Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992 TAG: 9202060064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
COOPER SMELLS VICTORY OVER COFFEE IN FEB. 15 BOUT
Calling himself "the uncrowned heavyweight champion," Salem resident Bert Cooper is finishing preparations for his return to the boxing ring on Feb. 15.The fight against Cecil Coffee at The Mirage in Las Vegas will be Cooper's first since he unsuccessfully challenged Evander Holyfield for the heavyweight championship in November.
"What this means is I can either get a win or I can be a stepping stone [for Coffee]," Cooper said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas on Wednesday. "I have to be careful. [A victory] sets up bigger and better things for me."
The Cooper-Coffee matchup is part of a card promoted by Don King Productions and highlighted by a matchup between top contender Donovan "Razor" Ruddock and former heavyweight champion Greg Page.
Also on the card, Cooper's stablemate Oliver McCall (18-4) will fight Mark Wills (10-9-1).
The fights will be shown on the Showtime cable network.
Coffee, from Beckley, W.Va., is 20-3-2 with 18 knockouts.
"I don't know anything about [Coffee], but I'm always on my p's and q's," said Cooper (26-8). "I'm ready for any opponent. They better be ready for me. I'm in shape and ready to go."
Cooper was ready for Holyfield, too - even on short notice.
Cooper learned he would be the challenger six days before the fight and stunned the champion in the third round. Holyfield recovered and went on to win when referee Mills Lane stopped the fight with two seconds remaining in the seventh round.
While that performance has put Cooper's star on the rise, it hasn't prevented him from becoming tangled in boxing's sticky web.
Promoter Dan Duva of Main Event Productions has filed suit in New Jersey Superior Court because Cooper's camp allegedly pulled out of an agreement to fight contender Michael Moorer on Feb. 1.
"We made an agreement with Rick Parker, Bert Cooper's promoter, and Jimmy Adams, Bert's manager, to have Bert fight Michael Moorer for the World Boxing Organization heavyweight title on Feb. 1," Duva said from his office in New Jersey. "Rick Parker signed the deal, and Adams looked it over and approved it. Adams' only concern was he wanted to make sure I guaranteed payment to Bert and him instead of Rick Parker. I said that wasn't a problem.
"Then someone associated with Bert went to meet with Don King, and suddenly they pulled out. It was a problem. I had made commitments to a lot of people, including HBO to televise the fight."
Moorer fought Mike White on HBO and won a unanimous decision.
Adams said neither he nor Cooper ever got a contract from Duva, and he said the suit came about because they are fighting for his rival promoter, King.
"I think Duva is trying to make everybody pay because of his dislike of Don King," Adams said. "Duva makes it sound like he talks to me all the time. I've talked to him maybe twice [since the Holyfield fight].
"I never got a contract from him. I heard Rick Parker did, but I never saw one.
"Anyone who knows fighting knows the boxer and manager have to sign a contract."
Regardless of the happenings outside the ring, Cooper's camp has him focused on the job in the ring.
"After the Holyfield fight, we felt like we were robbed," said Adams. "But because of his performance, Bert knows he's become a stepping stone for anybody trying to make a name for himself, so he's trained harder for this than for Holyfield.
"We know we have to get past Cecil Coffee."