Gerry Cooney

This tied the record set in 1948 by Lee Savold for the quickest knockout in a main event in Madison Square Garden.

Since his management team was unwilling to risk losing a big future pay day with Holmes by having him face another viable fighter, Cooney did not fight for 13 months after defeating Norton.

Gerald Arthur Cooney (born August 24, 1956) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1990.

He won two New York Golden Gloves Championships, the 1973 160-lb Sub-Novice Championship and the 1976 Heavyweight Open Championship.

Cooney defeated Larry Derrick to win the 1973 160-lb Sub-Novice title, and Earlous Tripp to win the 1976 Heavyweight Open title.

In 1975 he reached the finals of the 175-lb Open division, but was defeated by Johnny Davis.

Cooney trained at the Huntington Athletic Club in Long Island, New York, where his trainer was John Capobianco.

His amateur record consisted of 55 wins and 3 losses.

When he turned professional, Cooney signed with co-managers Mike Jones and Dennis Rappaport.

He was trained by Victor Valle.

Known for his big left-hook and his imposing size, the tall, lean Cooney had his first paid fight on February 15, 1977, beating Billy Jackson by a knockout in one round.

Nine wins followed and Cooney gained attention as a future contender, although his opponents were carefully chosen.

He moved up a weight class and fought future world cruiserweight champion S. T. Gordon in Las Vegas, winning by a fourth round disqualification.

Cooney had 11 more wins, spanning 1978 and 1979.

Among those he defeated were Charlie Polite, Eddie Lopez, and Tom Prater.

These were not rated contenders, however.

By 1980, Cooney was being featured on national television.

Stepping up, he beat one-time title challengers Jimmy Young and Ron Lyle, both by 'knockouts.' The Young fight was stopped because of cuts sustained by Young.

By then Cooney was ranked number 1 by the WBC and eager for a match with champion Larry Holmes.

In 1981, he defeated former world heavyweight champion Ken Norton by a knockout just 54 seconds into the first round with a blisteringly powerful attack.

He challenged twice for world heavyweight titles in 1982 and 1987.

He is widely regarded as one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history.

He beat Champions Ken Norton and S. T. Gordon as well as top contenders Ron Lyle and Jimmy Young.

He boasts an impressive 85.7% knockout to win percentage.

Born into a blue collar Irish-Catholic family on Long Island, Cooney was encouraged to become a professional fighter by his father.

His brother Tommy Cooney was also a boxer, and reached the finals of the New York Golden Gloves Sub-Novice Heavyweight division.

Cooney's grandparents lived in Placentia, Newfoundland, in Canada.

Fighting as an amateur, Gerry Cooney won international tournaments in England, Wales, and Scotland, as well as the New York Golden Gloves titles.

The following year, Holmes agreed to fight him with the fight held June 11, 1982.

With a purse of ten million dollars for the challenger, it was the richest fight in boxing history to that time.

The promotion of the fight took on racial overtones that were exaggerated by the promoters, something Cooney did not agree with.

He believed that skill, not race, should determine if a boxer was good.

However, if Cooney won, he would have become the first Caucasian world heavyweight champion since Swede Ingemar Johansson defeated Floyd Patterson 23 years earlier.

Don King called Cooney "The Great White Hope."

The bout, held June 11, 1982 drew attention worldwide, and Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney was one of the biggest closed-circuit/pay-per-view productions in history, broadcast to over 150 countries.

Cooney fought bravely after he was knocked down briefly in the second round.

He was fined three points for repeated low blows.

After 12 rounds, the more skillful and experienced Holmes finally wore him down.

In round 13, Cooney's trainer Victor Valle stepped into the ring, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Two of the three judges would have had Cooney ahead after the 12th round if it weren't for the point deductions.