By James Slater: 45-year-old Bert Cooper won again at the weekend. The six-round points win “Smokin’” Bert scored over the hefty Gabe Brown took place in Atlanta, on the under-card of Travis “Freight Train” Walker’s eight-round decision win over Darnell Wilson. Not covered by any major media, the two results from the card were reported just yesterday.
Walker went back to boxing as opposed to slugging, and with his height, reach and weight advantages, Travis was able to get past former cruiserweight Wilson. Maybe Walker will bag himself that thus far elusive big win somewhere down the road. But what about Cooper, the one-time world heavyweight title challenger? How far can his latest comeback possibly go?
It’s truly amazing that Bert is still able to fight and win at any level after all he’s been through both in and out of the ring. Drugs, booze and heavy beatings have all taken something out of Cooper over the years, yet at 45 here he still is: fighting and winning and earning a pay cheque. You’ve got to hand it to Cooper, even if you feel his comeback will wind up going pretty much nowhere.
Famous for the wars he engaged in with the likes of Evander Holyfield, Ray Mercer and Michael Moorer back in the 1990s, the Philly fighter came back last June, after an eight year layoff during which Bert got up to who knows what. Looking in good physical condition (surprisingly so), Cooper belted out a 6th-round KO over a big guy called Corey Winfield. Weighing a reasonable 241-pounds, Cooper had his hand raised for the first time since June of 2002.
Against Roy Jones Junior’s buddy, Brown, known as “Big G,” Cooper tipped-in at 244 – to his opponent’s 362! Despite the weight he was giving away, Bert smoked his way to a split decision win. Now 38-22(31) overall and 2-0(1) in his fanciful comeback, the one-time protégé of the legendary Joe Frazier will certainly fight on. Maybe Cooper will even wind up facing a name fighter next time.
Due to his two return fights not being televised, we cannot really judge how much Cooper has left. Brown is no contender, but he has been in with some good guys; such as Sam Peter and Dominick Guinn. Sure, Brown lost to both, but he did succeed in making Peter look clumsy in the early rounds of their December 2009 fight (eventually won by Peter, via4th-round TKO). Despite his girth, Brown has skills and he can box. So, for Cooper to have beaten him at age 45 and after damned near a decade out, he did quite well.
It may only take one promoter or another to catch on to Cooper’s comeback and, if he keeps on winning, match him with another blast from the past, one-time big name. No, we don’t particularly want it to happen, but admit it; you’d watch if Cooper were matched with, say, Evander Holyfield (in a rematch of their 1991 rumble). And ask yourself this: would a Holyfield-Cooper fight here in 2011 be any worse a proposition than “The Real Deal” Vs. Brian Nielsen, which is due to take place in Denmark in May?
Look around and you will see there are ageing, once-talented heavyweights clogging up the division by insisting they can still box when well into their 40s. Bert Cooper is just the latest guy to be added to the bunch. But as long as he has returned, and for as long as he manages to stick around, let’s wish “Smoke” the best of luck!