Ray Mercer vs. Bert Cooper

Mercer to me did pretty well in his career. His fights with Holyfield and Lewis showcased the best he could be, and that was a tad shy of those guys. Big let downs for Mercer, but realistically a good solid career and one he should be proud of.
Cooper on the other hand had far less skills but a good solid chin and power which carried him through a lot of his fights.

 

Yeah, a good fight. It showcased Mercer's ability to fight through pain and adversity, and it showed once again that you could not take Cooper lightly.

 

I remember distinctly watching this fight in the summer of 1990. I was between 15-16 years old, and the match was periodically interrupted by news flashes of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and America's declaration to intervene.

Anyway, the fight was one of the last that I ever saw broadcasted on a regular TV network - ABC wide world of sports I think it was. It was a slugfest from the word go. I really don't think that any other 15 fight novice could have handled Bert on that particular day. Mercer walked away from that battle with a cheek swollen to the size of a basketball. Cooper was looking pretty ugly as well, and was decked early if I recall. Gil Clancy was at ringside giving commentary, and said that he wouldn't be surprised if either man took it.

As Muchmoore said, it is for the most part, a forgotten affair and certainly a milestone in Mercer's career, as well as a galant effort by Bert Cooper. One thing about Smokin' Bert, he may not have had very many good wins, but he sure as hell gave some of the damn best losing efforts that I had ever seen in this boxing fan's life....

 

Amen to that! :good

 

Amen..

 

One of my favorite HW slugfests.

Mercer was like a non-stop tornado in this one. Too bad he wasn't like that more often. :-(

 

I hear what you're getting at, but the fact is, Mercer simply wasn't that type of fighter. At times, he did okay at mid range, but no matter how we cut it, that fight was bound to be a close-range slugfest. Bert was also a helluva lot more experienced than Mercer was at that point, and Ray was still very unseasoned. Damiani was another fighter who exposed some of Ray's flaws, and damn near had him beat.

 

This is what happens when 2 iron-chinned, iron-willed and big punching fighters in their primes meet.

It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, they both shorten their careers by a few years, lol

 

I remember that fight like it was yesterday. An amazing slugfest. I too miss those days of free network fights on Saturday afternoon with real contenders actually fighting each other instead of fighting bums until they get an undeserved title shot. Although Mercer probably deserved the narrow win, I believe he had a fractured jaw to show for it. It was that fight that keyed me in to the fact that even on short notice, Evander Holyfield was going to have his hands a bit full with Bert when they fought. On the week of of Holyfield-Cooper I had 100 "Smokin' Bert Cooper" Hats and T-Shirts made and handed them out to people at the Ohio State-Michigan football game. (For those who may not be American, it is one of the most intense and storied rivalries in college football). People at the game kept asking me: "who the hell is Smokin' Bert Cooper?" I responded by saying: "Just wear one of these shirts, and by the end of tonight's fight, you will know who he is." Bert's fight against Evander was a classic, as well. Poor Bert came sooo close.

 

Mercer and Cooper were two fighters who, when in shape and motivated, could be hell on earth for most anyone. Solid chins, strong, big punchers., with a little more speed and timing than people realize.

They both happened to be in shape and motivated at the same time when they fought each other, which is why it was a great fight. Cooper also gave hell to Michael Moorer in a tremendous slugfest, as well as the aforementioned Holyfield war.

Mercer was "on" against Holyfield and Lewis, and gave both of them very stern tests, but ultimately came up just short. Mercer was a solid A- fighter, but never quite the A or A+, but if you were a B+ guy, if in shape he could brutalize you. I don't think he was out of shape for Holmes; I just think Larry's experience, defense, and ring generalship befuddled him. I also don't think Cooper was out of shape or on drugs for Bowe - that was the sharp version - but Rid**** was way too big and powerful for him.

 

The fight highlighted Ray's lack of defense. He won, but he took a hell of a lot of punishment. It was a very good fight. It was apparent that he was a limited fighter, not championship material. And that's pretty much what he turned out to be - a good contender but never at the top of the heap.