Melvin: Cooper will be a better fighter for epic title defeat

Owen Cooper…classic TV war. Pic: MSN Images/BCB Promotions

OWEN Cooper will emerge a better fight from his epic – and the war will be hard to better this year – defeat to Ekow Essuman, Birmingham trainer Malcolm Melvin pledged.

At Resorts World on Saturday, the pair uncorked a contest that had the sways in fortune that makes a classic. It was a thriller likened by fightcity analyst Adam Harper to Matthew Macklin’s 2006 battle with Jamie Moore.

Macklin came back from that loss and went on to enjoy much bigger things. So can Cooper who, in a sense, proved himself. It sounds contradictory, but in defeat he showed all the qualities needed be a top champion.

Cooper, with his English and European welter belts on the line, was dropped in the sixth, dramatically downed the former British champ with a right hand in the ninth before succumbing to a left hook in the 10th and final round.

At 23 and with only 11 pro fights to his name, the Worcester warrior had dragged Essuman deeper than he had ever been taken before. He dropped the Nottingham 35-year-old for the first time in his illustrious career and was three rounds ahead when Ekow so dramatically found an answer.

Immense credit must go to the veteran, lifted off his feet by that concussive shot in the ninth and seemingly staring, glassy eyed, at boxing oblivion. He showed near super-human resolve to pull the fat out of the fire.

Melvin, former top domestic contender at light-welter and welter, was in reflective mood following the draining TV bout.

“It was a painful lesson,” he admitted, “but a lesson Owen can learn a lot from. Was it a blow? Absolutely. Do I think it’s the end of the world? Absolutely not. It’s a defeat, but a great learning curve.

“Owen is absolutely devastated, but he should take stock and realise he was three rounds up, it was a good performance, he just fell a bit short. For us, it was not the perfect night, but it’s not all doom and gloom. It’s a bit of a cliché, but Owen will be a better fighter for that. Owen will have learnt so much from that, it’s unreal. It was close, but not close enough.

“He’s more annoyed with himself. Take your mind off it for a split second and someone like Essuman will make you pay.

Cooper and Melvin at last year’s Midlands boxing awards

“He felt he was in control, he felt comfortable and maybe that comfortability cost him when he was up against the ropes. It was his 11th fight and look who he was fighting – a man still ranked in the world 15, a man who has lost only one of 20.

“He had a bit of a wobble, got through it, won the eighth and in the ninth landed that bomb.

“People may say it’s dimmed Owen’s star. Maybe a little bit, not too much. The boxing world has gone mad - today there’s too much emphasis put on a defeat. I drew my first fight and lost the next three. I never thought that’s me done.”

I felt when Cooper boxed a range and kept his left lead flowing, Essuman showed his age. At close quarters, the ex-champ could use his savvy.

“I think Owen lost concentration and Essuman ‘old manned’ him a bit,” said Melvin. “Experience was a big factor in the end. I think in the crucial moments, experience helped Essuman.

“In the ninth Owen produced that punch and I don’t know how Essuman got up because it literally lifted him off his feet. He was fighting on pure instinct.

“Owen likes to entertain. There were times when he was boxing his head off, there were times when Owen was bamboozling him with his jab.”

Melvin sportingly added: “No excuses – Owen was in the best shape possible and it was a great camp.

“You have to give Essuman great respect, he got the job done. He fought a great fight. But of all the challenges he’s had, that was the hardest.”