Shaun Cooper reckons scoring his maiden TKO as a professional would be a perfect way to redress the balance.
He’s next in action when BCB Promotions stage their first show at the Eastside Rooms, on Woodcock Street in Birmingham, with fight night set for Friday February 25.
Going into his 15th pro contest, Cooper has seen the finish in all two of those outings, which were losses with titles on the line.
‘The Scorpion’ has 11 wins to his credit and has landed victories over the likes of Boy Jones, which landed him the WBO Youth lightweight bauble.
The 25-year-old, from Walsall, has also been beaten three times by Jack O’Keeffe, Mark Chamberlain and Sam Noakes, the latter last time out.
Defeat to O’Keeffe cost him Midlands honours, while the WBO International Silver strap was up-for-grabs against Noakes in December.
Cooper protested that he was fine to continue when his clash with Noakes was called off by the referee, during the ninth round, shortly after he’d been on the floor.
‘The Coalpool Warrior’ isn’t one for looking back, though, and has set his sights on English champion Myron Mills as a preferred route to glory.
Cooper is trained by a former British title holder at his weight, Martin Gethin, and has now taken on Craig Timmins as his strength and conditioning coach.
He said: “What happened against Sam Noakes really hurt. The decision was out of town, just way off what it should have been. I don’t think it was a fair stoppage.
“I was in the fight, retaliating to what he was doing and sticking to the game-plan, by boxing on the back-foot, then I took a knee under pressure. I got back up, in plenty of time.
“He threw one more decent right hand and the referee (Ian John-Lewis) jumped in, without giving me a chance to carry on. I went mad at him, as did the rest of my team.
“I felt like I could still have won it, in the last two rounds, and that got taken away from me. It was close, but I was coming back strong.
“If it had gone the distance and I’d lost with the judges, I might not have minded that, but it came down to the referee. The big puncher couldn’t knock me out clean.
“I could have started better and upped the work rate, in those earlier rounds, but I also made him look a bit basic. This was a guy who told everyone that he’d knock me out in six.
“It was disappointing to lose again, but I’ve never felt like I was out of my league. I’ve been in with some good lads and whatever the opportunity is, I’ll go for it.
“I’d love to have a crack at the English title, so I’m putting that out there and we will see what happens down the line, but I’m up for anything.
“In the meantime, I want to come back with a bang and try to get the stoppage. I’ve been working on explosive power and I feel a lot stronger.”
Tickets for the Eastside Rooms bill are available, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside with buffet, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.
