Fight:404773
Darroll "Doin' Damage" Wilson, 221, of Vineland, NJ, ended the comeback, and in all likelihood, the career, of former heavyweight and cruiserweight contender "Smokin" Bert Cooper last night at a nearly-packed Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, PA. Wilson, 27-6-2, 21 KO's, survived Cooper's best shots in the opening round, before flooring him in the 3rd round and convincing Cooper to remain on his stool after the 4th round of the scheduled 10 round heavyweight bout.
Cooper, of Darby Township, PA, weighed in at a portly 243.5 pounds, 13 pounds heavier than he was in his last bout just 3 months ago, when he took a unanimous decision over Craig Tomlinson in Reading, PA. Wilson, a slow starter, opened the bout as he did back on March 15, 1996 when he starched then 25-0 Shannon Briggs in the 3rd round, by languishing on the ropes, seemingly to test the power of his opponent. Cooper obliged him by landing a crisp right hand, followed by his vaunted left hook which staggered Wilson. Cooper patiently followed up, and nearly ended matters right there in the first round. Wilson held on, however, and survived.
Wilson remained in a defensive posture for much of the second round, landing an occasional jab and right hand to keep Cooper off. Cooper, for his part, landed some nice hard jabs and right hands, plus a nice hook to Wilson's body in what was a fairly even round.
The turning point in the bout came in the 3rd round. Wilson, still fighting off the ropes and allowing Cooper to dictate the pace, landed a stray left hand below the belt. Cooper, who appeared to be adjusting his cup before every round, turned away holding his groin. Referee Rudy Battle allowed Cooper a brief rest period of about one minute. The rest seemed to benefit Wilson more than Cooper. Wilson immediately woke up and attacked Cooper, hurting him with a right hand. Wilson followed up with a hard left-right, and another short right that dropped Cooper hard along the ropes. Cooper, obviously stunned, rose at 8, but was peppered for the rest of the round by hard one-two combinations from Wilson, which penetrated Cooper's Archie Moore "crab" defense.
Cooper's corner used an Enswell on his rapidly swelling left eye between the 3rd and 4th rounds. With Wilson adding hard body shots to his assault, Cooper's offense was reduced to a surprisingly stiff jab and wild left hooks and overhand rights, which Wilson easily slipped. Rather than go out on his shield, Cooper remained on his stool after the 4th round, dropping his record to 36-23, with 30 KO's. Wilson, 36, thought to be a shot fighter after a series of losses, most recently to "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon, looked hard at 221 pounds in his role as a spoiler.