Gerry Cooney and Jimmy Young DUAL SIGNED action shot 8" x 10" photo, 25th May 1980, Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Condition excellent

Cooney W TKO 4
A cut over Young's left eye led to a stoppage at the end of the fourth round.

Price: £45

Gerry Cooney (born August 4, 1956) From Huntington, New York best known for his loss to Larry Holmes in one of the most celebrated boxing matches in history.

Life Before Boxing
Born into a blue collar Irish-American 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.

Amateur Boxing
Fighting as an amateur, Gerry Cooney won international tournaments in England, Wales and Scotland, as well as the New York Golden Gloves titles. He won two New York Golden Gloves Championships, the 1973 160lb Sub-Novice Championship and the 1976 Heavyweight Open Championship. Cooney defeated Larry Derrick to win the 1973 160lb Sub-Novice title, and Earlous Tripp to win the 1976 Heavyweight Open title. In 1975 he reached the finals of the 175lb 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, Sr. 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 then trained by Victor Valle Sr.

Professional Career
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. 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, former US heavyweight champion Eddie Lopez, and Tom Prater.

By 1980, Cooney was being featured on national television. He beat title challengers Jimmy Young and Ron Lyle, both by knockout. By now he 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, which broke the record set in 1948 by Lee Savold for the quickest knockout in a main event in Madison Square Garden.

The following year, Holmes agreed to fight him. 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. This caused Don King to label Cooney "The Great White Hope." The bout 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. But after 12 rounds, the more skillful and experienced Holmes finally wore him down. In round 13, Cooney's trainer stepped into the ring to save his fighter from further punishment.

After a long layoff, Cooney fought in September 1984, beating Phillip Brown by a 4th round knockout in Anchorage, Alaska. He fought once more that year and won, but personal problems kept him out of the ring.

Cooney was far past his prime when he made an ill advised comeback against former world heavyweight and world light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. Spinks knocked him out in round 5. Cooney's last fight was in 1990. He was knocked out in two rounds by former world champion George Foreman. Cooney did stagger Foreman in the first round, but he was simply overmatched.

Cooney compiled a professional record of 28 wins and 3 losses, with 24 knockouts. He is ranked number 53 on Ring Magazine's list of "100 Greatest Punchers of All Time".

Boxing Style
Cooney had an orthodox style, with a good jab, a big-left, and a seldom used right. Most of his fights ended in quick knockouts; while this benefited him in the beginning of his career, it left him unprepared for his fight with Larry Holmes. Despite his devastating punching power, Cooney's moderate stamina and lack of experience proved to be his downfall. Many feel he had real potential, but was limited by his lack of experience.

Cooney's left-hook is described as one of the most powerful punches in boxing history. Foreman, Holmes, and Lyle all stated that Cooney's left was the hardest they had ever taken. It is also notable that Holmes had also previously fought Earnie Shavers, and at the time stated Shavers had the most powerful blow he had ever received. But Shavers had lost by a 6th round TKO to Ron Lyle, while Cooney finished him off in the first round.

Cooney was known for not throwing punches at the head, aiming instead for his opponent's chest, ribs, or stomach.

Present Life
Cooney founded the Fighters' Initiative for Support and Training, an organization which helps retired boxers find jobs. He has always tried to distance himself from the racism of the Holmes vs. Cooney match promotion. He and Holmes have become very good friends over the years. Cooney is also heavily involved with J.A.B., the first union for boxers. He became a boxing promoter for title bouts featuring Roberto Duran, Hector Camacho, and George Foreman. Cooney is a supporter with of the "Hands are not for hitting" program, which tries to prevent domestic violence.

Gerry Cooney now resides in Fanwood, New Jersey with his wife Jennifer and their three children. He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at Walt Whitman High School, where he graduated.












Jimmy Young (November 16, 1948 – February 20, 2005) was a skilled Philadelphia heavyweight, who had his greatest success during the 1970s. Young was very hard to hit, had an effective left jab and straight right hand, and an equally effective body attack. His career record was 34-19-2 with 11 knockouts.

Young made his name when he fought Muhammad Ali in Landover, Maryland in April 1976 for the world heavyweight title. Ali weighed in at 230 lbs., the highest for any of his fights (he would weigh 236.25 pounds in his fight against Trevor Berbick), and was consequently slow and immobile by his standards throughout the bout. Ten years younger and 25 pounds lighter, Young adopted a tactical strategy of fighting aggressively from a distance, landing numerous light blows while dodging and parrying Ali's counterpunches.

Many fight historians have written that Young made Ali miss more often than did any other opponent. At close quarters, however, where Ali's strength was dominant, Young would turn passive. He retreated whenever possible, and often kept his head ducked very low to avoid serious blows when Ali would fight from the inside (the notion is that boxers are not permitted to hit in the back of the head, and due to how low Jimmy ducked there was really no way for either fighter to hit the other until the ref would restart the fight, but at that point Ali wasn't on the inside anymore), and on several occasions intentionally put his head or upper body out of the ring to compel the referee to separate the fighters. To some, Young's was a brilliant strategy of neutralizing his opponent's strengths and forcing the bout to be fought on his own terms; to others, it was boring and unworthy of a championship bout, with some detractors terming it "the coward's rope-a-dope."

The fight went the full 15 rounds with the controversial unanimous decision going to Ali. Referee Tom Kelly scored it 72-65; judges Larry Barrett and Terry Moore had it 70-68 and 71-64, respectively.

In November 1976 Young beat top contender Ron Lyle in a 12-round bout, winning 11 of 12 rounds on one judge's card. As a result of his loss to Ali, Young had to work hard to get another shot at the world title. He chose to fight one of the most feared boxers in the world at the time, George Foreman, who had begun a comeback after losing the title to Muhammad Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle". In March 1977 Young beat Foreman, knocking him down in the final round and winning a 12-round decision. Ring Magazine named the Foreman-Young bout its 1977 "Fight of the Year."

Young's next major opponent was Norton. In November 1977, Young lost a split decision in Las Vegas. Young faded in the late 1970s, losing three of his next six bouts. He came back on the scene fiercely in 1981, beating several contenders and being named Ring Magazine comeback of the year for his successes. His lost to Greg Page in 1982 ended his run as a serious contender. He continued fighting with mixed results until 1988. Young passed away on February 20, 2005 from a heart attack.