Randall Craig “Tex” Cobb (born May 7, 1950) is an American former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division…..who was widely considered to possess one of the greatest chins of all time….for Cobb was a brawler who also packed considerable punching power. He began his fighting career in full contact kickboxing in 1975 before making the jump to professional boxing two years later. He challenged Larry Holmes for the WBC heavyweight title in November 1982, losing a one-sided unanimous decision. Cobb took wins over notable heavyweights of his era such as Bernardo Mercado, Earnie Shavers, and Leon Spinks. In addition to his fighting career, he has also acted in numerous films and television series….as he usually appeared as a villain or henchman….with examples including roles in the Coen brothers film Raising Arizona and the popular programs Miami Vice and Walker, Texas Ranger.
In his professional-boxing debut on January 19, 1977, in El Paso,Texas…. he knocked out Pedro Vega….. and then he went on to win 13 straight fights by 1979….with all by knockout. Cobb was a fighter who had hitting power, as shown by his eighth-round knockout victory over Earnie Shavers in 1980. He lost his two following bouts to future world champions Ken Norton and Michael Dokes, respectively, but soon bounced back to earn a shot at Larry Holmes’ WBC World Heavyweight Championship. On November 26, 1982, at Houston’s Astrodome….Tex Cobb was defeated in a unanimous decision by Holmes, who won all 15 rounds on two of three scorecards. The bloody one-sidedness of the fight….which came 13 days after the bout between Ray Mancini verses Duk Koo Kim that led to Kim’s death four days later due to brain trauma….so horrified sportscaster Howard Cosell….that he vowed never to cover another professional match….of which Cobb jokingly referred to as his “gift to the sport of boxing.” When prodded further regarding Cosell’s remarks, Cobb observed, “Hey, if it gets him to stop broadcasting NFL games, I’ll go play football for a week, too!”When asked if he would consider a rematch, Cobb replied that he did not think that Holmes would agree, as Holmes’ “hands could not take it.” In an interview after the Holmes fight….he was asked how he could fight someone whose arms were a foot longer than his were….to which he replied, “Oh, it seemed that way to you too?”
To say that Tex Cobb had a wonderful sense of humor would be a huge understatement as evidenced by this video herewith….in which NBC’s Dick Enberg can’t help but laugh throughout the entire interview….. as this video is “pure gold” in our treasure chest of vintage memories.
