Nicky Cook
Encyclopedia
Nicky Cook is an English
professional boxer
who fights at featherweight
he is the former British, Commonwealth
, European featherweight
and WBO super featherweight champion.
, England. In his debut Cook defeated English journeyman
Sean Grant with a first round knockout
.
After fifteen fights in December 2001 unbeaten Cook beat Argentinian
Marcelo Gabriel Ackermann for the vacant and lightly regarded WBF Intercontinental super featherweight title. He defended the strap twice before getting his chance to compete for the Commonwealth belt.
for the European belt also at featherweight. He won
the fight with a 9th round knockout, he made one defence before taking on British champion Dazzo Williams in June 2005. The fight took place at the Goresbrook Leisure Center in Dagenham and was significant because it meant the British, Commonwealth and European titles were all on the line in a winner take all contest. Cook stopped Williams in the 2nd round thus holding all three belts at the same time.
. After that he decided to concentrate on his ambition to win a real 'world' title and set his sights on current holder of the WBO Featherweight belt Scott Harrison. The fight was set for December 2006 in what would have been an England vs Scotland clash for a world belt, it never happened however as Harrison pulled out and decided to vacate the title citing difficulties making the weight. It had not helped that Harrison had also spent 13 weeks in a Spanish prison prior to the bout and had only been released in November.
Cook was left frustrated and instead of fighting for the world title on the card he ended up beating Harry Ramogoadi in an eight rounder.
In July 2007, Cook finally got his chance and took on American Steve Luevano for the now vacant World Boxing Organization
's (WBO) belt. The fight took place at the O2 Arena
in London
and ended disappointingly for Cook as he was knocked down 5 times and finally stopped in the 11th round it was his first defeat as a professional.
for the WBO Super-Featherweight title. The fight took place at the MEN Arena in Manchester
and was the chief support to Amir Khan's
ill-fated match up with Colombian Breidis Prescott
when he was knocked out within a minute. Cook beat Arthur over 12 rounds to win a unanimous decision. The parallels were striking between the fighters as Arthur was also a former British, Commonwealth and European champion at the higher weight, he had also been beaten only once before. After the fight Arthur claimed he had been "robbed" and also alleged that Cook had gone up to him after the fight and said "You're a great champion, you won the fight well done" thus compounding his sense of shock when the verdict was announced. On March 14, 2009, Cook was knocked down twice in the 4th round of his first defence against Puerto Rican boxer Román Martínez
. Despite beating the count he was in no condition to continue and the referee stopped the contest, with the unbeaten Martínez
becoming the new WBO super featherweight champion.
. Nicky Cook fought Ricky Burns for the WBO super featherweight title in Liverpool's Echo Arena on July 16, 2011. Less than two minutes into the fight, Cook was stretchered off suffering a career threatening injury. Sky pundits Barry McGuigan and Glenn McCrory later questioned how Cook could have completed his training camp with such a serious back complaint. He had also spoken to a member of the Sky Sports team before the bout, claiming doctors had said the injury would get no better or no worse and would be 'something he would have to live with'. (Sky Sports Saturday Fight Night 16/7/2011)
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who fights at featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
he is the former British, Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
, European featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
and WBO super featherweight champion.
Early professional career
Cook turned professional in December 1998 in HertfordshireHertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England. In his debut Cook defeated English journeyman
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
Sean Grant with a first round knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
.
After fifteen fights in December 2001 unbeaten Cook beat Argentinian
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
Marcelo Gabriel Ackermann for the vacant and lightly regarded WBF Intercontinental super featherweight title. He defended the strap twice before getting his chance to compete for the Commonwealth belt.
British, Commonwealth and European Champion
In February 2003 Cook fought the Zimbabwaen Meshack Kondwani for the vacant Commonwealth Featherweight belt. He defended twice against Africans David Kiilu and Anyetie Laryea before taking on Cyril ThomasCyril Thomas
Cyril Thomas is a professional boxer from France. He was born on October 30, 1976, in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France, where he also lives. The orthodox stance featherweight fighter has a professional record of 44 fights: 36 wins , 4 losses and 4 draws. He is a former France and European...
for the European belt also at featherweight. He won
the fight with a 9th round knockout, he made one defence before taking on British champion Dazzo Williams in June 2005. The fight took place at the Goresbrook Leisure Center in Dagenham and was significant because it meant the British, Commonwealth and European titles were all on the line in a winner take all contest. Cook stopped Williams in the 2nd round thus holding all three belts at the same time.
World title challenger
Cook defended his European title once more beating Yuri Voronin on points over 12 rounds again in DagenhamDagenham
Dagenham is a large suburb in East London, forming the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and located east of Charing Cross. It was historically an agrarian village in the county of Essex and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began...
. After that he decided to concentrate on his ambition to win a real 'world' title and set his sights on current holder of the WBO Featherweight belt Scott Harrison. The fight was set for December 2006 in what would have been an England vs Scotland clash for a world belt, it never happened however as Harrison pulled out and decided to vacate the title citing difficulties making the weight. It had not helped that Harrison had also spent 13 weeks in a Spanish prison prior to the bout and had only been released in November.
Cook was left frustrated and instead of fighting for the world title on the card he ended up beating Harry Ramogoadi in an eight rounder.
In July 2007, Cook finally got his chance and took on American Steve Luevano for the now vacant World Boxing Organization
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
's (WBO) belt. The fight took place at the O2 Arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and ended disappointingly for Cook as he was knocked down 5 times and finally stopped in the 11th round it was his first defeat as a professional.
WBO Champion
Cook got another opportunity to fight for the WBO belt in September 2008 when he decided to move up a weight division and challenge Alex ArthurAlex Arthur
Alex Arthur, nicknamed "Amazing" Alex Arthur, is a professional boxer from Edinburgh in Scotland.Arthur is a former British, Commonwealth, European Boxing Union and WBO super featherweight champion...
for the WBO Super-Featherweight title. The fight took place at the MEN Arena in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and was the chief support to Amir Khan's
Amir Khan (boxer)
Amir Iqbal Khan , is a British Pakistani professional boxer who is currently the unified WBA & IBF light welterweight champion....
ill-fated match up with Colombian Breidis Prescott
Breidis Prescott
Breidis Enrique Prescott Consuegra is a Colombian lightweight boxer. He has a reputation as a devastating puncher, with 19 of his 24 wins by way of knockout, with all coming in the first three rounds....
when he was knocked out within a minute. Cook beat Arthur over 12 rounds to win a unanimous decision. The parallels were striking between the fighters as Arthur was also a former British, Commonwealth and European champion at the higher weight, he had also been beaten only once before. After the fight Arthur claimed he had been "robbed" and also alleged that Cook had gone up to him after the fight and said "You're a great champion, you won the fight well done" thus compounding his sense of shock when the verdict was announced. On March 14, 2009, Cook was knocked down twice in the 4th round of his first defence against Puerto Rican boxer Román Martínez
Román Martínez (boxer)
Román Martínez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer.-Career:On December 22, 2001, Martinez began his professional career, beating fellow Puerto Rican Wilfredo Ramos with a fourth round knockout on the undercard of a bill headed by Irving Garcia in Manatí, Puerto Rico...
. Despite beating the count he was in no condition to continue and the referee stopped the contest, with the unbeaten Martínez
Román Martínez (boxer)
Román Martínez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer.-Career:On December 22, 2001, Martinez began his professional career, beating fellow Puerto Rican Wilfredo Ramos with a fourth round knockout on the undercard of a bill headed by Irving Garcia in Manatí, Puerto Rico...
becoming the new WBO super featherweight champion.
WBO Title Challenge
Román Martínez lost the WBO super featherweight title to Ricky BurnsRicky Burns
Ricky Burns is a boxer from Coatbridge in Scotland who fights in the lightweight division and is currently the WBO interim lightweight champion of the world becoming only the 13th Scottish boxing world champion. He is also a former WBO Super-Featherweight champion, Commonwealth super featherweight...
. Nicky Cook fought Ricky Burns for the WBO super featherweight title in Liverpool's Echo Arena on July 16, 2011. Less than two minutes into the fight, Cook was stretchered off suffering a career threatening injury. Sky pundits Barry McGuigan and Glenn McCrory later questioned how Cook could have completed his training camp with such a serious back complaint. He had also spoken to a member of the Sky Sports team before the bout, claiming doctors had said the injury would get no better or no worse and would be 'something he would have to live with'. (Sky Sports Saturday Fight Night 16/7/2011)