Rodney Berman always promised to deliver the goods if Shervantaigh Koopman kept performing.
True to his word, the Golden Gloves promoter has lured dangerous Brandon “Bad Boy” Cook out of his Canadian lair for the WBA Inter-Continental junior-middleweight title at Emperors Palace on October 26.
Cook (26-2, 18 KOs) challenged Jaime Munguia for the WBO title in 2018 and has established a reputation as one of the division’s most formidable fighters, having won Canadian, North American and Inter-Continental championships.
An above-average puncher who likes to press the action, Cook has been a professional seven years longer than Koopman and won’t be intimidated boxing overseas, having travelled to Las Vegas and Kazakhstan for major fights.
Prior to his showdown with Munguia, his most high profile fight took place the year previously when he wore down fellow Canadian Steven Butler, much to the crowd’s chagrin. One cynical punter threw a metal ice bucket into the ring which cracked Cook in the head, knocking him out.
By his own telling, Cook was an overweight ruffian who developed his fighting skills on the streets. He struggled with schoolwork and only pulled it together when he discovered boxing.
According to the Globe and Mail, he’d take on allcomers and usually knocked them out quickly.
This included the local school toughie, who was well handled and had his jaw wired.
Arriving at the local gym, however, young Cook was soon disabused of his macho approach.
“I sparred with one of the coaches and he tried to knock me out because I was a real tough guy. It took two rounds and I got my ass kicked. It was so bad. He couldn’t drop me though. So I thought, ‘Well I want to keep trying this because I like it, and I can’t get in trouble for it.’”
Turning pro in 2011, he breezed though his first 18 fights, much like Koopman, who now faces an acid test of his credentials to break into the top flight.
With increased levels of opposition, Cook sold his house and quit his window-installation job to chase his dream of fighting in the ring full-time. He earned a career-high purse against Munguia and has had six wins since.
Said Berman: “I was determined to set a high standard in signing Cook to come to South Africa. He’s high risk and has an excellent pedigree, but we at Golden Gloves have huge faith in Shervantaigh’s ability. Come October 26, SA boxing will be heralding a new star.”
