Unleash the Beast Countdown: No. 5 Cooper Davis
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – The 2020 Unleash The Beast begins Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York with the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden, presented by Ariat, and PBR.com will be counting down the final days of the offseason by taking a look back at the Top 5 bull riders at the conclusion of the 2019 season.
Fans can watch Round 1 exclusively on RidePass beginning at 7:45 p.m. ET.
Today, we look at Cooper Davis, who finished the 2019 season fifth in the world standings.
No. 5 Cooper Davis
World Championships: 1 (2016)
Best World Standings Finish: 1 (2016)
2019 Premier Series (UTB) Stats
Rides: 32
Attempts: 72
Riding Percentage: 44.44%
Top Ride: 92.75 points on Chiseled (Greensboro, North Carolina)
Average Ride Score: 87.13
Wins: 2 (Green Bay, Wisconsin, & Greensboro, North Carolina)
15/15 Bucking Battle Victories: 0
Round Wins: 9
Top 5: 11
Top 10: 15
90-point Rides: 6
2019 RECAP: Cooper Davis may have finished 4,629.17 points behind World Champion Jess Lockwood, but the 2016 World Champion was actually much closer to winning a second world title than meets the eye.
Davis placed inside the Top 5 at an Unleash The Beast event 11 times, which is the same total that Lockwood had in 2019. Granted, Lockwood only competed in 18 UTB events compared to 23 for Davis, but a deeper dive into Davis’ Top-5 finishes shows glaring missed opportunities. Davis finished runner-up in three UTB non-PBR Major events (Minneapolis, Houston and Billings). If Davis wins those three events, he would have won more events in 2019 than Lockwood when you include his victories in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Greensboro, North Carolina.
There were two occasions this season (St. Louis and Billings) in which Davis began the championship round in the lead, only to buck off with his opportunity to win the event.
Davis also failed to convert in PBR Majors (2-for-11) and 15/15 Bucking Battles (1-for-6).
He also decided to compete in only two non-Unleash The Beast events, something Davis admitted he knew put him at a major disadvantage to winning a world title.
Regardless of his shortcomings in 2019, Davis showed glimpses of how he won a world title four seasons ago.
The 32 qualified rides on the premier series were the third most in his career, and ranked seventh in the PBR. Davis’ nine round wins was tied for the third most in the PBR with No. 3 Chase Outlaw. Davis’ 87.13-point average ride score was the sixth best in the organization.
Davis also rode Chiseled – the 2019 ABBI Classic champion – for 92.75 points to win the Greensboro Invitational and concluded the regular season with a 90-point ride on Speed Demon.
Speaking of Speed Demon, three of Davis’ six 90-point rides in 2019 came via Speed Demon – a bull that has only been ridden seven times in 45 premier series outs.
Davis also rode Trail of Tears for 90.75 points during Round 5 of the PBR World Finals to finish 2-for-6 in Las Vegas.
OUTLOOK: At 25 years old, Davis is far from washed. If anything, there may be another gear for him to shift into if he mentally is willing to push himself there.
Davis has admitted in past seasons that his focus and drive has not been as high as it once was before he was a World Champion.
However, Davis said during the tail end of the 2019 season that he plans on pushing himself harder in 2020 than he has since that gold buckle season. He would be the first to admit he left potential world titles on the table the past two years.
It is likely that Davis will compete at more non-UTB events in 2020, and that could make things tougher for his challengers.
Two-time World Champion and CBS Sports analyst Justin McBride said that Davis could possibly contend for the 2020 World Championship with the likes of Lockwood and Jose Vitor Leme if his mind is in the game.
“Davis can be a contender this year if, just like we always say, he turns up and wants to do it for a full season,” McBride said. “I am not going to say he is going to be the frontrunner, but he can get in there and mix it up and hope he can get some things to go his way to beat them. He has that ability. Anybody that can ride either direction has that chance.”
Davis said he is ready to roll for the season opener in New York, and that his free hand is good to go following offseason surgery. Davis broke his hand during Round 2 of the PBR World Finals.
The six-year pro has finished no worst then seventh overall in the world standings since he began riding full time on the premier series in 2015.
A career 42.41% rider at the PBR’s top level, Davis will likely need to ride like he did in 2016 (52.5%) if he hopes to contend with Lockwood and Leme. Davis – a perennial world title contender – likely will also perform better in the PBR Majors and 15/15 Bucking Battles compared to this past season, which will also increase his world title chances.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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