Bertram Cooper (January 10, 1966 – May 10, 2019), nicknamed Smokin' Bert Cooper, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2012. He fought Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer, Chris Byrd, Ray Mercer, and Corrie Sanders, 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, 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 and future world champion Tyrone Booze, 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 and in 2 rounds by George Foreman.

In 1990, having failed to secure a cruiserweight world title fight, Cooper moved to heavyweight permanently, knocking out top 5-ranked Orlin Norris and claiming his NABF title. He lost the title in his first defense, outpointed over 12 by undefeated Olympic gold medallist Ray Mercer in an explosive brawl. Later the same year he was KO'd in 2 rounds by fast-rising Riddick Bowe and his career looked over. However, Cooper bounced back in 1991, stopping Joe Hipp in 5 rounds and then being matched on short notice with Evander Holyfield 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 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 Michael Moorer 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 Heavyweight title in China and then losing to prospects like Corrie Sanders, Chris Byrd, Fres Oquendo, and Joe Mesi. 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, United States. He was tall. He died on May 10, 2019, from pancreatic cancer at the age of 53.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes64LossCarl DavisTKO2 (6), Sep 8, 201263Loss38–24 Chauncy WelliverUD10Apr 5, 201262Loss38–23 Luis OrtizTKO2 (10), Apr 23, 201161Win38–22 Gabe BrownSD6Feb 26, 201160Win37–22 Corey WinfieldKO6 (6), Jun 18, 201059Loss36–22 Darroll WilsonRTD4 (10), Sep 20, 200258Win36–21 Craig TomlinsonUD10Jun 22, 200257Loss35–21 Joe MesiTKO7 (10), Jul 27, 200156Loss35–20 Fres OquendoUD10Oct 16, 199955Win35–19 Brian YatesTKO4 (10), Jun 19, 199954Loss34–19 Derrick JeffersonTKO2 (10), Mar 4, 199953Loss34–18 Anthony GreenUD8Sep 19, 199752Win34–17 Richie MelitoKO1 (12), Jul 29, 199751Loss33–17 Samson Po'uhaTKO4 (10), Apr 22, 199750Loss33–16 Chris ByrdUD10Mar 18, 199749Loss33–15 Alexander ZolkinTKO9 (12), Jun 23, 199548Win33–14 George HarrisKO1 (10)Jul 30, 199447Loss32–14 Jeremy WilliamsDQ7 (10), Jun 24, 1994Cooper DQ'd for purposefully spitting mouthpiece46Win32–13 Joe SavageKO1 (10), Apr 22, 199445Loss31–13 Larry DonaldTKO7 (12), Apr 14, 199444Loss31–12 Craig PetersenSD3Dec 3, 199343Win31–11 Mike RobinsonTKO3 (10), Nov 28, 199342Loss30–11 Corrie SandersTKO3 (10), Jun 26, 199341Win30–10 Derek WilliamsUD10Mar 25, 199340Loss29–10 Mike WeaverUD10Feb 27, 199339Win29–9 Rocky PepeliTKO8 (10), Sep 15, 199238Win28–9 David JacoUD10Jul 11, 199237Loss27–9 Michael MoorerTKO5 (12), May 15, 199236Win27–8 Cecil CoffeeTKO2 (10), Feb 15, 199235Loss26–8 Evander HolyfieldTKO7 (12), Nov 23, 199134Win26–7 Joe HippTKO5 (10), Oct 18, 199133Win25–7 Anthony WadeTKO8 (19), Aug 8, 199132Win24–7 Conroy NelsonTKO9 (10), May 11, 199131Win23–7 Loren RossTKO8 (10), Feb 26, 199130Loss22–7 Riddick BoweKO2 (10), Oct 25, 199029Loss22–6 Ray MercerUD12Aug 5, 199028Win22–5 Orlin NorrisTKO8 (13), Feb 17, 199027NC21–5 Mike CohenNC8Dec 9, 198926Win21–5Rick HoardTKO1 (6), Sep 28, 198925Loss20–5George ForemanRTD2 (10), Jun 1, 198924Loss20–4Nate MillerRTD6 (12), Feb 15, 198923Win20–3Tony MorrisonTKO9 (12), Sep 27, 198822Loss19–3Everett MartinUD10Jun 1, 198821Win19–2Tony FulilangiTKO4 (12), Mar 19, 198820Win18–2Tim BullockTKO3 (10)Dec 4, 198719Win17–2Andre McCallTKO6 (12), Nov 20, 198718Loss16–2Carl WilliamsRTD7 (12), Jun 21, 198717Win16–1Willie de WitTKO2 (10), Feb 14, 198716Win15–1Carlos HernándezTKO8 (10), Dec 2, 198615Win14–1Spencer ChavisTKO3 (12), Oct 10, 198614Win13–1Tyrone BoozeSD12Aug 26, 198613Win12–1Henry TillmanUD12Jun 15, 198612Win11–1Oscar HolmanTKO10 (10), Apr 18, 198611Loss10–1Reggie GrossTKO8 (10), Jan 31, 198610Win10–0Cedric ParsonsKO1 (10), Dec 12, 19859Win9–0Ray DavisonUD6Oct 9, 19858Win8–0Tim DavenportTKO1 (6), Aug 3, 19857Win7–0Larry GivensTKO3 (6), May 20, 19856Win6–0Jim JonesKO1 (6), May 9, 19855Win5–0Lorenzo BoydKO1 (6)Apr 18, 19854Win4–0Alvin FuggsKO1 (6), Feb 23, 19853Win3–0Ian PriestTKO1 (6), Nov 24, 19842Win2–0Mark YoungTKO2 (4), Oct 30, 19841Win1–0Dennis CaldwellKO1 (4), Sep 11, 1984

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