Randall "Tex" Cobb

Randall Craig "Tex" Cobb (born May 7, 1950) is an American former boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Widely considered to possess one of the greatest chins of all time, 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 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 or minion. Examples include roles on the popular programs Miami Vice and Walker, Texas Ranger.

Early life

Randall Cobb was born in Bridge City, Texas, the son of Norma Grace (née Alexander) and Williard Glynn Cobb, a factory foreman. 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. 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.