HOLYFIELD, EVANDER-BERT COOPER ADVERTISING POSTER (1991)

On Nov 23, 1991 at The Omni in Atlanta Evander Holyfield fought Bert Cooper with his IBF and WBA Heavyweight Titles at stake. Holyfield won by TKO in the 7th round. Holyfield had been scheduled to fight Mike Tyson in Las Vegas on November 8, 1991, but the fight was canceled after Tyson suffered a rib injury during training. Holyfield was then scheduled to face Francesco Damiani in Atlanta on November 23, but Damiani pulled out due to an ankle injury. Finally, Bert Cooper stepped in as a substitute for the substitute. The World Boxing Council refused to sanction the fight because Cooper was not ranked by the organization. The bout was sanctioned by the World Boxing Association, which did not rank Cooper, and the International Boxing Federation, which ranked him twelfth. Holyfield, who was going to earn $30 million for the Tyson fight, made $6 million for fighting Cooper, who was paid $750,000. Holyfield dropped Cooper with a left hook to the body one minute and eighteen seconds into the