Bertram Cooper (January 10, 1966 – May 10, 2019), nicknamed Smokin' Bert Cooper, was an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed between 1984 and 2012. He fought

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion in the cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight division ...

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

Riddick Bowe Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer and professional kickboxer who competed between 1989 and 2008 in boxing, and from 2013 to 2016 in kickboxing (Muay Thai). He held the undisputed world heavyweig ...

Michael Moorer Michael Lee Moorer (born November 12, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2008. He won a world championship on four occasions in two weight classes, having held the WBO light heavyweight title from 1988 t ...

Chris Byrd Christopher Cornelius Byrd (born August 15, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over ...

Ray Mercer Raymond Anthony Mercer (born April 4, 1961) is a former American professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist who competed from 1989 to 2009. Mercer won a heavyweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics as an amateur, and later ...

, and

Corrie Sanders Cornelius Johannes Sanders (7 January 1966 – 23 September 2012) was a South African professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He won the WBO heavyweight title in 2003 after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds, which was ...

, among others. Cooper challenged three times for a world title, and was known for being in several wild fights, including his world title bouts with Holyfield and Moorer.

Professional career

Cooper came out of Philadelphia and was trained in his early years by ex-champ

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...

, and rose in the rankings with a series of explosive knockouts in the Cruiserweight division. Unable to get a world title shot despite winning the NABF belt and defeating Olympic gold medallist

Henry Tillman Henry Durand Tillman (born August 1, 1960) is an American former professional boxer. He won a Gold at the 1984 Olympics as a Heavyweight. He scored notable wins over Cruiserweight Champions Uriah Grant and Tyrone Booze. Early life Tillman was ...

and future world champion

Tyrone Booze Tyrone Booze (February 12, 1959 – September 3, 2022) was an American boxer who held the WBO cruiserweight championship from 1992 to 1993. Booze became a professional boxer in 1982 and had mixed success during his early career. He had early l ...

, he began boxing in the heavyweight division, knocking out Willie DeWitt in 2 rounds but being stopped in 8 rounds by No. 1 ranked heavyweight contender

Carl "The Truth" Williams Carl Williams (November 11, 1959 – April 7, 2013), nicknamed "the Truth", was an American boxer who competed as a professional from 1982 to 1997. He challenged twice for heavyweight world titles; the IBF title against Larry Holmes in 1985; ...

and in 2 rounds by

. In 1990, having failed to secure a cruiserweight world title fight, Cooper moved to heavyweight permanently, knocking out top 5-ranked

Orlin Norris Orlin Levance Norris (born October 4, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005. He held the WBA cruiserweight title from 1993 to 1995. As an amateur, he won the National Golden Gloves title. He is the brothe ...

and claiming his NABF title. He lost the title in his first defense, outpointed over 12 by undefeated Olympic gold medallist

in an explosive brawl. Later the same year he was KO'd in 2 rounds by fast-rising

and his career looked over. However, Cooper bounced back in 1991, stopping

Joe Hipp Joe "The Boss" Hipp (born December 7, 1962) is a retired professional Americans, American heavyweight boxing, boxer. A member of the Blackfeet Tribe, he became the first Native Americans in the United States, Native American to challenge for a w ...

in 5 rounds and then being matched on short notice with

for the undisputed heavyweight championship after two opponents dropped out. Cooper came off the floor in the first round to stun Holyfield in the 3rd round (scoring the first knockdown of Holyfield in the process), the two exchanging big blows before the referee

Mills Lane Mills Bee Lane III (November 12, 1937 – December 6, 2022) was an American referee (boxing), boxing referee and professional boxer, a two-term Washoe County, Nevada district court judge, and television personality. Lane was best known for ha ...

stopped the fight in the 7th. The fight made Cooper a big name and he would be matched in many high-profile fights over the years. In June 1992 he boxed undefeated

for the vacant WBO title, knocking Moorer down twice but also going down twice himself before being stopped in the 5th. Cooper's career went downhill from this point, being outpointed by veteran Mike Weaver for the obscure

National Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded i ...

Heavyweight title in China and then losing to prospects like

Fres Oquendo Fres Oquendo (born April 1, 1973) is a Puerto Rican former professional heavyweight boxer. He had a successful amateur record before turning professional in 1997. He unsuccessfully challenged three times for world heavyweight titles. Amateur car ...

, and

Joe Mesi "Baby" Joe Mesi (born November 27, 1973) is an American retired boxer and Democratic Party politician from Tonawanda, New York. During his career, he defeated former world champion Vassily Jirov as well as former title challengers Bert Cooper, ...

. On June 18, 2010, Cooper, aged 44, made a successful comeback after eight years out of the ring, a sixth-round knockout of Corey Winfield in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Personal

His hometown was

Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania Sharon Hill is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,697 at the 2010 census. Currently the population stands at 6,356 residents. Government The government of Sharon Hill operat ...

, United States. He was tall. He died on May 10, 2019, from pancreatic cancer at the age of 53.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Bert Heavyweight boxers 1966 births 2019 deaths Boxers from Philadelphia People from Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Delaware County, Pennsylvania American male boxers Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen