Yeah - thought so (this is from his wife's blog, apparently on http://sharoncobb.blogspot.com/2005/...-round_26.html) 8)
November 26, 1982 was the last 15 round Heavyweight Championship title fight. It was held at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The fight, between champion Larry Holmes and challenger Randall "Tex" Cobb was a mismatch from the beginning. While Cobb had fought Shavers, Dokes, Norton and other top ten fighters to reach this deserved shot at the title, he had no amateur career, and by the time he fought for the title, he had less than 80 ROUNDS of experience. That's right. Not 80 fights, but 80 rounds. Tex lost 15 out of 15 rounds, but was never knocked down during the fight. I wasn't a boxing fan at the time, but since I was in love with one of the fighters, I thought I should watch the match.
Boxing fans know Howard Cosell quit calling boxing because of this "brutal" fight, but what the fans didn't get to hear is Cosell riding in the elevator complaining about being away from his wife over the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Without missing a beat, Tex turned around and said to Cosell, "Yeah. Your wife phoned and thanked me."
In fairness to Cosell, the fight did appear to be unusually brutal, even for boxing. Tex was getting smashed left and right and was bloodied. It looked a lot worse than it was. Tex's first words after this fight were, "Let's party!" Even though it was the biggest lost in the history of championship fights, he considered it a win to have gone 15 rounds with Larry Holmes in his prime for the title.
The next morning, Larry Holmes came in the room and asked Tex to cut up his "eggies" for him because he thought he had broken his hands on Tex's head. Tex replied, "I can't help you Larry. I have to sip my eggies with a straw!"
Johnny Carson liked Tex's sense of humor, and invited Tex on the show. Tex would appear 8 times on the Carson show in subsequent years. On his first appearance, the producers of the film "Uncommon Valor" saw Tex on Carson, and wanted him immediately for the role of Sailor in their film. Tex went on to make many films, but is best remembered for his role in Raising Arizona as the evil biker/bounty hunter--the "Warthog from hell."
The smartest move he made, however, was marrying me. The stupidest move he ever made was leaving me for this chick named Janet who had purple hair with blue eyeshadow who played bass in her husband's band. I always hear from people how she totally runs and controls his life...a long way from the cowboy I met who stood up to Larry Holmes for 45 minutes without taking a step backwards. That's the Tex I try to remember. Happy anniversary baby. That day, you did good.
Posted by Sharon Cobb on Saturday, November 26, 2005 at 4:29 AM