I watched most of his challenge of Qiu Xiao-Jun this morning for the WBC Youth World super bantamweight & Asia Council Continental super bantamweight titles, on the Zhong vs. Novoa undercard. He gave a right honest accounting of himself, forced the issue most of the way and was the aggressor throughout, but Xiao-Jun was just too slippery, too nimble, and too adept counter-punching off the ropes. It was close enough throughout, with Cooper just slightly outclassed. His spunk was admirable, though. Good effort and dedication to game plan and TV-friendly style. He is also only 22, not that I expect he'll ever blossom into a world threat but that still leaves him plenty of room that he could improve some from where he is. He probably tops off at just above domestic level, maybe Pacific regional. Before today he did already have a solid W over Chris John protégé Rasmanudin, and had avenged his only prior loss to pedigreed Filipino journeyman Roberto Lerio. It would be nice if he could build up a small but loyal following in Queensland and sell enough tickets for promoters to cut him a decent share for lifting his share of the load on the undercards he is sure to haunt for years to come. There is little depth in Oz at super bantam, but there are still worthwhile match-ups to consider: Mundraby and Gazzard in-state, maybe Balla, perhaps Brayd Smith up at feather... Any thoughts on the kid?
Full disclosure, I'd have never stumbled across Nugget were it not for getting up at (slightly before, actually) the crack of dawn for the Zhong vs. Novoa card. Now, one might point out that going to such trouble for strawweights is a bit unusual and I'm sure plenty would consider the exploits of 105lb prizefighters even crazier to follow closely than Oz' domestic scene from an outside view. :yep
