| Randall "Tex" Cobb | |
|---|---|
| Born | Randall Craig Cobb May 7, 1950 Bridge City, Texas, U.S. |
| Other names | Tex |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 239 lb (108 kg; 17.1 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Style | Boxing, Karate |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Rank | black belt in Karate |
| Years active | 1975-1993 |
| Professional boxing record | |
| Total | 52 |
| Wins | 43 |
| By knockout | 36 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 11 |
| Wins | 9 |
| By knockout | 9 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Draws | 0 |
| Other information | |
| Boxing record from Boxrec | |
Randall Craig "Tex" Cobb (born May 7, 1950)[1] is a former American boxer turned actor.
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Cobb was born in Bridge City, Texas, the son of Norma Grace (née Alexander) and Williard Glynn Cobb, a factory foreman.[2] He was raised in Abilene, Texas, where he attended Abilene High School, and later Abilene Christian University. Cobb dropped out of ACU at the age of 19, and began karate training. He earned his blackbelt, yet craved full contact competition. He TKO'd El Paso Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion and karate blackbelt, David Ochoa, in the first ever professional kickboxing event in El Paso, Texas in 1975. The promoters were Robert Nava and boxing trainer Tom McKay under the guidance of boxing guru and matchmaker, Paul Clinite. Clinite signed Randall to a professional boxing contract a few weeks later. He also signed Ochoa who had fought amateur under the guidance of McKay as his trainer. Randy moved in with boxing trainer McKay at 6333 Weiland Way in El Paso, Texas. Clinite provided films of heavyweight boxers to study to get the huge Cobb a good style. After a few days, it was decided that Randall should work at learning the 'Joe Louis shuffle'. Randall, Paul and Tom spent a few months at El Paso's San Juan Boxing Gym just doing the simple basics. A few months later, Clinite made arrangements for Randall to be sent to Joe Frazier's gym in Philadelphia.
After nine straight wins as a kickboxer, Cobb lost his first two amateur bouts. In his professional boxing debut on January 19, 1977) in El Paso, Texas, he knocked out Pedro Vega. He went on to win 13 straight fights by 1979, all by knockout. On November 26, 1982, he fought champion Larry Holmes for the WBC World Heavyweight title at Houston's Astrodome. 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 and 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, which Cobb jokingly referred to as his "gift to the sport of boxing."[3] His sense of humor was revealed when he was asked if he would consider a rematch, to which he 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?"
After the fight, many sports fans all over the world wrote to Cobb and thanked him for his effort.
Cobb was a fighter who had hitting power, as shown by his eighth-round knockout victory over Earnie Shavers. He was knocked out only once in his career, by Dee Collier in 1985, and is known for having one of the greatest chins of all time. Cobb also fought Michael Dokes twice during his boxing career, losing both fights. In the early 1990s Cobb made a comeback into the world of boxing, winning 20 straight fights against lightly regarded opponents. He retired again rather suddenly.
As a Hollywood actor Cobb has played a series of villainous roles in films such as Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, Raising Arizona, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Golden Child, Liar Liar, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, Fletch Lives, and Ernest Goes to Jail. He has made some guest appearances on television shows, including Miami Vice, Highlander: The Series, Married... with Children, Moonlighting, Walker, Texas Ranger, MacGyver (in which he played a character named "Earthquake"), and The X-Files. Cobb's other appearances include the 1983 hit movie Uncommon Valor, which reversed his villainous image; the 1987 movie Critical Condition, in which he plays a character in the psych ward who thinks he's a "brother" (an African-American); The Champ, which referred to his boxing career by casting Cobb as a boxer that fights the title character, Billy Flynn; and Diggstown in which he plays a prison inmate who fights at the behest of a con man.
Cobb lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and maintained a friendship with Philadelphia Daily News columnist Pete Dexter, who frequently commented on boxing. In a notorious 1982 Grays Ferry incident Cobb came to the defense of Dexter, who, during the course of a bar brawl, was severely beaten.[4] Cobb rescued him and endured a broken arm, costing him a scheduled fight with Muhammad Ali. Ali then fought Trevor Berbick and lost. Ali fought Berbick on December 11, 1981, so the 1982 bar fight could not have cost Cobb a fight with Ali.
In January 2008 at age 57, Cobb graduated magna cum laude from Temple University with a bachelor's degree in sport and recreation management. He remarked that it was odd to hear the cheers of a packed arena without being in a boxing ring. "It was nice to have that opportunity to wear a robe, to step up there and not have to worry about bleeding," Cobb said.[5]
| Kickboxing record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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9 wins (9 KO), 2 losses
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest |
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