Evander Holyfield vs. Bert Cooper
Evander Holyfield vs. Bert Cooper, billed as The Homecoming, was a professional boxing match contested on November 23, 1991, for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.
Background
Holyfield was coming off a successful defense of his Undisputed Heavyweight Championship after defeating 42-year-old former Heavyweight champion George Foreman. Meanwhile, Mike Tyson had twice defeated Donvan "Razor" Ruddock to become the number one contender to Holyfield's titles. However, the two sides had trouble working out a deal and both men's camps began to look into having their respective fighter instead face Foreman. In July 1991, it was reported that a Holyfield–Foreman rematch was agreed upon, but only a day later it was announced that Holyfield and Tyson's promoters, Dan Duva and Don King had agreed to a blockbuster deal that would see Holyfield and Tyson meet on November 8, 1991, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In addition, Holyfield and Tyson were expected to split a then-record $45 million purse with the champion Holyfield reportedly to earn $30 million, while the challenger Tyson would net $15 million. Unfortunately, a rib injury that Tyson had suffered, as well as his arrest and conviction for the alleged rape of Desiree Washington shortly after led to the fight being postponed and eventually cancelled. With Holyfield in need of an opponent, a match between Holyfield and former WBO Heavyweight champion Francesco Damiani was announced, with the bout to take place on November 23 in Holyfield's native Atlanta.Only days before the Holyfield–Damiani fight was to take place, it was announced that Damiani would pull out of the match due to a foot injury he received while training. It was then announced that journeyman Bert Cooper would be Damiani's replacement to challenge Holyfield. As Cooper was unranked by the WBC, the organization refused to sanction the match, thus Holyfield's WBC title was not on the line.
The fights
Undercard
On the untelevised portion of the card, former WBO Light Heavyweight titleholder Michael Moorer faced Bobby Crabtree, who didn't come out for the second round.Lewis vs Biggs
In the chief support, rising contender Lennox Lewis faced former world title challenger and fellow Olympic gold medallist Tyrell Biggs. Lewis was having only his third bout in the States, while Biggs was coming off a competitive showing against Lewis' Olympic rival Riddick Bowe.The two had faced off in the Quarter Finals of the 1984 Olympics with Biggs taking the win on points 5–0. This was the first heavyweight bout between two Olympic gold medallists since the rematch between George Foreman and Joe Frazier.
After two relatively uneventful rounds, Lewis knocked down Biggs with a right cross with less than a minute left in the third round. Biggs beat the count, but he was down twice more with the third knockout prompting the referee to wave it off.