Randall Tex Cobb, who played a hero in Uncommon Valor, a movie about rescuing left behind U.S. POWs in Vietnam, and also played the last Biker of the Apocalypse in the movie Raising Arizona, was kicked out of Texas Christian University where he played football, because he shot flaming arrows at a sorority house while screaming, "Die whores die!"
For me, that last item makes him a man of interest and standing.
But according to Randall, the single act of his life that most benefitted mankind as a species, an accomplishment he told Ring Magazine was more important than if he found a cure for children's cancer, was losing to Larry Holmes in such gruesome one-sided fashion that Howard Cosell quit commentating for boxing matches. Howard was a pious ass who only liked showboat black fighters and decried all other boxers as bums and "mere mortals." To Howard, boxing was not a test of character but a voyeuristic ballet featuring God's chosen Olympians versus "lesser lights."
On another note, Cobb was a kick boxer who actually worked the speed bag with his feet.
In a knife or sword fight, Holmes would have murdered him.
But in an unarmed brawl, MMA fight or stick fight Cobb would have earned an ugly win.
The video below, of Cobb at the Larry Holmes roast, is one of the funniest, most honest examples of race realism as a healing salve for the fractious human society we live in.
Enjoy.
In the kickboxing below, note the lazy kicks by Cobb. According to the rules of the day in American kickboxing a fighter who did not throw 8 kicks per round lost a point. That lazy round kick to back kick was an example of Cobb meeting his kicking obligation. He would have been better off not kicking at all, especially since all kicks had to land above the belt.
The Sonny Barch fight is an example of how easy it is to shock a big man with unremarkable punches, as the forward pressure of his weight applies force to his cervical spine.
Cobb's fight against Norton was a heroic performance by both men.
In Cobb's fight against Shavers you have the best chin versus the best punch of the era.
Upon considering Cobb's opponent list, one can appreciate Larry Holmes saying before his fight with Cobb, that to Cobb, "I'm just another ոigger."
Throughout Cobb's fights you see the utility of relaxed determination versus size and power. He has a very good understanding of the shoulder lever, the wing block and the transference of those pivoting tactics to a variety of punches, mostly variations of the shovel hook. His bent arm punching style helps compress his lanky frame into a power arc, something Tommy Hearns did very well. Aspiring fighters note, if you have a motorcycle helmet for a skull, then low jabs to the body of a muscular man are no crime.
American Fist: A Fighter’s View of Boxing
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I've ALWAYS enjoyed anything Tex Cobb did or appeared in.
He seems to me (and has proved, I think, in the ring) to be a man who isn't afraid of anything, has a lot of confidence in himself, and yet doesn't appear to take himself too seriously. Quick witted, not afraid to say what he thinks about anything; I wish I had the cojones to be like that, and be able to back it up.
I agree about Howard Cosell, one of the smarmiest, most hypocritical, prejudiced, ignorant, and annoying people I've ever seen. He's one of the few people on earth that I thought "I'll probably outlive him!" and I was happy when he died and was gone. The Earth is a better place without him.
Glad that Cobb is still hanging in there at age 68, I'll be he's saying "If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself!". Probably not, on second thought .....
He was MAGNIFICENT in Raising Arizona. That's one of my favorite movies.
((Cossell)) was a precursor to the modern ESPN commentator who fawns over black athleticism all day. He was probably a closeted homosexual.