Bert Cooper Discussion

back then!!!!damn its still happening

sam peter was put down as 5'11 for promotor reasons same with tua,minto,ibragimov,chagaev etc.who was that weak chinned ****er who tyson koed in the first round. (edit) etienne was also commented on being tysonesque


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there is a monopoly on small heavywieghts out there. due to the tyson chemistry it provides. and promotrs will make there men smaller or bigger on the bill to make them percieved into that image.lets not pretend danny williams is 6'3,corrales 6' or de la 5'11. it's promotion to make the men seem like guy of yesteryear. hbo tried to make mosley seem like robinson I.E. 5'11 when he fought estrada. talked about sweetness ect. but he clearly wasnt when he w=fought 5'10 light middle in wright



anyways back to the subject

i loved cooper he might be inconsitant but he is one of those fighters who can be put into top 15 90's list without a fuss. he was a class fighter who brang a bit of toughness and flash with him, very much like frazier. though the smoking bert nickname didnt really stick he kept the same passion and head first approach. i liked his inside guarfd high ritgh hand and a cross left hand

from what i remember he was open to body shots and a safe boxer. moorer tried to box, but had to slug it out to put food on the plate due to the pressure and ferocity of cooper.

 

Bert was certainly his own worse enemy.. He had tools many fighters would have died for, he had fast hands and Amazing Power and showed it against the most hard headded of guys.. The fight with Carl Williams is a great example, he took his chances against a monsterous Williams even though Bert was still only a cruiser really, then he would look quite sedatery against George.. Again he would fight the very best Moorer and Holyfield and have them in a heap of trouble, then get absolutely flattened by Bowe double quick .. (granted Bowe was a bit special) I think he shone the best in the Moorer fight, it was so action packed , i adore that fight. Oliver did tell me once that he would rather fight ten Lennox Lewis's than Cooper, Bert could just be your worse nightmare , he keeps coming... I hope Bert is doing good .. I know he was a very sick man with his habit but i pray he has come through the other side...

 

Bert Cooper had Holyfield all over the place. Evander was definately shalen up when they fought, but showed heart by coming back to win.

However, the fight I remember Cooper best for, was his all out war with Moorer. I think it went five rounds, but there was so much action packed in. Moorer really was a guy with potential.

 

The main problem with Cooper was he never worked on his defense. He was a 100% offense guy and perhaps if he's one of those 70% guys, he could've done better. Easy to hit heavyweights don't last long & he took a real licking in those Holyfield and Moorer fights and those are beatings guys just don't recover from.

 

The Bowe fight is a classic example of the best and worst of Cooper.

In the first round, Bowe wants to do his favourite thing of fighting up close, getting in his big right uppercut and get a quick knockout. Instead, he ends up taking several belting hooks to the head in close and quite arguably loses the round.

Futch repremands him in the corner and orders him to fire the jab and keep Cooper at range. Second round, totally different fight. Bowe sticks him with the jab and keeps moving, throwing in the overhand right, and Cooper can't fight through it to catch up to him. One thudding right too many and Cooper goes down, might have been twice I can't quite remember, and the ref stops it.

One of those bouts where a change of tactics is as clear as day, and leads to a different fight.

 

just watched cooper vs moorer for the 1st time ,wow!simply awesome fight.an over looked classic without a doubt

 

His matches with Moorer, Holyfield, and Mercer were some of the best losing efforts that I have seen from most contenders.

I remember him fighting Ray Mercer in the summer of 1990. It was one of the last fights that I ever saw on regular network television. Both men pounded each other untill their eyes were swollen shut for 12 rounds. The fight was briefly interrupted by a news brief, alerting America that Kuwait had just been invaded by Iraq, and that we were likely going to war.

The Moorer fight was another dandy. Bert and Michael floored each other multiple times before Moorer ended it in the 5th. A fantastic match for anyone who gets a chance to see it....

 

Agreed, one of the best battles from that period...

 

You know, Russell, I think you've set a record for most threads by a single poster about a 1990s gatekeeper.

 

Cooper's problems were drugs, conditioning , mental focus and heart ... he had huge tools but was not dedicated ... huge waste of talent ...

 

No probably, definitely.

 

It was the way he sneaked that right over the top, Holyfield just didn't know what to do.