Filed under: Boxing
Boxing has lost one of its true gentlemen with the passing of Sir Henry Cooper, a personality who will always be remembered for far more than famously flooring Muhammad Ali.Cooper, who passed away at the age of 76 at his son's home on May 1, was a huge personality inside and outside of the ring and will be forever considered fondly by the boxing fraternity and sports fans in general.
The left-handed Londoner was born on May 3 1934 and grew up during the Second World War before beginning boxing professionally in 1954.
Cooper had a mixed start to his ring career and, after earning himself shots at the British, European and Commonwealth crowns, he failed in his first attempts to claim glory.
But that didn't stop the gutsy Cooper and he recovered to overcome Brian London to take the British and Commonwealth straps in 1959.
Cooper's style was noteworthy; a left-hander who stood in the orthodox position, giving him a ferocious left-hook that put an end to many fighter's nights as they fell into the trap of his awkward stance.
After numerous defences of his British and Commonwealth crowns, Cooper's most memorable night came in 1963 when he faced ring legend Cassius Clay - later to become Ali - in a non-title fight in front of a packed Wembley Stadium.
Cooper became famous as he memorably floored the seemingly unstoppable Clay with a sweet left-hook in the dying moments of the fourth round, but alas the bell came to the rescue for his opponent.
The tales about the end of the round have been widely told and spun, but whatever happened that fateful night, Clay was given a few added seconds to recover and Cooper had missed his chance.
In the next round, Ali went to work on cuts Cooper had obtained in earlier rounds and with blood streaming down his face, the referee was forced to stop the Londoner.
The pair fought again in 1966 for the world heavyweight title after Clay had changed his name to Ali, but he was much more aware of the threat posed by Cooper's left hook and won comfortably with a sixth-round stoppage.
Even though there was some angst between the boxers at the time - they remained friends for the remainder of Cooper's life. Ali would later admit that Cooper "had hit me so hard, my ancestors in Africa felt it."
Cooper fought on, defending his British, Commonwealth and European crowns until he finally lost them in 1971 after an epic contest with Joe Bugner.
The defeat saw the Londoner finally hang up the gloves but he remained a well-known figure with numerous TV appearances - most notably as a team captain on A Question of Sport.
Cooper was also one of only three people to win the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Award on two occasions as he picked up the coveted prize in 1967 and 1970.
Post-boxing, his fame also transcended sport. Cooper became a popular national celebrity, making frequent television appearances on high-profile light entertainment shows such as Morecame and Wise and being used frequently in national television advertising campaigns by companies keen to cash in on his stardom.
But the Londoner's biggest recognition came in 2000 when he received a knighthood for his contribution to sport.
Despite never winning a world title, Cooper was always regarded as one of Britain's greatest boxers and the bubbly and outgoing character will be greatly missed.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/05/01/sir-henry-cooper-a-true-giant-of-the-heavyweight-game-dies-age/
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