Bert Cooper had Holyfield on q.ueer street, held up by the ropes, saved by a hometown referee. Imagine that - Bert Cooper Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the world! But the Atlanta referee saved Holyfield that day.
I don't remember referee saving Holyfield at all. I thought he gave him a count (as per the rules) and allowed him to carry on and get hit in the head by Bert some more !
Standing 8 count? Cooper lands one more shot to Holyfield's battering ram-man dome and probably has Holyfield landing on the canvas soft spot. Yeah the ref saved Holyfield's title that day in Hotlanta, GA. also known as Holyfield's home town.
Holyfield didn't go down because Lane stepped in to stop Cooper from landing. Holyfield fell into the ropes because of this.
You already said "held up by the ropes" ie, he was down. (In fact, I think his knee touched canvas too.) The 8 count is the rules, every fighter gets one when they go down and get up.
What is Sangria's point here? The shite Bert Cooper was more of a threat towards Holyfield than Tyson was. Just shows Mike was massively overrated.