00:00Very game out there, but Daniel Santa's got a lot done, proved his speed could get it done from the outside and showed some paralyzing power.
00:08He's been fighting professionally less than six months.
00:11A full night of boxing still ahead, though, and still to come on the card tonight, fast-talking, hard-punching Olympic medalist Floyd Mayweather takes another step in his young professional career when he takes on Jerry Cooper.
00:22Light Flyweight Champion Michael Carbajal puts his title on the line and his crowd-pleasing, aggressive style on display against unbeaten Mauricio Pastrana of Columbia.
00:32The man called Butterbean, king of the four-rounders, is back tonight to fight unbeaten Kurt Allen of Louisville, Kentucky.
00:38Then the guy with the come-and-get-you style, junior welterweight champion Koska Zou, collides with former Latin American champion Leonardo Moss.
00:48Then the main event, when super lightweight champion Oscar De La Hoya, coming off a stunning victory, but also the longest layoff of his career, tangles with number one contender and unbeaten Miguel Angel Gonzalez.
01:02Oscar De La Hoya, though, says he is dead set and ready to go in this one.
01:07He's had seven months off, and he's trying not to look ahead to Pernell Whitaker because there is a job, obviously, to do tonight against a guy who hasn't lost.
01:17Next up, though, a guy with bloodlines.
01:20Floyd Mayweather says he was born to box, and a look at his family tree confirms that point.
01:25His father and two uncles were fighters, some of the uncles still fighting, in fact.
01:29One of them is a three-time champion.
01:31Floyd Mayweather won a bronze medal at the Olympics only last summer.
01:34He said he was cheated out of a chance for the gold, but life goes on.
01:38Now he's a pro, still brash-talking and intent on doing what he thinks will come natural, an eventual title.
01:44For now, though, there are lessons to be learned.
01:47Jim Lampley, Floyd Mayweather, sounded yesterday at the meetings like a guy in a hurry to pass all his preliminary exams, didn't he?
01:53Well, he sounded like a guy who feels as though he's been treated to an awful lot of education early on.
01:59And coming from his family, that certainly ought to be the case.
02:02If you ever saw his uncle, Roger, also known as the Mexican Assassin, his long career, you saw one of the hardest right hands thrown by any 130 and 135-pound fighter in the business.
02:13His dad, Floyd, was an excellent fighter.
02:15What was his history, Larry?
02:16Well, he fought Ray Leonard and Marlon Starling twice, the only man who had fought those two welterweight champions, a good fighter.
02:25He is now in prison in Michigan on a cocaine-selling rap, and he will be out of prison in April.
02:34Floyd, young Floyd, told us that he speaks to his father every day, and he spoke to him just yesterday.
02:40And I asked him, well, what kind of conversations do you have?
02:43What did he tell you about the fight tonight?
02:45He said his father told him, don't be basic.
02:50Don't be one-dimensional.
02:53Move your head.
02:54Do it all.
02:55And this kid may be able to do it all.
02:58And we'll take a look at the professional record for Floyd Mayweather.
03:02Two wins, no losses, no draws.
03:03One KO, one decision.
03:05This bout scheduled for four rounds.
03:071996 Olympic bronze again, as was the case for Santos in the previous fight.
03:12And there's Uncle Jeff Mayweather on the left side of the screen.
03:17And that's Roger over on the right side of the screen.
03:19And remember that the fighters' records tonight are being brought to you by the ring, the Bible of boxing.
03:25And here is the man cast as the opponent, Jerry Cooper.
03:29Nine fights, six wins, three losses, three KOs.
03:33He's from Ada, Oklahoma.
03:35And we'll look at the same set of rules that govern the preceding four-round bout.
03:39Let's go up to Michael Buffer for the official intro.
03:41And now, ladies and gentlemen, by way of Caesars Palace, Top Rank Incorporated and Budweiser present a special four-round bout.
03:49This is in the Super Featherweight Division.
03:52The three judges scoring this contest will be Al Lefkowitz, Paul Smith, and Glenn Trowbridge.
03:58And when the bell rings, the man in charge of the action, your referee, Mitch Halpern.
04:03Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, wearing black and white trunks and weighing 129 and one-half pounds.
04:11His professional record is six and three.
04:14Three KOs to his credit.
04:16He's from Ada, Oklahoma.
04:19Here is Jerry Thumper Cooper.
04:21And his opponent across the ring, fighting out of the red corner, wearing white trunks trimmed with black, weighing 130 pounds.
04:32He's from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and brings the perfect professional record of 2-0 with 1-KO.
04:38And in 1996, he captured a silver medal representing the USA.
04:44He comes to us from one of boxing's most famous fighting families.
04:48Here is pretty boy Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr.
04:53All right, we're going to have a good few fights, and I can catch this up at all times, or fame I can ask at all times.
05:06Any questions?
05:07Let's go.
05:08Young Mayweather is getting $7,500 for this, his third professional fight.
05:14Promoter Bob Arum told me that the difference between the bronze that he won and the gold that De La Hoya won
05:21is that De La Hoya was already making $50,000 at this young stage of his career.
05:34Round one, 130-pound bout.
05:37Floyd Mayweather heavily favored to beat Jerry Cooper and continue to enhance his early credentials.
05:42And the crowd ooze and ahs at Mayweather's jab as he snaps Cooper's head back with the first two punches.
05:48Well, that tells you a fighter's going to be pretty good when he starts off with a good left jab.
05:53That could have been the beginning of a good career.
05:59And Cooper goes down on a jab.
06:02That happens once in a lifetime.
06:04When you see a guy jab up high, then the bottom is always open for you.
06:08Just step in with a little power, and the guy will go down.
06:10Yeah, but he was just off balance.
06:12So far, Mayweather has landed four jabs, and they were all punishing, however.
06:19And there you see his hooks.
06:21What makes him off balance is the two left jabs to the head, and the guy expects his head,
06:25so his balance is up high.
06:27No, it was a different knockdown, but he was off balance.
06:32Floyd Mayweather smiling at Jerry Cooper and then popping him at will with the jab.
06:36And this is an obvious mismatch, unless Cooper gets a lucky shot in somewhere.
06:42And Floyd Mayweather may get criticized a little bit for showboating,
06:45but his dad probably is going to love it.
06:49I'm sure that Mayweather fought tougher pros,
06:53tougher fighters in the amateurs than Cooper is.
06:56And referee Mitch Halperin watching as Floyd gets ready to go over to the neutral corner
07:03for the second time.
07:08When they go to 8-0 Oklahoma, you know they're not looking to bring in a winner.
07:15Jerry Cooper says, what was the right answer?
07:18Whatever it was, it wasn't the answer that he gave to Halperin
07:21when Halperin said, are you okay?
07:22Floyd Mayweather looked pretty good, George.
07:24And Cooper was wondering what happened.
07:27You're probably thinking, did the bell ring for the first round yet?
07:30I've been in that position.
07:32The answer was Tommy Gray.
07:34Tommy Gray?
07:35Tommy Gray was a halfback at Oklahoma.
07:38Oh, that's who's from 8-0 Oklahoma.
07:39From 8-0 Oklahoma.
07:40There you go.
07:42Glad we got that in.
07:44Well, mismatch written all over it, and indeed it was.
07:48Jerry Cooper threw 14 punches and landed one,
07:50and Floyd Mayweather landed 32 out of 47 and routed him.
07:54You owe me the money.
07:58Here you see, here you're seeing the fourth punch of the fight.
08:02A jab to the midsection.
08:07There's the end.
08:08That right uppercut was the beginning of the end.
08:11An awfully good-looking young fighter.
08:17You know what I like, George, was the body shots.
08:19Lots of them.
08:20I like the idea of him jabbing hard to the head a few times,
08:23then thinking the left jab, going to the body.
08:26And let's take one more view of the finish of this.
08:30To take the other side of the story,
08:32a kid with his pedigree obviously is going to be well ahead of someone else of this age.
08:40And sometimes, as they get older, other young fighters will catch up to them.
08:45Let's go to Michael Bumper for the official introductions.
08:48Ladies and gentlemen, following the mandatory eight count after the knockdown,
08:52referee Mitch Halpern calls a halt to the bout at the official time.
08:56One minute, 39 seconds of the very first round.
09:00His record now, 2-0, 2 KOs.
09:03Pardon me, 3-0, 2 KOs.
09:05His father used to roll him through the gym in the stroller.
09:18Right.
09:19He can't get started any earlier than that.
09:21And he tells us he's going for his high school diploma.
09:25He lives in Vegas now.
09:26He's already got his high school boxing diploma.
09:30He and both of his uncles, Jeff and Roger,
09:33will be fighting on the same card together,
09:35the three fighting Mayweathers,
09:36in March up in their home of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
09:40So you folks in Grand Rapids,
09:41get ready for a big night when the three fighting Mayweathers come back home.
09:45Let's go back up to Nick Charles.
09:47Jim, we learned a couple of things there.
09:48Floyd, Mayweather is good and Jerry Cooper is bad.
09:52A mismatch, as you said, from the get-go.
09:54Possibly Mayweather could have learned more in the gym.
09:56But once again, when you're in the bright lights of Vegas
09:59and you learn on a big card,
10:01it can't do anything but help you.
10:03Up the road.
10:03Still to come on the card tonight,
10:05Little Hands of Stone, IBF Light Flyway champion,
10:07Michael Carbajal.
10:08He has fought plenty of big fights.
10:10Some say his time has passed.
10:12His opponent tonight thinks so.
10:14Young, undefeated top contender, Mauricio Pastrana.
10:17Then from 108 pounders to the larger than life,
10:20it's Butterbean meeting Kurt Allen.
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