Randall "Tex" Cobb

Randall "Tex" Cobb
Born	Randall Craig Cobb (1950-05-07) May 7, 1950 Bridge City, Texas, United States
Other names	Tex
Nationality	American
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	108 kg (238 lb; 17.0 st)
Division	Heavyweight
Style	Boxing, Karate
Fighting out of	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Rank	black belt in Karate
Years active	1975–1993
Professional boxing record
Total	51
Wins	42
By knockout	35
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
University	Temple University

Randall Craig "Tex" Cobb (born May 7, 1950)^[1] is an American former boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Widely considered to possess one of the greatest chins of all time,^[2] Cobb was a brawler who also packed considerable punching power.^[3] 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 World Heavyweight Championship in November 1982, losing a one-sided unanimous decision, and 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, usually appearing as a villain.

Early life

Randall Cobb was born in Bridge City, Texas, the son of Norma Grace (née Alexander) and Williard Glynn Cobb, a factory foreman.^[4] He was raised in Abilene, Texas and attended Abilene High School where he played on the football team. Cobb later studied at Abilene Christian University but dropped out at the age of nineteen, and began karate training. He lived in the dojo, cleaning the mats to earn his keep.^[5] After earning his black belt, he craved full contact competition and thus took up kickboxing, fighting in an era when only full contact rules were used in the United States. He won his first nine matches, going 9–0 with 9 knockouts.

He TKO'd El Paso Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion and karate black belt, 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. 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.

Boxing career

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. 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 afterwards to 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, Cobb was defeated in a unanimous decision by Holmes, who won all fifteen 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."^[6] 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!". 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?".

He made a brief return to kickboxing on May 5, 1984 to challenge John Jackson for the PKA United States Heavyweight title in Birmingham, Alabama, losing on points. Between late 1984 and 1985, he lost four straight fights, the last of which was a knockout at the hands of Dee Collier, the only time he was ever KO'd. After a two year hiatus, he made a return to the ring and went on a twenty fight undefeated streak against lightly regarded opponents before retiring again rather suddenly in 1993. A 1993 Sports Illustrated article alleged that Cobb had participated in a fixed fight with Sonny Barch and had used cocaine with Barch and promoter Rick "Elvis" Parker before and after the fight. Cobb said the magazine libeled him, and he sued for $150 million. In 1999, a jury awarded Cobb $8.5 million in compensatory damages and $2.2 million in punitive damages. However, the verdict was overturned in 2002 by a federal appeals court, which said that the article wasn't published with "actual malice." The magazine did not interview the referee and other ringside officials who were at the match, which tends to show that the magazine "might not have acted as a prudent reporter would have acted," the ruling stated. "But the actual malice standard requires more than just proof of negligence".^[7]

Acting career

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.

Personal life

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.^[8] Cobb rescued him and endured a broken arm, costing him a scheduled fight with Muhammad Ali. Ali then fought Trevor Berbick and lost.

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.^[9] Cobb's eldest son Bo was killed in an accident in early 1999. His younger son Joshua pursued a short career as a boxer.

Boxing record

42 Wins (35 knockouts, 7 decisions), 7 Losses (1 knockout, 6 decisions), 1 Draw, 1 No Contest[10]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	42–7–1 (1)	Andre Smiley	TKO	2 (8)	1993-06-07	Joel Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	41–7–1 (1)	Mike Acklie	TKO	6 (8)	1993-05-01	Lincoln, Nebraska
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	40–7–1 (1)	Guile Wilkinson	PTS	6 (6), 3:00	1993-04-19	Saint Louis, Missouri
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	39–7–1 (1)	John Warrior	KO	1 (?)	1993-03-30	Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	38–7–1 (1)	Mike Smith	KO	1 (?)	1993-03-01	Allis Plaza Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	37–7–1 (1)	Paul Lewis	KO	3 (?)	1993-01-19	Boise Centre, Boise, Idaho
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	36–7–1 (1)	Jim Taylor	KO	1 (?)	1992-12-03	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	35–7–1 (1)	Rick Kellar	TKO	4 (?)	1992-11-28	North Platte, Nebraska
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	34–7–1 (1)	Jeff May	TKO	1 (10)	1992-10-27	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan
NC	33–7–1 (1)	Sonny Barch	NC	1 (10), 1:10	1992-09-15	War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Originally a TKO win for Cobb. Overturned to a no contest after both fighters tested positive for cocaine.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	33–7–1	Leon Spinks	MD	10 (10), 3:00	1988-03-18	Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	32–7–1	Michael Johnson	KO	6 (?)	1987-05-29	Birmingham, Alabama
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	31–7–1	Aaron Brown	KO	5 (?)	1987-05-11	Finkey's Bar, Daytona Beach, Florida
Draw	30–7–1	Bill Duncan	TD	1 (?)	1987-04-17	Springfield, Missouri
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	30–7	Rick Kellar	TKO	2 (10), 2:26	1987-04-07	Lincoln, Nebraska
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	29–7	Louis Pappin	TKO	1 (10)	1987-04-06	Terre Haute, Indiana
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	28–7	Frank Lux	TKO	2 (10), 0:55	1987-03-31	Madison Central High School, Richmond, Kentucky
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	27–7	Stan Johnson	KO	1 (10)	1987-03-26	Fayetteville, Arkansas
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	26–7	Frank Lux	KO	2 (?)	1987-03-21	Springfield, Missouri
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	25–7	Phil Rendine	KO	2 (?)	1987-03-12	Hot Springs, Arkansas
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	24–7	Dee Collier	KO	1 (10), 2:33	1985-10-29	Reseda Country Club, Reseda, California
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	24–6	Eddie Gregg	UD	10 (10), 3:00	1985-05-20	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	24–5	Michael Dokes	TD	4 (12), 1:03	1985-03-15	Riviera, Las Vegas, Nevada	For the WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Championship. The bout was stopped due to an accidental foul.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	24–4	James Douglas	MD	10 (10), 3:00	1984-11-09	Riviera, Las Vegas, Nevada
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	24–3	Mark Lee	MD	10 (10), 3:00	1984-09-13	Houston, Texas
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	23–3	Ernie Smith	KO	1 (?)	1984-08-17	Houston, Texas
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	22–3	Ruben Williams	UD	10 (10), 3:00	1984-02-22	Civic Auditorium, Bakersfield, California
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	21–3	Mike Jameson	UD	10 (10), 3:00	1983-09-29	Circle Star Theater, San Carlos, California
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	20–3	Larry Holmes	UD	15 (15), 3:00	1982-11-26	Reliant Astrodome, Houston, Texas	For the WBC World Heavyweight Championship.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	20–2	Jeff Shelburg	TKO	7 (10)	1982-04-19	Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	19–2	Bernardo Mercado	PTS	10 (10), 3:00	1981-11-06	Civic Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	18–2	Harry Terrell	KO	5 (10)	1981-05-21	HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	17–2	Michael Dokes	MD	10 (10), 3:00	1981-03-22	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss	17–1	Ken Norton	SD	10 (10), 3:00	1980-11-07	HemisFair Arena, San Antonio, Texas
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	17–0	Earnie Shavers	TKO	8 (10), 2:19	1980-08-02	Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	16–0	Robert Echols	KO	1 (?)	1980-05-31	El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	15–0	Roy Wallace	UD	10 (10), 3:00	1980-05-09	El Paso, Texas
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	14–0	Eusebio Hernandez, Jr.	KO	1 (?)	1980-03-21	El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	13–0	Terry Mims	KO	5 (?)	1979-10-24	Scranton, Pennsylvania
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	12–0	Don Halpin	KO	3 (?)	1979-08-28	Atlantic City, New Jersey
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	11–0	Jesse Crown	KO	2 (?)	1979-04-27	Robert Treat Hotel, Newark, New Jersey
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	10–0	Zack Ferguson	TKO	1 (?), 2:54	1979-04-03	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	9–0	Rodell Dupree	TKO	6 (10)	1978-11-11	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	8–0	Paul Solomon	KO	2 (?)	1978-04-07	Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	7–0	Don Hinton	KO	1 (?)	1978-03-29	Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	6–0	Dave Martinez	KO	1 (10)	1978-03-17	The Aladdin, Las Vegas, Nevada
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	5–0	David Wynne	KO	2 (?)	1977-07-08	San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	4–0	Ernie Smith	TKO	3 (?)	1977-05-10	El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	3–0	Trinidad Escamilla	KO	1 (?), 1:56	1977-04-02	San Antonio Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	2–0	Tyrone Harlee	KO	2 (?)	1977-03-11	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win	1–0	Pedro Vega	TKO	1 (4)	1977-01-21	El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing record
9 wins (9 KOs), 2 losses, 0 draws Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time 1984-05-05 Loss John Jackson Birmingham, Alabama, USA Decision 12 2:00 For the PKA United States Heavyweight Championship. 1983-00-00 Win Anthony Elmore Decision 1975-04-18 Win David Ochoa El Paso, Texas, USA TKO 2 Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

Filmography

External links

• Professional boxing record for Randall "Tex" Cobb from BoxRec
• Randall "Tex" Cobb at the Internet Movie Database

References