Two guys who played their role in making up the fabric of the game in the 80s and 90s. Both men evolved from prospects to fringe contenders to gate keepers and journeymen.
I'm going with a bit of a shock decision and say Ferguson by majority decision.,in a gritty hard fought battle.
At his best Smokin' Bert takes if by razor thin decision. If Bert is anything less than his best, he likely loses. In his prime, Jesse Ferguson was tough as nails. That one knockdown by Tyson was one of the most vicious punches I ever saw someone take. On par with Shavers-Holmes. I thought he would be unconscious wor a week. And, somehow Jesse got up.
Two tough men, not good enough to be world champs , at least during that era. This era? Maybe. But Ill lean to Ferguson, he seemed to be more focused during his career than Cooper who could get lackadaisical. But best night vs best night,,, Cooper.
I don’t know if Ferguson could get Cooper’s respect, but he may offset Cooper and make him not let his hands go by bewildering him, but Ferguson must bring the pace of the fight down to what suits him, which would likely happen anyway if he gets out of the first few rounds. Toss up fight, Ferguson was a guy who was consistent which meant that anyone who was off their game could very well lose, which was where his best wins came from, but I’m still not sure if the best version of Cooper wins.
I just rewatched Ferguson against Carl "The Truth" Williams for the first time in decades. A good scrap when both men were legitimate contenders. Ferguson had Williams down early, but, Williams fought an EXCELLENT fight to turn the tide in his favor late. Better than 95% of Heavyweight fights today.
If you've never seen the Marcer vs Cooper fight, you're missing out on a heavyweight classic. These two went toe to toe in a brutal contest. Ferguson had a couple better wins but in a head to head I'd probably go with Cooper for the win.
