Henry Cooper (boxer)
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Sir Henry Cooper OBE, (born in London on May 3, 1934), is a retired British heavyweight boxer.
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[edit] Career highlights
Cooper is often regarded as the most popular of all British boxers and affectionately known to Britons as "Our 'Enry", a reference to his Cockney origins. He was at one time the British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight champion. Cooper fought Muhammad Ali twice, firstly in a non-title fight in 1963 at Wembley Stadium, when Cooper knocked Ali (then Cassius Clay) down in the fourth round with his trademark left hook, "Enry's 'Ammer". The bell rang before Cooper could complete a knockout, and Ali was so dazed that his trainer, Angelo Dundee, cut his glove. Another had to be fetched, giving the future champion time to recover. The British boxing newspaper 'Boxing News' conducted an investigation into the 'split glove' incident in 2003. Using the original television and radio broadcasts to show Ali's teams blatent cheating. After this fight a spare pair of gloves was always required ringside. Ali was obviously impressed by the knockdown and on the 40th anniversary telephoned Cooper to reminisce. Ali later said, on British television, that Cooper "had hit him so hard that his ancestors in Africa felt it". In 1966 they met a second time to contest the world title. Cooper succumbed again to his weakness, a tendency to cut, and Ali went on to be "The Greatest".
[edit] Last fight
The most controversial of his other fights was his 15-round loss to Joe Bugner in the final fight of his career; this result so disappointed British fans that Bugner did not receive substantial support thereafter. Fight referee Harry Gibb awarded the fight to Bugner, prompting widespread disbelief from the audience and from respected commentator Harry Carpenter, who asked how "they can take away the man's titles like this?" For quite some time Cooper refused to speak to Gibb, before eventually agreeing to shake his hand for charity. [1]
Alongside figures such as Frank Bruno, Bob Fitzsimmons, Joe Bugner, Tommy Farr and Lennox Lewis, Cooper is regarded as one of the all-time best British heavyweights.
[edit] BBC Sports Personality Of The Year
Cooper was the first to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year twice (1967 and 1970) and one of only three in the awards history (the others being Nigel Mansell in 1986 and 1992 and Damon Hill in 1994 and 1996).
Cooper was given the award in 1967 for going unbeaten throughout the year. One of the most memorable fights of the year was his defeat of challenger Jack Bodell in June.
His second award came in 1970, when Henry had become the British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight champion, cementing his reputation as one of the greatest post-war British boxers.
[edit] Life after boxing
After his boxing career, Cooper famously advertised Brut aftershave and was very active in charity work. In 2000, Cooper was recognised for his contribution to boxing with a knighthood, the first boxer to receive the honour. He lives in Hildenborough, in Kent.
Henry Cooper has an identical twin brother, George.
In 1980, Cooper wrote a book called The Great Heavyweights in which he spoke of the men whom he considered the finest of all time. The men were Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali. He analyzed each and compared their strengths and weaknesses.
Career: 1954-1971, 40 wins (27 knockouts), 14 defeats, 1 draw
[edit] External links
- Full Professional Record
- Muhammad Ali Knockdown
- Henry Cooper vs Muhammad Ali
- Remembering Clay v Cooper
| Preceded by: Ann Jones |
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1970 |
Succeeded by: Princess Anne |
| Preceded by: Bobby Moore |
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1967 |
Succeeded by: David Hemery |
