Dewey Cooper has been in the trenches for years, sweating it out day after day, holding the mitts, shouting encouragement and prodding and cajoling the fighters who seek his wisdom to just do a little better each day. He trains boxers and MMA fighters, but in boxing, he's largely worked away from the spotlight. He did train Jessie Vargas against Manny Pacquiao, but the former UNLV wide receiver has done yeoman's duty in gyms across Las Vegas for a few decades now with little recognition.
On Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Cooper will have the opportunity to, after 30+ years, become an overnight sensation if Francis Ngannou defies the odds and defeats former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Friday. The bout will stream on PPV.com.
Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) is a -450 favorite at DraftKings, while Ngannou (0-1) is +325. The odds are a vast difference from Oct. 28, when the 37-year-old Ngannou made his pro boxing debut in Riyadh against WBC/lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Fury was a -1400 favorite and Ngannou was +750.
Ngannou dropped Fury with a brilliant counter left hook in that bout, but Fury got up and went on to claim a disputed split decision victory.
And while Ngannou gained a legion of fans who before the fight couldn't pronounce his name, ex-undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson got most of the credit for training him. It was, though, the veteran Cooper who was there with him in the gym every day and who came up with the game plan that worked so well.
And if you don't believe him, he has the battle scars to prove it. It's an occupational hazard for trainers to hold the mitts for hard punchers. They occasionally miss the mitts, or one shot deflects off, and the trainer gets whacked. On top of that, their wrists get shredded from the pounding they take by these powerful hitters.
Trainer Kevin Barry trained the powerful David Tua for his fight 22+ years ago for the undisputed heavyweight title against Lennox Lewis. Tua was a powerful, squat man whose calling card was his concussive KO power. Barry used to shake his hands during breaks in the actions.
Cooper, who was trained for a long stretch by Barry when Cooper himself was a fighter, could relate. He was nicknamed "The Black Cobra" in his fighting days and he has to bring back his alter ego for those moments when Ngannou is blasting the mitts.
"Believe me when I tell you this, man, anything Kevin Barry got from David Tua back in the day, I get times 10 every day with Francis," Cooper said, laughing. "This man hits so hard. When I'm holding pads for Francis Ngannou, I'm no longer Coach Dewey Cooper. I'm Black Cobra, the guy who fought in K1, the guy who fought so many bigger guys, the guy who had to fight so hard throughout his fight career. I turn into that guy and it's the only reason I can handle it. But he hurts me every single day.
"When I become the Black Cobra, I can take it, but when we're done and I go home, I lay in bed like an old, crippled man. I lick my wounds and then I get up the next day and do it again."
If Cooper can help lead Ngannou to a victory, he'll become a star himself. He's content in the background and deflects praise and credit like he's wiping rain drops from his shoulder.
Ngannou told him years ago of his dream to box, and Cooper has been shoulder to shoulder with him for years. Ngannou, he said, is a terrific athlete, but he's far more than that.
"I don't need no credit and I don't need no one saying what I have done," Cooper said. "Francis is the one who deserves that. He had this vision, and there were a lot of doubters and skeptics and critics, and there were plenty of bumps along the way.
"But Francis is a very intelligent man and he could see this. He knew this was a possibility. This is a very tricky, difficult business to navigate and look what he's done: He's doing what he loves and he's fighting in these massive fights no one would have dreamed possible a couple of years ago."
If Ngannou wins, or looks highly competitive in a loss, Cooper's phone is going to ring from managers looking to him to take on their clients. And while Cooper will take the calls, he'll have a message for anyone who reaches out.
"Everything we do is based on hard work and maximum effort," Cooper said. "You come with us, you'd better be prepared to work."
Ngannou is prepared to win on Friday because of the work that Cooper has given during a lifetime in his business. And it may now, finally, all be paying off.