Mojave High’s Cooper garners national exposure for fighting

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 | 10:15 a.m.

Among the best kept secrets at Mojave High School in North Las Vegas is that one of its students, sophomore Melinda Cooper, is profiled in the February issue of Teen Magazine.

Even her friends don't know of her good fortune.

"I thought it was pretty cool," Cooper said of being in the issue currently on newsstands, "but I haven't told anyone."

Asked if any of her colleagues or acquaintances had approached her to say they noticed the article, the soft-spoken Cooper said "No, I guess they don't read Teen."

But hundreds of thousands of other teens do and the exposure is an honor, if nothing else.

Cooper, 15, drew the magazine's attention by virtue of being the top female amateur fighter in her weight class in America. She is the national Junior Golden Gloves and Police Athletic League champion at 112 pounds.

She is also a potential professional fighter, although she plans to attend college before tackling the pro game.

"Girls won't fight her," Cooper's trainer, James Pena, said. "We'll go to national events and have to plead with the girls there to fight her. I guess they're a little bit scared of her."

Cooper, who routinely spars with males, should start facing better female competition after she turns 16 next month.

"Once she's 16 she'll be in with the women and she'll be better off for it," Pena said. Cooper's current record is 18-2.

If there's a shortage of Teen Magazines in town, look no further than Pena.

"I bought 40 copies at McCarran," he said. "When I got to the counter, it was the funniest thing. The woman sort of looked at me in a strange way and said 'I guess you really like Teen Magazine.' I had to explain to her that I had a special reason for buying so many."

Teen was tipped off to Cooper via a Midland, Texas, television reporter who saw her fighting and contacted one of his friends at the magazine.

"When they first called me, I thought it was a joke," Cooper said. "I thought it was someone playing around with me."

Cooper began boxing three years ago after wandering into the Nevada Partners gym and bumping into Pena. She currently works out at a private gym owned by Dana White in an office building near the Palace Station.

Funding for her trips to national events, which Pena estimates at $18,000 thus far, has come courtesy of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.