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Henry Cooper

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For other people named Henry Cooper, see Henry Cooper (disambiguation).

Sir
Henry Cooper
OBE KSG
Cooper c. 1969
Born(1934-05-03)3 May 1934
Lambeth, London, England
Died1 May 2011(2011-05-01) (aged 76)
Limpsfield, Surrey, England
NationalityEnglish
Other namesOur 'Enry
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (187 cm)
Reach75 in (191 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights55
Wins40
Wins by KO27
Losses14
Draws1
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
English National Championships
Gold medal – first place 1952 London Light-heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 1953 London Light-heavyweight

Sir Henry Cooper OBE KSG (3 May 1934 – 1 May 2011)[1] was a British heavyweight boxer. He was undefeated in British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship contests for twelve years and held the European heavyweight title for three years. In a 1963 fight against a young Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali), he knocked Clay down in Round 4, before the fight was stopped in Round 5 because of a cut to Cooper's eye.

In 1966 he fought Ali for a second time. Ali was then world heavyweight champion. However, Cooper again lost due to an eye injury. Cooper was twice voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year and, after retiring in 1971 following a controversial loss to Joe Bugner, remained a popular public figure. He is the only British boxer to have been awarded a knighthood.

Early life

[edit]
Plaque showing former home of heavyweight boxing champion Henry Cooper at 120 Farmstead Road, Bellingham, London Borough of Lewisham

Cooper was born on Thursday, 3 May 1934 in Lambeth, London[2][3] to Henry Snr and Lily Cooper. With identical twin brother, George (1934–2010),[2] and elder brother Bern,[3] he grew up in a council house on Farmstead Road on the Bellingham Estate in South East London. During the Second World War they were evacuated to Lancing on the Sussex coast.[3]

Life was tough in the latter years of the Second World War, and London life especially brought many dangers during the blackout. Cooper took up many jobs, including a paper round before school, and made money out of recycling golf balls to the clubhouse on the Beckenham course. All three of the Cooper brothers excelled in sport, with George and Henry exercising talents particularly in football and also cricket.[4] Cooper started his boxing career in 1949, as an amateur with the Bellingham Boxing Club based at Athelney St School in Bellingham which was run and founded by Albert Colley and won seventy-three of eighty-four contests. At the age of seventeen, he won the first of two ABA light-heavyweight titles before National Service in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as Private Service Number 22486464.[5][6]

1952 Olympics

[edit]

Cooper represented Great Britain as a light heavyweight boxer at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. His results were: Round of 32-bye, Round of 16-lost to Anatoly Perov (Soviet Union) by decision, 1–2.

Professional boxing career

[edit]

Style

[edit]

Although Cooper was left-handed, he used the "orthodox" stance, with his strongest (left) hand and foot forward, rather than the reversed "southpaw" stance more usually adopted by a left-handed boxer. Opponents were thus hit hardest with punches which Cooper could throw from his front hand, closest to the opponent. At its most effective, his hook - dubbed "Enry's 'Ammer" ("Henry's hammer") - had an upward uppercut-like trajectory. A formidable left jab, from which he could hook quickly, completed his offensive repertoire.[3][7] While cut-prone and no great defensive technician, Cooper compensated by forcing the action in his bouts. After developing a left shoulder problem in the latter half of his career, he adjusted to put more stress on right-handed punches.[7]

Early bouts

[edit]

Henry and his identical twin brother, George (boxing under the name Jim) turned professional together under the management of Jim Wicks.[3] Wicks had a reputation for not overmatching his boxers and looking out for their interests; however, the very cut-prone Cooper was slow to fulfil his potential and early title challenges were unsuccessful, with losses to West Indian Joe Bygraves for the Commonwealth belt (KO 9), Ingemar Johansson for the European belt (KO 5), and the undersized but highly skilled Joe Erskine (PTS 15) for the British and Commonwealth. An impressive points win over top American heavyweight Zora Folley was followed by a second-round KO loss to Folley.[8]

British and Commonwealth Champion

[edit]

For Cooper 1959 was a banner year: he took the British and Commonwealth titles from Brian London in 15 rounds and received the last 9-carat gold Lonsdale Belt after successful defences against Dick Richardson (KO 5), Joe Erskine (TKO 5 and TKO 12), and Johnny Prescott (TKO 10). Another points win over London brought an offer to fight Floyd Patterson for his world heavyweight title, but this was turned down by Cooper (or Wicks).[3]

Muhammad Ali

[edit]
Muhammad Ali and Henry Cooper following their fight on 18 June 1963

In 1963 Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay and a contender for the world heavyweight title) created a great deal of ticket-selling publicity before his London bout with Cooper, who many British fans hoped would be able to humble the brash young American. In the boxing world, however, Ali was considered a future world champion and Cooper the underdog. The contest took place at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park. According to the official weigh-in, Ali outweighed Cooper by 21 pounds, Cooper said he wore weighted clothing and was near the light heavyweight limit.[7] Cooper had devised his own training regimen and felt that though lighter he was in the best condition of his career.[7]

Ali's size, mobility, fast reflexes, and unorthodox defensive tactic of pulling back from punches made him a frustratingly elusive opponent, and Cooper was later accused by Ali's camp of hitting on the break. A stiff connection by Ali split open the face of Cooper in the middle of round three, beginning a gush of blood into his left eye. Ali, sensing the fight would be stopped because of the cut, began abandoning attempts of offense and instead began teasing and taunting Cooper, lowering his guard and leaving his jaw exposed to the Brit.[7] Despite Ali's taunts and his bloody left eye, Cooper connected with a solitary left hook to the body; in the fourth's final seconds, Cooper felled Ali with an upward angled version of his trademark left hook to the jaw, "Enry's 'Ammer".[7] Ali partly landed on the ropes, preventing his head hitting the canvas covered boards, but though up at the count of 3 he seemed hurt.[7]

In the corner Dundee was angry and slapped Ali's legs. Ali misunderstood and tried to get off the stool. It has been claimed[by whom?] that Dundee may have used smelling salts to revive Ali. This has never been confirmed and the film is unclear if this happened. The use of smelling salts was prohibited in British boxing, and their use would have led to Ali losing by disqualification if the offence was proved. Dundee later said that he put his finger in a small tear in one of Ali's gloves to demonstrate to the referee and told the referee that his fighter needed replacements, but none were available. Cooper insisted that resulted in a delay of a minute or more in addition to the regulation time between rounds, and denied him a chance to finish off Ali while he was still dazed. A tape of the fight showed an interval extension of only an extra six seconds.

Cooper was the only person present who recalled a longer delay and because the surviving BBC tape of the bout is only of what was actually broadcast, it has been claimed a longer delay may have been edited out for transmission. Study of the tape shows no break and the commentary is also unbroken so the 6 second interval extension is correct.[7] Ali started the 5th round aggressively, attempting to make good his prediction of a 5th-round knockout and opened a severe cut under Cooper's eye. Ali hit Cooper with a succession of hard rights knocking out his gumshield and Cooper's corner threw in the towel. Referee Tommy Little stopped the fight, and thus Ali defeated Cooper by technical knockout.[9] Subsequently, a spare pair of gloves was always required at ringside.[10] On the 40th anniversary of the fight, Ali telephoned Cooper to reminisce.[citation needed]

In 1966 Cooper fought Ali for the heavyweight championship, for a second time at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury.[11] However, Ali was now alert to the danger posed by Cooper's left and more cautious than he had been in the previous contest; he held Cooper in a vice-like grip during clinches, and when told to break leapt backward several feet.[7] Accumulated scar tissue around Cooper's eyes made him more vulnerable than in the previous meeting and a serious cut was opened by Ali, which led to the fight being stopped, Cooper again losing to Ali via technical knockout.[7]

Later fights

[edit]

After a fourth-round knockout loss to former world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson in 1966, Cooper went undefeated until the final contest of his career. The successful defences of his British and Commonwealth titles against the likes of uniquely awkward Jack Bodell (TKO 2 and PTS 15) and media-savvy Billy Walker (TKO 6) made Cooper the only man to win three Lonsdale Belts. With a win over Karl Mildenberger in 1968 Cooper added the European crown and made two successful defences.

In May 1971, a 36-year-old Cooper faced 21-year-old Joe Bugner, one of the biggest heavyweights in the world for the British, European, and Commonwealth belts. Referee Harry Gibbs awarded the fight to Bugner by a quarter of a point score (which was subsequently abolished partly because of the controversy that followed). An audience mainly composed of Cooper fans did not appreciate the innately cautious Bugner, and the decision was booed with commentator Harry Carpenter asking, "And how, in the world, can you take away the man's three titles, like that?"[12] Cooper announced his retirement shortly afterwards. Cooper refused to speak to Gibbs for many years, but eventually agreed to shake his hand while they were at a charity event.[13]

Opinion on modern boxers

[edit]

In Cooper's later years, he retired from commentary on the sport as he became "disillusioned with boxing", wanting "straight, hard and fast boxing that he was used to from his times."[14] While acknowledging that he was from a different era and would not be fighting as a heavyweight today, Cooper was nonetheless critical of the trend for heavyweights to bulk up as he thought it made for one-paced and less entertaining contests.[15] In his final year, he said that he did not think boxing was "as good as it was", naming Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton, and Amir Khan as "the best of their era", but asserting that "if you match them up with the champions of thirty or forty years ago I don't think they're as good".[16]

Life outside boxing

[edit]

In the 1960s Cooper appeared in several public information films concerning road safety, promoting the use of zebra crossings: such as "The Story of Elsie Billing".[17] After his retirement from boxing, he maintained a public profile with appearances in the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport and various advertisements, most famously in those for Brut aftershave.[15] He was also a frequent guest speaker for charity fund-raising events.[18] He appeared as boxer John Gully in the 1975 film Royal Flash and in his latter years featured in a series of UK public service announcements urging vulnerable groups to go to their doctors for vaccination against influenza called Get your Jab in First![19]

Cooper became a "Name" at Lloyd's of London, which was a supposedly safe investment, but in the 1990s he was reportedly one of those who suffered enormous personal losses because of the unlimited liability which a "Name" was then responsible for, being forced to sell his Lonsdale belts.[15] Subsequently, Cooper's popularity as an after dinner speaker provided a source of income, and he was in most respects a picture of contentment although becoming more subdued in the years following his wife's sudden death aged 71.[15][18]

Considering his long career, Cooper had suffered relatively little boxing-related damage to his health, and apart from "a bit of arthritis" remained an imposing figure: in the words of one journalist, "the living manifestation of an age of tuxedos in ringside seats, Harry Carpenter commentaries, sponge buckets and 'seconds out'".[16] He lived in Hildenborough, Kent, where he was the president of Nizels Golf Club.[1][15]

Cooper was married to Albina Genepri from 1960 until 2008 (her death).[3][20] He converted to her Catholic faith and described Albina, who "hated" his sport, as "an ideal wife for a boxer", never grumbling about his long absences before big fights and inviting journalists in for tea while they waited for Cooper to get out of bed the morning after bouts.[16] Cooper died on May 1, 2011, 2 days before his 77th birthday. He was survived by their sons and two grandchildren.[3][16]

Cooper was a lifelong Arsenal supporter.[21]

Awards and honours

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Cooper was the first to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award twice, in 1967 for going unbeaten and in 1970, when Cooper had become the British, Commonwealth, and European heavyweight champion. He is the only British boxer to win three Lonsdale Belts outright.

Cooper was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1969 New Year Honours for services to boxing,[22] awarded a Papal Knighthood in 1978, and was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours, again for services to boxing.[23] He is also celebrated as one of the great Londoners in the "London Song" by Ray Davies on his 1998 album The Storyteller.[20][24][25] He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1970 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Thames Television's Euston Road Studios.[26]

Professional boxing record

[edit]
55 fights 40 wins 14 losses
By knockout 25 7
By decision 13 6
By disqualification 2 1
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
55 Loss 40–14–1 Joe Bugner PTS 15 16 Mar 1971 Empire Pool, London, England Lost British, Commonwealth, and European heavyweight titles
54 Win 40–13–1 Jose Manuel Urtain TKO 9 (15) 10 Nov 1970 Empire Pool, London, England Retained European heavyweight title
53 Win 39–13–1 Jack Bodell PTS 15 24 Mar 1970 Empire Pool, London, England Retained British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
52 Win 38–13–1 Piero Tomasoni KO 5 (15) 13 Mar 1969 Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Italy Retained European heavyweight title
51 Win 37–13–1 Karl Mildenberger DQ 8 (15) 18 Sep 1968 Empire Pool, London, England Won European heavyweight title
50 Win 36–13–1 Billy Walker KO 6 (15) 7 Nov 1967 Empire Pool, London, England Retained British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
49 Win 35–13–1 Jack Bodell TKO 2 (15), 2:18 13 Jun 1967 Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England Retained British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
48 Win 34–13–1 Boston Jacobs PTS 10 17 Apr 1967 De Montfort Hall, Leicester, England
47 Loss 33–13–1 Floyd Patterson KO 4 (10), 2:10 20 Sep 1966 Empire Pool, London, England
46 Loss 33–12–1 Muhammad Ali TKO 6 (15), 1:38 21 May 1966 Arsenal Stadium, London, England For WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight titles
45 Win 33–11–1 Jefferson Davis KO 1 (10), 1:40 16 Feb 1966 Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England
44 Win 32–11–1 Hubert Hilton TKO 2 (10), 1:20 25 Jan 1966 London Olympia, London, England
43 Loss 31–11–1 Amos Johnson PTS 10 19 Oct 1965 Empire Pool, London, England
42 Win 31–10–1 Johnny Prescott RTD 10 (15), 2:34 15 Jun 1965 St Andrew's, Birmingham, England Retained British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
41 Win 30–10–1 Matthew Johnson KO 1 (10), 2:34 20 Apr 1965 Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England
40 Win 29–10–1 Dick Wipperman TKO 5 (10) 12 Jan 1965 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
39 Loss 28–10–1 Roger Rischer PTS 10 16 Nov 1964 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
38 Win 28–9–1 Brian London PTS 15 24 Feb 1964 King's Hall, Manchester, England Retained British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles;
Won vacant European heavyweight title
37 Loss 27–9–1 Muhammad Ali TKO 5 (10), 2:15 18 Jun 1963 Wembley Stadium, London, England
36 Win 27–8–1 Dick Richardson KO 5 (15) 26 Mar 1963 Empire Pool, London, England Retained British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
35 Win 26–8–1 Joe Erskine TKO 9 (15) 2 Apr 1962 Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, England Retained British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
34 Win 25–8–1 Wayne Bethea PTS 10 26 Feb 1962 King's Hall, Manchester, England
33 Win 24–8–1 Tony Hughes RTD 5 (10) 23 Jan 1962 Empire Pool, London, England
32 Loss 23–8–1 Zora Folley KO 2 (10), 1:06 5 Dec 1961 Empire Pool, London, England
31 Win 23–7–1 Joe Erskine TKO 5 (15) 21 Mar 1961 Empire Pool, London, England Retained British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
30 Win 22–7–1 Alex Miteff PTS 10 6 Dec 1960 Empire Pool, London, England
29 Win 21–7–1 Roy Harris PTS 10 13 Sep 1960 Empire Pool, London, England
28 Win 20–7–1 Joe Erskine TKO 12 (15) 17 Nov 1959 Earls Court Arena, London, England Retained British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
27 Win 19–7–1 Gawie de Klerk TKO 5 (15) 26 Aug 1959 Coney Beach Pleasure Park, Bridgend, Wales Retained Commonwealth heavyweight title
26 Win 18–7–1 Brian London PTS 15 12 Jan 1959 Earls Court Arena, London, England Won British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
25 Win 17–7–1 Zora Folley PTS 10 14 Oct 1958 Empire Pool, London, England
24 Win 16–7–1 Dick Richardson TKO 5 (10) 3 Sep 1958 Coney Beach Pleasure Park, Bridgend, Wales
23 Loss 15–7–1 Erich Schoppner DQ 6 (10) 19 Apr 1958 Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
22 Draw 15–6–1 Heinz Neuhaus PTS 10 11 Jan 1958 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany
21 Win 15–6 Hans Kalbfell PTS 10 16 Nov 1957 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany
20 Loss 14–6 Joe Erskine PTS 15 17 Sep 1957 Harringay Arena, London, England For British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles
19 Loss 14–5 Ingemar Johansson KO 5 (15), 2:57 19 May 1957 Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden For European heavyweight title
18 Loss 14–4 Joe Bygraves KO 9 (15) 19 Feb 1957 Earls Court Arena, London, England For Commonwealth heavyweight title
17 Loss 14–3 Peter Bates TKO 5 (10), 1:01 7 Sep 1956 Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Manchester, England
16 Win 14–2 Giannino Orlando Luise TKO 7 (10) 26 Jun 1956 Empire Pool, London, England
15 Win 13–2 Brian London TKO 1 (10) 1 May 1956 Empress Hall, Earl's Court, London, England
14 Win 12–2 Maurice Mols TKO 4 (10) 28 Feb 1956 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
13 Loss 11–2 Joe Erskine PTS 10 15 Nov 1955 Harringay Arena, London, England
12 Win 11–1 Uber Bacilieri KO 7 (10) 13 Sep 1955 White City Stadium, London, England
11 Win 10–1 Ron Harman TKO 7 (8) 6 Jun 1955 Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, England
10 Loss 9–1 Uber Bacilieri TKO 5 (8) 26 Apr 1955 Harringay Arena, London, England
9 Win 9–0 Joe Bygraves PTS 8 18 Apr 1955 Manor Place Baths, London, England
8 Win 8–0 Joe Crickmar TKO 5 (8) 29 Mar 1955 Earls Court Arena, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Hugh Ferns DQ 2 (6) 8 Mar 1955 Earls Court Arena, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Cliff Purnell PTS 6 8 Feb 1955 Harringay Arena, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Colin Strauch TKO 1 (6) 27 Jan 1955 Royal Albert Hall, London, England
4 Win 4–0 Denny Ball KO 3 (6) 7 Dec 1954 Harringay Arena, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Eddie Keith TKO 1 (6) 23 Nov 1954 Manor Place Baths, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Dinny Powell TKO 4 (6) 19 Oct 1954 Harringay Arena, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Harry Painter KO 1 (6) 14 Sep 1954 Harringay Arena, London, England

References

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  1. ^ a b "British boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper dies aged 76". BBC Sport. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b "George Cooper". The Daily Telegraph. 18 April 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Samuel, John (1 May 2011). "Sir Henry Cooper obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  4. ^ Edwards, Robert (2002). Henry Cooper: The Authorised Biography of Britain's Greatest Boxing Hero. Helter Skelter. pp. 51–58. ISBN 0-563-48831-X.
  5. ^ Interview with Henry Cooper, 'Lads' Army' television show, Series 1 (2001)
  6. ^ "'How I knuckled down to National Service': Sir Henry Cooper". Legion. Royal British Legion. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Edwards, Robert (2002). Henry Cooper: The Authorised Biography of Britain's Greatest Boxing Hero. Helter Skelter. ISBN 0-563-48831-X.
  8. ^ Lewis, Mike (29 January 2006). "Harrison out to prove his manager wrong". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012.
  9. ^ Matthew Taylor (January 2015). "Cooper, Sir Henry (1934–2011)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/103746. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  10. ^ "Clay v Cooper – The Final Word on the Torn Glove Story". East Side Boxing. 17 March 2006. Archived from the original on 20 March 2008.
  11. ^ "Cooper and Ali's world title fight". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011.
  12. ^ "He Didn't Do So Bad". Boxing Monthly. August 1999. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012.
  13. ^ "Henry hits back". BBC Sport. 1 December 2001. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  14. ^ "BBC Sport – Tributes pour in for British boxer Henry Cooper". BBC News. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Brian Viner on Henry Cooper". The Independent. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  16. ^ a b c d McEntee, John (June 2011). "Still With Us – Henry Cooper". The Oldie.
  17. ^ The Story of Elsie Billing, rebroadcast, Talking Pictures TV 20 May 2020
  18. ^ a b Lynam, Des (5 May 2011). "Des Lynam: My friend Sir Henry Cooper was modest to a fault". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 May 2011.
  19. ^ "Henry Cooper launches flu offensive". BBC News. 21 September 2000.
  20. ^ a b "Sir Henry Cooper". The Daily Telegraph. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  21. ^ Tom Dare, 'Arsenal veteran Ken recalls Ali's Highbury fight 50 years on'. Islington Gazette, 15 June 2016, retrieved 13 March 2023
  22. ^ United Kingdom list: "No. 44740". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1968. p. 11.
  23. ^ "No. 55710". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1999. p. 1.
  24. ^ "New Years Honours List – United Kingdom". The London Gazette (55710): 1. 30 December 1999.
  25. ^ "People's champions knighted". BBC Sport. 31 December 1999. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  26. ^ "BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016: Andy Murray wins for a record third time". BBC Sport. 18 December 2016.
[edit]
Achievements
Preceded by Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion
12 January 1959 – 13 March 1971 		Succeeded by
Preceded by British Heavyweight Champion
24 March 1970 – 13 March 1971
Preceded by
Jose Manuel Urtain
 European Heavyweight Champion
10 November 1970 – 13 March 1971
Awards
Preceded by BBC Sports Personality of the Year
1967 		Succeeded by
Preceded by BBC Sports Personality of the Year
1970 		Succeeded by
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