Gerry Cooney Quotes

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Gerry Cooney

Profession : Athlete

Birth : August 4, 1956

I had two managers who couldn't stand each other. I had a promoter, Don King, who couldn't get any fights, and I was fighting once a year. I knocked out Norton and then didn't fight for 13 months. Then I fight the heavyweight champion of the world.

Gerry Cooney

It's like I had two things pulling at me: you want to be a fighter, and you have problems. So I couldn't be a fighter, and I wasn't solving any problems.

Gerry Cooney

It's tough waking up in the morning and reading derogatory stories about you.

Gerry Cooney

I always had the hope that Holmes and I would fight again.

Gerry Cooney

I never fought because of my father. I started to box before he pushed me. It had nothing to do with him.

Gerry Cooney

My father would never have lost to Holmes.

Gerry Cooney

You can have more than one career, but you only have one family.

Gerry Cooney

I grew up in a household where I learned five things from my old man. You know what they were? You're no good. You're a failure. You're not going to amount to anything. Don't trust nobody, and don't tell nobody your business. When I lost to Larry Holmes in 1982, I felt all five of those things smacked me right across the face.

Gerry Cooney

When I see a fighter gets into the ring, I not only see the fighter, but I see his wife and children. I care about what happens to them. I care about what happens to that fighter after he gets out of the ring.

Gerry Cooney

About 99 percent of fighters end up broke. F.I.S.T. helps them turn the page and find new goals.

Gerry Cooney

Most fighters, when they're finished, boxing turns its back on them.

Gerry Cooney

When you bottom out, you have to stand up and get going again.

Gerry Cooney

Anytime somebody climbs up those steps into the ring, they have a heart.

Gerry Cooney

I learned a lot from the Holmes fight. I learned about styles and the pressure. I'm more prepared now.

Gerry Cooney

I'm easygoing. There's a place and time for everything. When that bell rings, I'm not nice and easy. I'm not meek and passive.

Gerry Cooney

You have got to not get hit. You could be the best puncher in the world, but if you're going to keep constantly taking punches you're going to lose your heart. Once you learn how to miss the punches and then you start to punch them, you become an all-around fighter.

Gerry Cooney