Canastota Chronicles: Coffee and Donuts With Smokin’ Bert Cooper

Published

3 years ago

May 2, 2022

Canastota Chronicles: Coffee and Donuts With Smokin’ Bert Cooper

Boxing fans often flock to Canastota for Hall of Fame weekend in hopes of meeting a few stars. I am no different than most fans in that I yearn for that once in a lifetime encounter with a boxing superstar whenever I am in Canastota. As a matter of fact, the very first fighter I ever met there was Felix Trinidad and still proudly display the glove he signed for me in a prominent place in my mancave.

But its not all about just meeting the “stars” of the sport when attending Hall of Fame weekend. You just never know who you will bump into and maybe even spark a friendship. For me that random encounter took place at the Dunkin Donuts across the street from the Hall of Fame and gave me two years’ worth of unforgettable memories.

Anyone who has ever been to Canastota knows that things can sometimes get a little congested Hall of Fame weekend in that small town. Saturday is usually a busy day on the Hall of Fame grounds with all sorts of events that tend to draw large crowds. I was on the grounds as usual with my wife Kelly on Saturday June 10^th,2017 and as the day ended, we decided to head across the street to Dunkin Donuts instead of battle an ensuing traffic jam.

As I sat there watching out the window sipping my coffee, I noticed an individual enter who looked like someone I should know. Well, he must have noticed me staring and came right over to sit down next to me. Definitely not what I was expecting but he soon stuck his hand out and introduced himself as Bert. That’s when I knew who was sitting next to me.

I was frozen for a second and in my head was trying to quickly recount as many of Bert’s past fights as possible. Shortly after he sat down next to me another individual walked in and came over to the table. He asked if I could watch over Bert for a minute and make sure he didn’t leave. This person told me he’d be back in ten minutes.

My wife shot me the look of let’s just get out of here. But I couldn’t. And I wanted to make sure Bert stayed put. I am not sure to this day why this is the first thing I thought of but I wanted to get some conversation going with Bert to make sure he didn’t suddenly split. So, knowing he was from Philadelphia, I asked he ever fought at the Blue Horizon.

He did. It apparently wasn’t a particularly fond memory of Bert’s.

With that awkward start out of the way, Bert went right into telling me about his fight with George Foreman. I am guessing he figured I’d recognize the name and well it was quite the sensational story. I will steer away from the X rated version but essentially Bert claimed Foreman sent hookers and drugs to his hotel room the night before the fight. He went into details. My wife looked petrified and clearly wanted to leave.

So, I swerved quickly and got Bert talking about other fights as well as moments from his career. And he could talk. Eventually that person showed back up and joined us along with Junior Jones. It was quite the experience and at the end as we parted ways Bert asked me if we could have lunch next year. I said sure thinking it’d never happen.

But it did. The person who I referenced earlier who asked me to make sure Bert didn’t leave Dunkin Donuts was named Sam Bearman. He was an attorney who had a passion for boxing and was assisting some former fighters with various matters. One was Bert along with Junior Jones and Riddick Bowe. Sam contacted me during Hall of Fame weekend in 2018 and asked if we were still on for lunch with Bert. Of course, my answer was yes.

When I first saw Bert in 2018 he sure acted like he remembered me (not sure if he really did or if Sam helped juggle his memory). Bert whipped out a black and white photo right away and asked if I wanted an autograph. So, I said sure and knowing he probably wanted a few bucks I began to pull out my wallet. Bert saw this and said that while he usually charges fans, he never charges friends. I offered anyway and he refused to take any money.

We headed off the Hall of Fame grounds for lunch to this little restaurant in the heart of Canastota called Three Pines. Bert made sure to introduce himself to the few patrons who were seated as well as all the staff. Possibly wanting to avoid a scene the hostess took us to the back dining area that was unoccupied.

Generally, when I go to Canastota I watch several past fights of the many fighters who I know will be in attendance that week. That way just in case I come into contact with someone I am prepared to spark a conversation about their career. Knowing there was a better than outside chance I’d bump into Bert again I watched many of his old fights just in case we’d head out to lunch.

Anyway, I probably recounted a dozen or so fights with Bert that day. Since we had plenty of room in the area that we were stashed back in at the restaurant he even gave me a demonstration of how he knocked out Richie Melito. In doing so I thought for a second that I was going to be on the receiving end of his patented left hook.

Eventually the owner came over and asked me if Bert was really a famous boxer. I said yes. She asked him for an autographed picture and he gleefully ran out to the car where he left the photos to get one to sign for her. She told us next year when we come the photo would be in a frame on the wall with the other signed pictures.

My wife and I would soon have to part ways to head to Turning Stone for the boxing card that evening. Before we parted Bert told me that we’d have to get together next year as he had more stories that he wanted to share from his career.

But that was the last time I saw Bert. About a month before the 2019 Hall of Fame weekend Bert suddenly passed away.

I decided not to go back to Three Pines restaurant in 2019. It was just too soon as just a year earlier Bert was in his happy place there talking about his career with a diehard fan who soaked up every second of his stories. I figured in 2020 I’d stop by and hopefully see that photo displayed on the wall. But that did not happen.

The plan is this year for me to make it back to Three Pines for the first time since I had that lunch with Bert and Sam Bearman. Unfortunately, it will be just my wife and I. Sam also passed away sometimes shortly after Bert’s death.

The stories Bert told me I will never forget. And that’s why I head out to Canastota whenever there is an induction weekend. You just never know who you will meet and with whom you will develop lifelong friendships through the shared passion of the sport of boxing.

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Matt Andrzejewski

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TSS Salutes Thomas Hauser and his Bernie Award Cohorts

Published

12 hours ago

April 16, 2025

TSS Press

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The Boxing Writers Association of America has announced the winners of its annual Bernie Awards competition. The awards, named in honor of former five-time BWAA president and frequent TSS contributor Bernard Fernandez, recognize outstanding writing in six categories as represented by stories published the previous year.

Over the years, this venerable website has produced a host of Bernie Award winners. In 2024, Thomas Hauser kept the tradition alive. A story by Hauser that appeared in these pages finished first in the category “Boxing News Story.” Titled “Ryan Garcia and the New York State Athletic Commission,” the story was published on June 23. You can read it HERE.

Hauser also finished first in the category of “Investigative Reporting” for “The Death of Ardi Ndembo,” a story that ran in the (London) Guardian. (Note: Hauser has owned this category. This is his 11^th first place finish for “Investigative Reporting”.)

Thomas Hauser, who entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the class of 2019, was honored at last year’s BWAA awards dinner with the A.J. Leibling Award for Outstanding Boxing Writing. The list of previous winners includes such noted authors as W.C. Heinz, Budd Schulberg, Pete Hamill, and George Plimpton, to name just a few.

The Leibling Award is now issued intermittently. The most recent honorees prior to Hauser were Joyce Carol Oates (2015) and Randy Roberts (2019).

Roberts, a Distinguished Professor of History at Purdue University, was tabbed to write the Hauser/Leibling Award story for the glossy magazine for BWAA members published in conjunction with the organization’s annual banquet. Regarding Hauser’s most well-known book, his Muhammad Ali biography, Roberts wrote, “It is nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of the book to our understanding of Ali and his times.” An earlier book by Hauser, “The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing,” garnered this accolade: “Anyone who wants to understand boxing today should begin by reading ‘The Black Lights’.”

A panel of six judges determined the Bernie Award winners for stories published in 2024. The stories they evaluated were stripped of their bylines and other identifying marks including the publication or website for which the story was written.

Other winners:

Boxing Event Coverage: Tris Dixon

Boxing Column: Kieran Mulvaney

Boxing Feature (Over 1,500 Words): Lance Pugmire

Boxing Feature (Under 1,500 Words): Chris Mannix

The Dixon, Mulvaney, and Pugmire stories appeared in Boxing Scene; the Mannix story in Sports Illustrated.

The Bernie Award recipients will be honored at the forthcoming BWAA dinner on April 30 at the Edison Ballroom in the heart of Times Square. (For more information, visit the BWAA website). Two days after the dinner, an historic boxing tripleheader will be held in Times Square, the logistics of which should be quite interesting. Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez share top billing.

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Mekhrubon Sanginov, whose Heroism Nearly Proved Fatal, Returns on Saturday

Published

1 day ago

April 15, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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To say that Mekhrubon Sanginov is excited to resume his boxing career would be a great understatement. Sanginov, ranked #9 by the WBA at 154 pounds before his hiatus, last fought on July 8, 2022.

He was in great form before his extended leave, having scored four straight fast knockouts, advancing his record to 13-0-1. Had he remained in Las Vegas, where he had settled after his fifth pro fight, his career may have continued on an upward trajectory, but a trip to his hometown of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, turned everything haywire. A run-in with a knife-wielding bully nearly cost him his life, stalling his career for nearly three full years.

Sanginov was exiting a restaurant in Dushanbe when he saw a man, plainly intoxicated, harassing another man, an innocent bystander. Mekhrubon intervened and was stabbed several times with a long knife. One of the puncture wounds came perilously close to puncturing his heart.

“After he stabbed me, I ran after him and hit him and caught him to hold for the police,” recollects Sanginov. “There was a lot of confusion when the police arrived. At first, the police were not certain what had happened.

“By the time I got to the hospital, I had lost two liters of blood, or so I was told. After I was patched up, one of the surgeons said to me, ‘Give thanks to God because he gave you a second life.’ It is like I was born a second time.”

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have happened in any city,” he adds. (A story about the incident on another boxing site elicited this comment from a reader: “Good man right there. World would be a better place if more folk were willing to step up when it counts.”)

Sanginov first laced on a pair of gloves at age 10 and was purportedly 105-14 as an amateur. Growing up, the boxer he most admired was Roberto Duran. “Muhammad Ali will always be the greatest and [Marvin] Hagler was great too, but Duran was always my favorite,” he says.

During his absence from the ring, Sanginov married a girl from Tajikistan and became a father. His son Makhmud was born in Las Vegas and has dual citizenship. “Ideally,” he says, “I would like to have three more children. Two more boys and the last one a daughter.”

He also put on a great deal of weight. When he returned to the gym, his trainer Bones Adams was looking at a cruiserweight. But gradually the weight came off – “I had to give up one of my hobbies; I love to eat,” he says – and he will be resuming his career at 154. “Although I am the same weight as before, I feel stronger now. Before I was more of a boy, now I am a full-grown man,” says Sanginov who turned 29 in February.

He has a lot of rust to shed. Because of all those early knockouts, he has answered the bell for only eight rounds in the last four years. Concordantly, his comeback fight on Saturday could be described as a soft re-awakening. Sanginov’s opponent Mahonri Montes, an 18-year pro from Mexico, has a decent record (36-10-2, 25 KOs) but has been relatively inactive and is only 1-3-1 in his last five. Their match at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, is slated for eight rounds.

On May 10, Ardreal Holmes (17-0) faces Erickson Lubin (26-2) on a ProBox card in Kissimmee, Florida. It’s an IBF super welterweight title eliminator, meaning that the winner (in theory) will proceed directly to a world title fight.

Sanginov will be watching closely. He and Holmes were scheduled to meet in March of 2022 in the main event of a ShoBox card on Showtime. That match fell out when Sanginov suffered an ankle injury in sparring.

If not for a twist of fate, that may have been Mekhrubon Sanginov in that IBF eliminator, rather than Ardreal Holmes. We will never know, but one thing we do know is that Mekhrubon’s world title aspirations were too strong to be ruined by a knife-wielding bully.

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Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis Wins Welterweight Showdown in Atlantic City

Published

4 days ago

April 12, 2025

David A. Avila

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In the showdown between undefeated welterweight champions Jaron “Boots Ennis walked away with the victory by technical knockout over Eamantis Stanionis and the WBA and IBF titles on Saturday.

No doubt. Ennis was the superior fighter.

“He’s a great fighter. He’s a good guy,” said Ennis.

Philadelphia’s Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) faced Lithuania’s Stanionis (15-1, 10 KOs) at demonstrated an overpowering southpaw and orthodox attack in front of a sold-out crowd at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

It might have been confusing but whether he was in a southpaw stance or not Ennis busted the body with power shots and jabbed away in a withering pace in the first two rounds.

Stanionis looked surprised when his counter shots seemed impotent.

In the third round the Lithuanian fighter who trains at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, began using a rocket jab to gain some semblance of control. Then he launched lead rights to the jaw of Ennis. Though Stanionis connected solidly, the Philly fighter was still standing and seemingly unfazed by the blows.

That was a bad sign for Stanionis.

Ennis returned to his lightning jabs and blows to the body and Stanionis continued his marauding style like a Sherman Tank looking to eventually run over his foe. He just couldn’t muster enough firepower.

In the fifth round Stanionis opened up with a powerful body attack and seemed to have Ennis in retreat. But the Philadelphia fighter opened up with a speedy combination that ended with blood dripping from the nose of Stanionis.

It was not looking optimistic for the Lithuanian fighter who had never lost.

Stanionis opened up the sixth round with a three-punch combination and Ennis met him with a combination of his own. Stanionis was suddenly in retreat and Ennis chased him like a leopard pouncing on prey. A lightning five-punch combination that included four consecutive uppercuts delivered Stanionis to the floor for the count. He got up and survived the rest of the round.

After returning shakily to his corner, the trainer whispered to him and then told the referee that they had surrendered.

Ennis jumped in happiness and now holds the WBA and IBF welterweight titles.

“I felt like I was getting in my groove. I had a dream I got a stoppage just like this,” said Ennis.

Stanionis looked like he could continue, but perhaps it was a wise move by his trainer. The Lithuanian fighter’s wife is expecting their first child at any moment.

Meanwhile, Ennis finally proved the expectations of greatness by experts. It was a thorough display of superiority over a very good champion.

“The biggest part was being myself and having a live body in front of me,” said Ennis. “I’m just getting started.”

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was jubilant over the performance of the Philadelphia fighter.

“What a wonderful humble man. This is one of the finest fighters today. By far the best fighter in the division,” said Hearn. “You are witnessing true greatness.”

Other Bouts

Former featherweight world champion Raymond Ford (17-1-1, 8 KOs) showed that moving up in weight would not be a problem even against the rugged and taller Thomas Mattice (22-5-1, 17 KOs) in winning by a convincing unanimous decision.

The quicksilver southpaw Ford ravaged Mattice in the first round then basically cruised the remaining nine rounds like a jackhammer set on automatic. Four-punch combinations pummeled Mattice but never put him down.

“He was a smart veteran. He could take a hit,” said Ford.

Still, there was no doubt on who won the super featherweight contest. After 10 rounds all three judges gave Ford every round and scored it 100-90 for the New Jersey fighter who formerly held the WBA featherweight title which was wrested from him by Nick Ball.

Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs) made good on a promise to his departed daughter by knocking out Argentina’s Franco Ocampo (17-3, 8 KOs) in their welterweight battle.

Giyasov floored Ocampo in the first round with an overhand right but the Argentine fighter was able to recover and fight on for several more rounds.

In the fourth frame, Giyasov launched a lead right to the liver and collapsed Ocampo with the body shot for the count of 10 at 1:57 of the fourth round.

“I had a very hard camp because I lost my daughter,” Giyasov explained. “I promised I would be world champion.”

In his second pro fight Omari Jones (2-0) needed only seconds to disable William Jackson (13-6-2) with a counter right to the body for a knockout win. The former Olympic medalist was looking for rounds but reacted to his opponent’s actions.

“He was a veteran he came out strong,” said Jones who won a bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. “But I just stayed tight and I looked for the shot and I landed it.”

After a feint, Jackson attacked and was countered by a right to the rib cage and down he went for the count at 1:40 of the first round in the welterweight contest.

Photo credit: Matchroom

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