph.
Cooney prayed before the fig ht
like Rocky would do on the movie
screen, but Holmes came in to the
ring to work and refine his craft on
the enemy, Gerry Cooney.
The bell rang and the fight began
everyone expecting to see the new
kid on the block beat this seasoned
veteran o f many ring wars.
Reflections on the fight
Beginning o f th e end . . .
Cooney seemed clumsy and ner
vous. Holmes was co nfid e nt and
cautious u n til the second round
when Cooney fell, when L arry re
treated and didn’ t try for the knock
out I knew then that punish plan
was in operation.
Punish him he did, for 12 rounds,
displaying all the skills o f his trade.
It was beautiful.
In the 13th round they stopped
the fight; he could stand that pun
ishing jab and right hand no longer.
Cooney surrendered.
It was great to see a man who has
paid his dues and learned his trade
the hard way stand victorious to the
world. A ll men must now acknow
ledge his greatness and the record he
has achieved.
We w ill write later about the low
blows, the bad scoring and the racial
slurs that still ring among men in the
'80s. I just want to savor the T.K.O.
and enjoy this time ju s t to say,
“ Hail and Long Live the King o f the
Ring, Larry Holmes.”
World Cup Projections
B razil, the Federal Republic o f
Germany (West Germany) and A r
gentina are the best bet to win the
World Cup in Soccer. However, be
cause o f the way the matches are
scheduled it is impossible fo r Brazil
and Argentina to meet in the final
round because one o f the two will be
eliminated before that.
The 24 teams w ill compete from
June 13th to July 11th. The teams
are divided into six groups and the
top two teams in each group w ill
play in the second round. Winners
o f fo u r groups from the second
round w ill qualify for the semi-fin
als in Barcelona and Seville (Spain)
July 8th. The third-place playoffs
and the final game will be played on
July 10th and 11th.
Group I: Italy, Poland, Peru and
Cameroon. Italy and Poland have a
good chance to reach the second
round. Ita ly and Peru have had a
scoreless game, and Peru was score
less with Cameroon. Peru was late
in organizing its team because many
o f its star players were playing
abroad. Rumors are out that Cam
eroon used witchcraft to stop Peru.
Group II: West Germany, Algeria,
C hile, A u stria . West Germany
should finish first, with Austria sec
ond. Chile should do well and A l
geria did well in the e lim ina tio n
rounds, but we predict West Ger
many and Austria, one, two.
Group I II: Argentina, Belgium,
Hungary, El Salvador. Argentina,
the current title holder, will wind up
first. Hungary has a slight edge for
second, but Belgium has a good
chance since it surprised Argentina
in the opening game. El Salvador’s
only claim to fame is that it is there.
After all, El Salvador and Honduras
did win that right over the U.S. and
Canada. El Salvador has already
been beaten by Hungary 10 to 1.
G roup IV : E ngland, France,
Czechoslovakia, K uw ait. The
French and Czechs have to be con
sidered. Kuwait is reported to have
spent a lot o f money on its team—
but that is not enough.
Group V: Spain, Honduras, Yu
goslavia, Northern Ireland. Spain
will try very hard since it is the host
country. Look for Spain and Yugo
slavia to make the second round.
Northern Ireland w ill make a seri
ous e ffo rt, but Honduras doesn’ t
have a chance.
Group VI: Brazil, Soviet Union,
Scotland, New Zealand. Brazil
should be in first place. We pick the
Soviet Union fo r second, but Scot
land has a chance. New Zealand is
just along for the ride.
Our picks fo r the finals are
Argentina, Brazil, West Germany;
but the U.S.S.R. and Poland must
be taken into account. The whole
world is watching, but the results
will not be in until July 11th.
You don’t need
a credit card
to get our deal.
-U M
The Memorial Coliseum was jam
packed (4,196) for the Holmes vs.
Cooney showdown.
They all (mostly) came to see the
cancellation o f Larry Holmes’ re
gime and the beginning o f some
thing new—Cooney’s dethronement
o f the reigning ruler. But what this
crowd witnessed was the dotal de
struction o f the myth that we knew
as Gerry Cooney. Cooney fought
valiantly but w ith few skills com
pared to the master that 1 now know
as Larry Holmes.
Holmes entered the ring at Cae
sar’s Palace a sturdy 9-S favorite. It
should have been 20-1. This was not
a performance by L a rry Holmes,
but one by a superbly conditioned,
intelligent, and masterful Holmes.
In the past. Holmes’ condition at
times left something to be desired.
This time he was as sleek as a Tiger
and quick as the mongoose.
1 picked Cooney by KO and was
shocked by the Larry Holmes o f Fri
day night.
My thoughts were that the thun
derous left hook o f Gerry's would
eventually close the door on
Holmes. And i f not then Cooney
would win a 15-round decision,
having kept in mind the fact that
there hadn't been a white champion
in over two decades. I was wrong on
the left hook. Not just wrong but so
drastically wrong that 1 did n ’ t see
one all night.
And, as sad as it was, if Holmes
had not com pletely destroyed
Cooney, and if a decision had been
reached, the Gerry Cooney just very
well may have been sitting on that
throne today. Two judges, appar
ently blind or just plain cheating,
had Cooney only two points down.
And remember Gerry was penalized
three points for low blows.
These grand old men, who mas
querade as judges, were doing all
w ith in their power to change the
course o f this fight.
For their actions last Friday night
at Caesar’ s Palace they should be
banned from boxing for life.
The Sports Editor o f the Observer
took a great deal o f heat from the
community for his recent selection
o f Gerry Cooney to defeat L arry
Holmes. Calls o f all kinds cascaded
down to our Killingsw orth office.
“ Are you w orking fo r the Ore
gonian or the J o u rn a l!” cried Von
Ray.
"M a n , before you make such
stupid selections,” said Bob Don
aldson, “ ask someone who knows.”
These and many more were received
and we're glad because it lets us
know that our work is being read.
On all events o f this magnitude
there’ s bound to be a diverse array
o f thoughts, and there certainly
were.
The Los Angeles Sentinel, the
leading black newspaper in the
U.S., had the follow ing thoughts
from their staff members:
Brad Pye, J r.— "G e rry Cooney
by a knockout within six.”
Chico C. Norwood—“ I f Holmes
doesn’ t knock Cooney o ut, then
Cooney w ill take it in a decision.
There’ s more pressure on Holmes
because he’ s black. Cooney is a l
ready the toast o f white America.”
Theo " N ix ” Thom as— "T h e
coon, Gerry Cooney.”
Ken M ille r—"G e rry Cooney in
10.”
Th« «nd.
Phyliss Bailey—“ I f I were a bet
ting man, I would place my money
on Larry Holmes.”
Faith C. C hristm as—" I want
Doug W illiam s o f the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers to win. but after seeing
Larry Holmes cute little daughter,
I've got to go with him. But (hen,
what do I know?”
Phil Rhoten— "G e rry Cooney's
going to whip that n---- ’ s a--.”
And remember this was all from
the staff o f the L.A. Sentinel.
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