Alan Minter...how good was he?

Al,

George was a crew-cut boxer-brawler from California.
Pretty tough fighter on the inside, with a pretty good chin.
Cooper was in Las Vegas the week of the Ali-Spinks fight.
He was looking for a Top Ten fighter to battle with, to
hopefully get him back in the rankings, and give him his wish for
a title shot.
He fought Edgar 'Bad News" Wallace a week later.
He was upset by Wallace in a close decision.

 

Just goes to show how the game has changed. I'm all for one champ at each weight but I've got to admit that with all the titles on the line today more fighters are in the mix earning money which can't be a bad thing even if the quality of title fights is diluted. It's quite possible that fellas from that time like Mike Colbert, David Love, Gratien Tonna, Ronnie Harris, Kevin Finnegan and more could of been title claimants if all the titles of today were on the line. George Cooper probably would of had his day in the sun getting a shot at the title. I think Minter has got to get his just dues, he got his shot and he had to fight tough fighters on the way. when he got it he took it, undisputed middleweight champion of the world.

 

Al,

Yes, with all the Titles, Interim Titles and What Not, George Cooper
most likely would have gotten a title shot, as possibly a safe opponent
in todays world.
He was someone who could take it, and hang around awhile.
Would have been a nice match for Alan Minter.

The Knock-out loss to Marcos Geraldo ended his career.

 

Was a great fighter imo, had the bad luck of meeting a young, hungry Hagler. But yes, one of the UK s greatest fighter s.

 

I remember my grandad saying he went to the Minter fight against Hagler at Wembley arena. My grandad was more interested in English fighters so I think we was more excited about seeing Minter than Hagler! Lol but yeah Minter was pretty good I mean I wouldn’t say he was an all time great but he would definitely dominate the current middleweight division. He would demolish the likes of Andrade and Charlo with ease. In fact I think he (My grandad) gave me a photo of Minter that his friend took. I’d post it here if I could.

 

Alan Minter was quite a talented fighter and champion. He lingered in European circles for most of the mid to late 1970's, many boxing magazines projected Minter to get a shot at the World Middleweight Title after champion Carlos Monzon unified the WBA and WBC title with his unanimous 15 round decision over WBC champion Rodrigo Valdes on June 26 1976 in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Monzon decked Valdes in round 14 to gain the unanimous verdict. Even Minter himself was sitting at ringside watching both combatants, it was said that Alan was impressed by the cool demeanor of Monzon. Tough breaks hampered Minter's career. When Monzon retired as champion on August 29 1977 after 14 successful title defenses, Alan like many other serious contenders were kept out of the vacant title runoff. Valdes ranked no.1 and Bennie Briscoe ranked no. 2 were matched for the title on Nov 5 1977 in France, Valdes emerged as the new champion by a 15 round verdict. On March 16 1980, Minter won the World Middleweight Title with a 15 round verdict over defending champion Vito Antuofermo in Las, Vegas, Nevada, he defended on June 28 1980 with a victory over Vito. But on Sept 27 1980 in front of his home crowd, Minter was stopped by Marvelous Marvin Hagler due to a severe laceration in round 2, losing his title to Hagler in a bout televised by ABC. Thin skin around Alan's eyes contributed to his career losses.