ABC SPORTS: WBC WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: LARRY HOLMES VS. GERRY COONEY (TV)
Summary
This sports special looks back at boxing's heavyweight championship bout between the undefeated champion Larry Holmes and the challenger Gerry Cooney in Las Vegas, Nevada, which originally aired on June 11, 1982. Also included in this special are highlights from the first fight between Trevor Berbick and Greg Page. Prior to the fight, brief shots are show of the following celebrities in the audience: Red Buttons, Joe DiMaggio, Lola Falana, Farrah Fawcett, Duane Ford, Wayne Gretzky, Mr. T., Jack Nicholson, and Ryan O'Neal. Highlights of the Berbick/Page fight include: the first round has both fighters landing hard punches to one another; the second round has Berbick connecting on a flurry of punches which wobble Page and knock out his mouthpiece; in the eighth round, both fighters land quick, strong punches throughout the round; in the tenth and final round, though Berbick is stunned from a series of Page's lefts, the decision is unanimous in favor of Berbick. The main event, Holmes vs. Cooney, is shown in its entirety and highlights include: the three judges -- Duane Ford, Dave Moretti, and Jerry Roth -- analyze how they each scored the fight after every round; in the second round Holmes lands a solid right-hand punch that puts Cooney on the canvas; the third and fourth rounds have both fighters trading vicious blows, with Cooney's successive right-hand punches stunning Holmes; the sixth round is close throughout until Holmes connects with some crushing punches that stagger Cooney until the bell sounds; the ninth round builds with excitement when Cooney lands some solid punches, but Holmes counters with a right hand that cuts Cooney's left eye and then proceeds to attack that eye; in the same round, Cooney connects with a hard low-blow which prompts referee Mills Lane to deduct two points from his scorecard; in the thirteenth round, both fighters are fatigued because of the temperature which has reached close to one hundred degrees; Holmes lands a series of punches that wobbles Cooney; after a half-hearted punch from Holmes, Cooney goes halfway down to the canvas from what appears to be exhaustion; while Lane is giving Cooney the mandatory standing-eight count, Cooney's trainer, Victor Valle, goes in the ring to stop the fight; following the fight, Howard Cosell interviews both fighters in their dressing rooms; Cosell also talks to Mills Lane about the low-blows from Cooney and the point deductions; the two judges, Ford and Moretti, defend their scoring amidst the heavy controversy surrounding their scorecards; and Cosell concludes the program by talking to Holmes and Cooney about the controversies and the notion of a rematch. Includes commercials and promos. This program is closed-captioned.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: June 25, 1982 Friday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:58:21
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T82:0536
- GENRE: Specials; Sports
- SUBJECT HEADING: Boxing; Interviews; Sports; African-American Collection - Sports
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1982
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Blade Runner" (feature film)
- TV - Commercials - "Firefox" (feature film)
- TV - Commercials - Aftate athlete's foot spray
- TV - Commercials - Avis rental car service
- TV - Commercials - Budweiser Light beer
- TV - Commercials - Chief Auto Parts stores
- TV - Commercials - Chrysler/Plymouth Dodge car dealers
- TV - Commercials - Datsun trucks
- TV - Commercials - Excedrin pain reliever
- TV - Commercials - Intellivision home video games
- TV - Commercials - JCPenny stores
- TV - Commercials - Mazda 626 automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Mercedes-Benz automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Michelob Light beer
- TV - Commercials - Minute Wax car wax
- TV - Commercials - Olympic paint
- TV - Commercials - Quaker State motor oil
- TV - Commercials - Ultra Ban Solid antiperspirant
- TV - Commercials - United States Army
- TV - Commercials - Vitalis hairspray
- TV - Commercials - Xerox memory writer typewriters
- TV - Promos - "ABC's Wide World of Sports"
- TV - Promos - "ABC News Brief"
- TV - Promos - "ABC Professional Bowlers Spring Tour"
- TV - Promos - "Eyewitness News: The Drug Wars"
CREDITS
- Roone Arledge … Executive Producer
- Chet Forte … Producer
- Alex Wallau … Associate Producer
- Joe Aceti … Director
- Howard Cosell … Sports Commentator
- Mills Lane … Guest
- Ted Koppel … Reporter, ABC News Brief
- Trevor Berbick
- Greg Page
- Larry Holmes
- Gerry Cooney
- Dave Moretti
- Jerry Roth
- Victor Valle
- Buttons, Red (Aaron Chwatt)
- Joe DiMaggio
- Lola Falana
- Fawcett, Farrah (See also: Fawcett-Majors, Farrah)
- Duane Ford
- Wayne Gretzky
- Mr. T (Lawrence Tureaud)
- Jack Nicholson
- Ryan O'Neal