
Originally Posted by
The Commish
DDV--I remember those days of the "Wacko Twins" very well. As aLongIslander, I covered both of their Long Island contenders--Gerry Cooney & Howard Davis Jr.
"Maximize profit and minimize risk," is what one of the "Wacko Twins"--Dennis Rappaport--would consistently preach. As for Victor Valle, Cooney's trainer, he had been a lightweight contender in an around WWII. He had trained a few of Rappaport's other fighters, and both Rappaport and his partner--Mike Jones--thought highly of Valle's training ability. However, I wasn't among the Valle rooters. I wanted to see Long Island localite Gil Clancy or Eddie Futch train Cooney.
As Arne related a few posts back, Futch thought very highly of Cooney and believed, to his dying day, that Cooney could have--and should have--been heavyweight champion. But the "Wacko Twins" were so enamored with Valle, that they drilled it into their young heavywweight that Valle was the most underrated trainer in boxing and the best possible man to hone and sharpen his skills. Such was not the case. Combined with the "Wacko Twins'" blueprint for a march to the title was Valle's holding Cooney back and rejecting many possible opponents. The worst thing they collectively did was allow him to sit on the sidelines after destroying Ken Norton in under one minute, then allowing him to go straight from that fight into a 15-rounder over a year later against one of history's best heavyweight champions, Larry Holmes.
"I just wasn't ready," says Cooney of his title shot against Holmes. "But I was just the fighter. My managers and my trainer, all of whom I trusted, told me this is how it was going to be. They told me I would be fighting for the most money ever paid to a title challenger, and that I should stick to the fighting and let them doing everything else. I did. I shouldn't have."
Yes, I remember those days of "Tic, tic, tic" and "Next question" very well. The "Wackos" comvinced Cooney that tthose in the media were his enemies and detractors. He disliked me for the longest time. Now, ironically, we have a much different place in each other's life.
In 2009, Cooney and I were teamed as broadcast partners on the two shows per week we host on SiriusXM Radio. Since that time, we have become best friends. He and his lovely wife, Jennifer, came to my youngest daughter's wedding. Cooney has told me many stories about his career, including his bout against alcoholism, which he hid so well from the boxing world. It is some of these stories I will be detailing in my book, "Glove Affair."
Gerry Cooney knows what he could have been and what he was. He and Larry Holmes are almost inseparable. Cooney has no regrest about the past, but rather, excitement for his future.
I love Mondays and Fridays. Those are the days I get to sit in the biggest, most gorgeous radio studios in the world with my big buddy and talk two hours of boxing to a multitude of listeners.
I watch in amazement as traffic gets snarled when we cross the street because drivers recognize Cooney and jump out of their cars to shake his hand...to get an autograph...to take his picture.
As for charity work, Cooney does more in a month than most of us do in a lifetime.
He did not become a world champion in the boxing ring, but, in every other way, Gerry Cooney is a champion extraordinaire.
-Randy G.