After his knockout of Dwight Qawi in March of 1998, George Foreman fought six more times in 1988. Most of the competition was limited, but that was his idea, to fight often and build up an impressive record, before stepping up the level of the fighters he faced.
He fought three more times in early 1989, before signing to fight ‘Smokin’ Bert Cooper on June 1st, in Phoenix, Arizona. By this time, George had signed a deal with the USA network, and began fighting on their cards.
We didn’t have cable tv at the time, so I would most times go to my sister’s apartment to catch fights, and did so for this one. Cooper had been a solid cruiserweight, and had moved up to the heavyweight division because of the difficulty he had making the 190 lb. limit. On paper, he was definitely George’s stiffest competition up to date.
The bout started off with Foreman the aggressor, landing hard jabs to the smaller Cooper’s face. Bert was not aggressive at all, and by the second round was doing nothing but taking shots. He never came close to being dropped however, and it was surprising when he refused to come out for the third round. The Arizona athletic officials announced they were withholding his purse, accusing Cooper of quitting.
Drug rumors surrounded Cooper, and it was obvious to all that he never showed up to fight. He only wanted his paycheck, and after two rounds, quit. The Arizona athletic commission was justified in their actions, but to George, he had won fair and square. He had his biggest name up to date on his record, and cried “We want Tyson!” to the crowd after the whole mess. As much as I liked George, he wasn’t ready for Tyson or any top contenders, and needed to keep fighting to prove himself as a worth challenger for any title.
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