The Greatest First Round In Heavyweight Boxing History? | Michael Moorer vs Bert Cooper

Look back at one of the craziest first rounds in #boxing history. Michael Moorer & Bert Cooper traded knockdowns in their fight from May 15, 1992. #boxinghighlights #heavyweightboxing
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[@Tehui1974]

I'm 49 years old, have been following boxing on and off for most of my life, and for whatever reason, I had never seen this fight until now. Holy sh!t.

[@cliftonconnor9389]

I watched both fighters and I don't remember this also. Wow. Here I am thinking Foreman versus Lyle.

[@matejragan6936]

Man how could you missed this fight? This is classic.

[@Jack-bz7vq]

​@@cliftonconnor9389A 46 years old George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer. Please don't compare this fighters with "Big" George.

[@rolandnelson6722]

I’m 49 too I could say the same thing. What a round! How did I miss it?

[@Ramzblood]

me either

[@robertnolan502]

Michael Moorer, at the end of round 1, gave Bert a pat on the butt as a sign of appreciation or respect 🙏 😊❤

[@presence5426]

Yep. Moorer was kind of dumb to stand there and bang with Cooper. But it produced a legendary fight!

[@fitzanderson1980]

⏸️

[@johntate5722]

Yes that was a quality gesture by moorer

[@stuartperry1047]

Cooper was a stud. He always gave a good accounting for himself, win or lose. His fights against Holyfield and Mercer were epics.

[@ddc2957]

Well hardly always. Check his fights with George Foreman & Reggie Gross.

[@trudaroof]

Bert knocked Holyfield out!!!

[@jamesrich8463]

You should watch the Foreman vs Cooper fight it was epic.

[@robertpratt6792]

​@@trudaroof only people who watched understand that Mills gave him a gift

[@trudaroof]

@@robertpratt6792 There is no standing 8 in Georgia Athletics Mills knew that & protected EH. The next round EH threw a 27 punch combo & mils stopped it

[@micahbodha6129]

Moorer's Light-Heavyweight career was terrifying! He was a monster.

[@csnide6702]

won heavyweight championship as well... Lost it to George Foreman .

[@Nebulous0_o]

One of the best. Round 4 of Foreman v Lyle is the best ever. Foreman down early, Lyle down seconds later, Foreman down again at the end of the round. Bar room brawl in a boxing ring.

[@amc7185]

Asked if this the best FIRST round, and it is.

[@punchy1325]

Dempsey v firpo

[@decidingpaper6324]

💯

[@InvisibleHotdog]

The title literally says "first round"

[@silverhorder1969]

The best round ever though in all weight divisions was Herns vs Hagler..

[@JaySports-kx7yb]

Smokin Bert Cooper was no joke this guy fought everybody he was a gatekeeper for the division at that time when the heavyweight division meant something 👊👊

[@presence5426]

He was good. Poor man's Mike Tyson. Really good, quick right hand. Riddick Bowe blew him out though.

[@ineverglid]

Nicely put.

[@G.M.1944]

Incredible, seeing these two warriors, and knowing that an old George Foreman in his 40’s still was able to stop them both ! 😮

[@homebell4866]

fixed fights both of them took a dive, They wanted the greatest come back by him winning the World Heavyweight championship - it's All Entertainment And only in America 🤣

[@donnyh3497]

Foreman is one of the hardest punches in boxing history.

[@homebell4866]

@@donnyh3497 watch the Foreman and Moorer fight, AND ask yourself the question when you see the Moorer and Smoking Bert Cooper fight, Really 🤔 Bert Cooper could punch even Holyfield stated that and yet one punch and he's down??? Really??

[@donnyh3497]

@@homebell4866 Yeah, really. Holyfield and others said that Foreman punched harder than Tyson. Let me guess, I bet the moon landing didn't happen and 911 was an inside job by our government 😅

[@poindextertunes]

@@homebell4866this comment makes little sense. maybe try english next time?

[@fiucik1]

So underrated both of them. Especially Moorer, whom most people only remember for that big right hand from George Foreman.

[@nikolailic431]

Referee is Butterbean's father 😂

[@thomas5714]

I wouldn't mess with either one of them.

[@shuntavaisjohnson345]

😂😂😂

[@qthemusicdj]

Fatherbean?

[@dannymontgomery5811]

Jim bean

[@CocaineCowboyJones]

Looks like Cus D'amato😂

[@kevinmunday6263]

Great Respect at end of Round one 👍😊

[@johnjuarez8005]

Moorer and Cooper brought it every time out.

[@precessionoftheequinoxes3224]

I remember watching Cooper vs. Mercer. What a war.

[@user-qh5br9jl9g]

Mercer Witherspoon

[@earth7551]

​@@user-qh5br9jl9g Wasn't much of a slugfest

[@Deeplycloseted435]

90’s heavyweight boxing was AMAZING!

[@jenndi_83]

I'm 57 years old and this is still one of the best fights I've ever seen....

[@kene6753]

Bert Cooper vs Holyfield was also an all out war. That fight was brutal.

[@shuntavaisjohnson345]

Yes

[@presence5426]

It was supposed to be Holyfield-Damiani. Cooper took the fight on like 2 weeks notice. He nailed Holyfield with that quick overhand right and put him into la-la land. Then in classic Holyfield fashion, Evander unloaded like 30 punches and blew Cooper out. Awesome.

[@Kenny-nk8gm]

Holyfield & Cooper were throwing nothing but power punches in that fight! Atomic Bombs every round🥊

[@kene6753]

@Kenny-nk8gm My all-time favourite remains the ultra brutal Holyfield vs. James "lights out" Toney. Two warriors stood toe to toe in a slugfest for the ages. Both warriors refused to budge an inch until Holyfield's corner threw in the towel. Every punch thrown in that fight was thrown with evil intentions.

[@lime455]

I would've loved to see Bert Cooper v Alex Stewart

[@presence5426]

Yeah. I like Stewart I think. Better stamina.

[@tigermachine6471]

Stewart may have had better stamina but he didnt have nearly the chin or heart of Bert. It seemed like Stewart lost his edge when he lost that battle with Holyfield. You just never knew which Alex Stewart was gonna show up for a fight, he could be a warrior or he could get wiped out early. He was fun to watch though, for sure!

[@tonygower7380]

Puts the current crop of heavyweights to shame!

[@jonathanwilliams8309]

Good old Bert, he always gave his all. So near yet so far.

[@markyncole]

Those body shots Moorer was digging in to Cooper's ribs were brutal.

[@StevenPolanco-yp3yc]

Excellent first round

[@barrybarnes96]

Moore should have got a belt just for actually knocking Bert Cooper down.

[@81carlos]

Michael Lee Moorer (born November 12, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2008. He won a world championship on four occasions in two weight classes, having held the WBO light heavyweight title from 1988 to 1991; compiling 22 straight KOs in 22 fights and the WBO heavyweight title from 1992 to 1993; the unified WBA, IBF and lineal heavyweight titles in 1994; and regained the IBF heavyweight title again from 1996 to 1997 becoming a three-time heavyweight world champion. Michael Moorer was an undefeated southpaw in his first 35 professional bouts. He captured the WBO light heavyweight title in 1988 which he defended 9 times. In 1991, Moorer moved up to Heavyweight winning the vacant WBO heavyweight title from Bert Cooper via TKO in 1992. He went on to beat Evander Holyfield for the unified WBA, IBF and lineal heavyweight titles in 1994. He remains the only southpaw to win the lineal world championship at heavyweight and the only light heavyweight world champion to win a heavyweight world title on more than one occasion. Moorer is only one of four boxers over the last century that has ever won a version of a world title at both light heavyweight and heavyweight along with Roy Jones Jr., Michael Spinks, and James Toney.

[@csnide6702]

I met him once and he was IMPOSING... ! Shook my hand and I was glad to get it back.... was a DAMN nice guy to me.

[@luke125]

Cooper got greedy and paid the price 🥊

[@presence5426]

I don't know about the greatest, but I remember seeing this one live. Great round & great fight. Both guys could crack, even though they were small heavyweights.

[@jaiquanfayson1099]

The way Moorer fell in that first knockdown 😂

[@misd6697]

upload the whole fight please

[@Steve-me5lf]

Awesome fight! Make boxing great again!

[@ArchieFatcackie]

Nothing like the referee giving Moorer an extra 10 seconds recovery time after the knockdown.

[@kevinp7300]

Incredible round! Wow! 🥊🥊🥊💥💥💥

[@z23xc5]

They're fighting like they are inside a phone booth - neither one is backing off

[@jandbyoung1]

That was awesome!

[@user-ct6dm6uz9m]

Both Moorer and Bert Cooper deserve to be remembered 4 ever for their grit and toughness! They are a credit to their race,The Human Race

[@joeblagden1814]

WOW .. 2 AWSOME Gladiators are just going for it .. Then they show respect to each other at the end of the round.. That's what I call good sporting boxers 👏 👏 👏

[@LamarA-bq1zz]

That was a heck of a round

[@colderbeer]

Great round AND a great ref.

[@ST-ge4hh]

This reminds me my sparring sessions. EVERYDAY.

[@Pclub4ever]

Yeah, I'm sure you were as tough as these guys

[@ST-ge4hh]

@@Pclub4ever it was a joke.LOSER!

[@poindextertunes]

Then you’re gunna be a vegetable later on in life

[@ST-ge4hh]

@@poindextertunes As long as it's broccoli sautéed.

[@Zzrdemon6633]

1:54 was that the donald on the left in the background?

[@punchy1325]

Cooper would be world champion if was around today

[@courthogan3140]

Extreme casual take. You don’t know boxing, lol. I feel embarrassed for you.

[@punchy1325]

@courthogan3140 how is that explain yourself are you saying a man that went toe to toe with legends wouldn't last to or are you saying today's heavyweights are far better than the likes of holyfield foreman bowe mercer who btw Lewis said was his hardest fight of his career do you really think today's heavyweights would last against these men I think it's you that's the casual I was around when these guys fought you must be brand new or where dropped on your head many times

[@Goofyah880]

​​@@courthogan3140😂😂😂

[@realdealholyfield9531]

​@@courthogan3140это вы не знаете. Раньше выходили убивать. А сейчас по очкам отбегаться...

[@user-uj8uq1hf1d]

Somehow he reminds me of Tyson.

[@PhflyDan1]

The commentary team were calling this almost bang on!!

[@ficationsare6552]

I had to work and couldn't watch it live. I knew it was gonna be a war.

[@gwmba1989]

Fun fact: Oliver McCall sparred against Mike Tyson and Cooper and he is on record as saying that Cooper actually hit harder than Tyson did! However, he also stated that Tyson's punches were much faster than Cooper's and that, I suppose, is the difference between mediocrity and greatness.

[@theartoffighting879]

Double M & Smokin Bert. Sensational first round, and one of the Great heavyweight slugfests.

[@StevenPolanco-yp3yc]

TVKO with the illegal cable box those who knows remember I was watching all these classics fights growing up

[@TLGIII]

Great round!

[@Kk-bq8sw]

Bert cooper fought too many hard tough fights and didn’t really get the most out of boxing financially.

[@jamesblames2]

Bert Cooper was always entertainment to watch.

[@manjot1]

1:53 trump at the back?

[@valtazatsalazar2392]

Yup

[@ricardomoreira1262]

I remember back in my 20s watching this fight with such excitement because it was a very good first round. Now pause it at the time 1:55, and look at the audience to your left, you’ll see Trump (standing) in the audience just as excited watching this round.

[@ilovetrump1252]

I don't know how you guys see this stuff in the back ground.

[@davidabney7700]

Great round, with both fighters going toe-to-toe. A very good pick for the 1st Round greatness in the Heavyweight Class. If we are talking 1st Round here the 1923 Dempsey vs. Firpo would be my selection. The grainy, hard to see video of the fight gives no justice to the "fistic hurricane" delivered by both fighters at various times in Round 1.Dempsey would finish Firpo off in Round 2 to end one of the greatest Heavyweight Fights in ring history. Today, a fight like this, would be called after the 3rd knockdown. Firpo was knocked down 8-times in that legendary Round 1before knocking Dempsey out of the ring onto the apron. With help (illegal as hell) from reporters covering the fight, Dempsey regained his feet in the ring. He looked like the Spanish Matador that has been wounded by a already wounded bull. Dempsey's fists became a blur as he drove Firpo back, back and back as the round ended. That round, that fight is legend now. Many boxing historians count this round as the "greatest ever" 1st Rounds in Heavyweight Boxing. Thank you for this rockem-sockem 1st Rounds throw down video between these two warriors.

[@AhPhoey]

The light heavyweight champ moving up 40lbs to take on Smokin Bert.

[@JohnnyButtons]

The ‘90s was the Golden Age of heavyweight boxing!

[@user-mv6wb9se2t]

Good old fashioned slugfest 🥊🥊

[@shuntavaisjohnson345]

Yes

[@PacoSmith]

That was, I feed, a hell-of-a Round #1. If I were to give it a title, it would be "Throwing Heavy Leather!"

[@brianfitzpatrick1183]

I still think the first round of the Hagler Hearns fight was the best first round ever

[@dshooter6391]

I always like Bert Cooper! He slugged with the best.

[@Righthook..]

Who noticed young trump in the crowd?

[@normancook965]

I remember so well sitting down so many years ago back in 1987 with my roomate at the time Chris as our Canadian champ Willie de Wit was about to take on Bert Cooper, and both us took one look at Cooper and just said "Oh shit!". Our intincts were dead on as "Smokin Bert" was on another level and won by TKO. Moorer is one tough man to stand there and trade with this guy.

[@genekostron7998]

Most people have no idea how wicked Michael moorer was scary mofo

[@johnoliver189]

I remember watching this on PPV TVKO ! Great series ! Anyone remember ?

[@JohnEastmanExAttyAtLaw]

Either of these men could easily be heavyweight champ today.

[@dabatman]

Moorer is a very underrated boxer

[@8iker]

They was some heavy hands being let loose!

[@randallross420]

I wonder if this is the same Smokin Bert Cooper that made UK hard house records in the late 90s early 2000s

[@NemeanLion-]

I saw this live. Moorer was still adjusting to heavyweight at this point and it was a close call in this one. Moorer always had a shaky chin and he worked on protecting it more as his career went on.

[@rda6029]

Moorer was a solid heavyweights but one of the best light heavyweights of all time!

[@marcd1981]

This video is about the greatest 1st round in Heavyweight boxing, but the greatest round, which also happens to be the 1st round, in all of boxing history is considered by many to be the Hagler-Hearns fight in 1985. I was just looking up records for boxing and had never heard of the record for the longest fight in boxing history, which seems insane: "On April 6, 1893, Andy Bowen and Jack Burke fought the longest fight in history. Bowen had originally scheduled the fight with another opponent, however after dropping out of the fight, Jack Burke, who was the latter's trainer, fought the bout instead. The fight took place at the same Olympics Club Bowen had defended his title from Carroll. The fight lasted 110 rounds over seven hours and 19 minutes (each round lasting three minutes)." The story reported that the spectators that stuck around were falling asleep in their seats, and after the 108th round, the ref stated he would call the fight a no contest if no one won in the next two rounds. Well, neither fighter won over the next two rounds, and were too tired to come out of their corners, so the ref called it a no contest. Damn, that's crazy to think about.

[@lolasamuals3336]

Puts into perspective the heavyweight shit we watch today

[@Priceluked]

Frazier and team managed Cooper really badly. Cooper could have easily been a cruiserweight champion and with better building and management could have had better opportunities, though all that being said Cooper still always gave a warrior’s accounting of himself and still got to fight for the world title.

[@presence5426]

Can you imagine Moorer vs. Cooper at 195?

[@nickk8045]

He took all them punches with no gumsheild in

[@rosewoodsteel6656]

Wow!

[@elnick1000]

Really, did they forget about Dempsey-Firpo.

[@happyapple4269]

It would have been stopped after the first knockdown these days.

[@user-nm8lw8bl2d]

Wish there would have been another weight class from 200-220lbs

[@samgraham1936]

Like something from a rocky movie two warriors

[@dionbrown8064]

Great ref.

[@elomarlopez5226]

Nice as hell but dempsey vs firp was just another thing

[@bgjb-r1499]

Moore got at least 40 seconds break

[@karlyoung5089]

The whole 5? rounds of this fight was great.

[@georgevincent1834]

Why did the ref pull Cooper off Moorer before he hit the floor? It should've been a TKO win for Cooper.

[@silverfishimperitrix]

That whole sequence made it look like the referee had definitely bet on Moorer.

[@greek1237]

Jack Dempsey vs Luis Firpo 1923 round 1 has my vote.

[@htinternational2474]

Bert cooper was tough back then i see why he was a tough customer

[@felicecancellara4524]

Bert Cooper a true warrior, never ducked anyone and he fought Holyfield with one week notice, M. Moorer a tough fighter with heavy hands and the first southpaw heavyweight champion of the world

[@aeonparker-white9306]

Bert Cooper was always value for money, came out smoking every time.

[@C-rations2394]

Ref saved Moorer's ass 3 times.

[@jeremypearson6852]

Lewis vs Golota was a great one round fight, even though it was all one sided.

[@presence5426]

The right guy got his azz beat too.

[@robertpratt6792]

Another great fight was Moore vs Stewart

[@josephshields2922]

Take a look at Patterson v Johasson 3 . A championship fight with 3 knockdowns.

[@juliandobbin7329]

In those days no one ducked a fight, they gave their all. Pity today’s primodonnas don’t do the same.

[@HardTimeBluesCafe]

Yogi Bear on play-by-play.

[@AndrewWilliams-kw6bc]

20 sec count after first knock down ?

[@K_j_M]

Cooper shouldn't have left his neutral corner. Rules are rules

[@presence5426]

@@K_j_M Probably saved Moorer's butt. Cooper was one hard right hand away from KO'ing Moorer. Bert wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, lol.

[@kendetulio4009]

Glad I'm 56

[@edwardferry8247]

The speed of the Cooper count in comparison to the Moorer one, corruption in boxing right there.

[@isr3598]

Both these would absolutely destroy any of todays trash in the division.

[@Reason..or..treason-vk6cz]

Loved smoking Burt Cooper 💜

[@xMister.Misterx]

Idk about “the greatest round” but that was a pretty exciting round FOR SURE!

[@tagg]

Greatest FIRST round was the claim…..

[@xMister.Misterx]

@@tagg even with that i still disagree. Many of Tysons first rounds were more exciting than that. Just as an example

[@tagg]

@@xMister.Misterx It’s certainly open for debate….as you said, this was a pretty exciting round 👍🏻

[@INEBRIATEDEPIPHANIES]

Moorer was mad chinny

[@ricardomoreira1262]

I remember back in my 20s watching this fight with such excitement because it was a very good first round. Now pause it at the time 1:55, and look at the audience to your left, you’ll see Trump (standing) in the audience just as excited watching this round.

[@MC-so6bz]

Moorer went down stupid but Cooper went down ugly.

[@ZeusAmun-pt9dc]

MANDELA EFFECT at least for me. I remember his last name being Moore not Moorer

[@pastapete9095]

Many said Cooper was one of the hardest punchers they fought.

[@qizrquacolaban8813]

BERT was a Bruiser indeed (how many people can say they dropped Holyfield?). But Michael had a Dynamic Monster inside him (view him at Light Heavy), it just needed proper motivation.