Boxing News Roundup (May 11, 2019): Bert Cooper passes, Saturday title fights set, Jordan Gill upset, more

A bit late thanks to ShoBox, but we’re back. Reminder: no roundup post on Sunday morning, but there will be a results roundup of everything from the weekend on Sunday morning at 6 am ET. The news roundup returns Monday at 1 am ET.

Top Stories

Bert Cooper, a heavyweight warrior in the 80s and 90s who turned pro in 1984 and last fought in 2012, passed away at the age of 53. BLH sends our condolences to his family and friends.

Over his career, Cooper fought the likes of George Foreman, Ray Mercer, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer, Corrie Sanders, Larry Donald, Chris Byrd, and Luis Ortiz. He fought so long that he fought both George Foreman and Luis Ortiz. His biggest fight came in 1991, when he got a crack at Evander Holyfield and the IBF and WBA titles. He lost, but he damn near got Holyfield, too. His final boxing record was 38-25 (31 KO). He was a journeyman, and he was a real fighter.

Tomorrow night’s big cards are all set. Jarrett Hurd and Julian Williams made weight in Virginia, and Miguel Berchelt, Francisco Vargas, Emanuel Navarrete, and Isaac Dogboe did the same in Arizona.

We made our staff picks for tomorrow’s title fights, Hurd-Williams here and the ESPN doubleheader here.

We’ll have live coverage for both shows tomorrow. Hurd-Williams starts at 8 pm ET on FOX, and the ESPN show at 10:00 pm ET on ESPN, with prelims streaming live on ESPN+ a 6:30.

Quick Hits

Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

• We had a lot of prospects in action on Friday, with cards on both sides of the pond. ShoBox had no surprises (gallery below), but Matchroom’s NXTGEN show in Nottingham sure did, as Jordan Gill was stopped in eight by Enrique Tinoco. Gill complained after that he had food poisoning, and admits he wishes he had pulled out of the fight in the afternoon. His friend, roommate, and fellow featherweight Leigh Wood retained the Commonwealth title with an impressive KO of Ryan Doyle.
• Sullivan Barrera says he’s going to face Jesse Hart in a 175-pound fight on the June 15 Fury-Schwarz card, which is a good fight.
• A couple of cards we knew were happening but are now fully confirmed. The first is that Showtime’s June 29 card will be headlined by Jermall Charlo vs Brandon Adams, which is another major fight card that isn’t going to get anyone too excited, but the rumored Marcus Browne-Jean Pascal fight will not be on that card. There will be a pair of eliminators: Erickson Lubin vs Zakaria Attou in a WBC 154-pound eliminator, and Eduardo Ramirez vs Claudio Marrero in a WBA 126-pound eliminator.
• The other confirmed card is the June 21 rematch between Andrew Cancio and Alberto Machado, which will stream on DAZN. 108-pound titleholder Angel Acosta will make a defense, and Jorge Linares will again try to bounce back from a loss.
• Amir Khan had surgery on his right elbow and a lot of you made masturbation jokes.
• As expected, Kell Brook won’t fight on the Joshua-Ruiz card on June 1, and is targeting fights with Terence Crawford or Khan, more likely Crawford.
• The World Boxing Super Series has its alternates set for next weekend in Glasgow, just in case. Josh Taylor is very confident of a win over Ivan Baranchyk on that show next Saturday.
• Andy Ruiz Jr says Anthony Joshua is more flawed than Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury. Dunno if I agree, but dunno if I totally disagree, either. They’re all flawed and in different ways.
• Rising cruiserweight contender Lawrence Okolie has hired a new trainer in Shane McGuigan, ahead of a likely title fight with Denis Lebedev.

Photos from ShoBox

Grid View

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