Henry Cooper
| Sir Henry Cooper OBE KSG | |
|---|---|
 Cooper c. 1969 | |
| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | Our 'Enry |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Reach | 75 in (190 cm) |
| Nationality | British |
| Born | (1934-05-03)3 May 1934 London, England |
| Died | 1 May 2011(2011-05-01) (aged 76) Limpsfield, Surrey, England |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 55 |
| Wins | 40 |
| Wins by KO | 27 |
| Losses | 14 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Sir Henry Cooper OBE KSG (3 May 1934 – 1 May 2011)[1] was an English heavyweight boxer. Cooper held the British, Commonwealth, and European heavyweight titles several times throughout his career, and unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight championship in 1966.
Following his retirement from the sport, Cooper continued his career as a television and radio personality; he was the first (and is today one of four people) to twice win the public vote for BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and is thus far the only boxer to be awarded a knighthood.
Contents
1 Biography
2 Boxing career
2.1 Style
2.2 Early bouts
3 1952 Olympic results
3.1 Muhammad Ali
3.2 Last fights
3.3 Opinion on modern boxers
4 Life outside boxing
5 Awards and honours
6 Professional boxing record
7 References
8 External links
Biography
Plaque showing former home of heavyweight boxing champion Henry Cooper at 120 Farmstead Road, Bellingham, London Borough of Lewisham
Cooper was born on 3 May 1934 in Lambeth, London[2][3] to Henry 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. Henry 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]
George Cooper, Henry's twin, who boxed as Jim Cooper, died on 11 April 2010 at the age of 75.[2]
Henry Cooper served his National Service in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as Private #22486464,[5] where he was recruited for his boxing ability.[6]
Cooper died on 1 May 2011 at his son's house near the border of Limpsfield and Oxted, Surrey, after a long illness, 2 days before his 77th birthday.[1][3]
Boxing career
Style
Although Cooper was left-handed, he used the "orthodox" stance, with his 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 left handed punches which Cooper could throw from his front hand, closest to the opponent. At its most effective, the so-called left hook had an upward uppercut-like trajectory. A formidable left jab completed his offensive repertoire.[3][7] He generally tried to force the action in his bouts. After developing a left shoulder problem in the latter half of his career, Cooper adjusted to put more stress on right-handed punches which he had hitherto neglected.[7]
Early bouts
Cooper was affectionately known in the UK as "Our 'Enery". He started his boxing career in 1949, as an amateur with the Eltham Amateur Boxing Club, and won seventy-three of eighty-four contests. At the age of seventeen, he won the first of two ABA light-heavyweight titles and, before serving in the Army for his two years' National Service, represented Britain in the 1952 Olympics (outpointed in the second stage by Russian Anatoli Petrov). Henry and his twin brother, George (boxing under the name Jim Cooper) turned professional together under the management of Jim Wicks. Wicks never allowed his boxer to be the victim of a mis-match. When promoters were trying to match Cooper with Sonny Liston, Wicks said: "I would not allow 'Enery into the same room as him, let alone the same ring."[citation needed]
1952 Olympic results
Henry Cooper represented Great Britain as a light heavyweight boxer at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Here are his results from that event:
- Round of 32: bye
- Round of 16: lost to Anatoly Perov (Soviet Union) by decision, 1-2.
Henry was at one time the British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight champion. His early title challenges were unsuccessful, losing to Joe Bygraves for the Commonwealth belt (KO 9), Ingemar Johansson for the European belt (KO 5), and Joe Erskine (PTS 15) for the British and Commonwealth. He then won on points over contender Zora Folley, and took the British and Commonwealth belts from new champion Brian London, in a 15-round decision in January 1959. The winner of the fight was pencilled in to fight for Floyd Patterson's heavyweight title, but Cooper turned down the chance; London fought instead and was knocked out by Patterson in May 1959. Cooper continued to defend his British and Commonwealth belts against all comers, including Dick Richardson (KO 5), Joe Erskine (TKO 5 and TKO 12), Johnny Prescott (TKO 10), and Brian London again (PTS 15), although he lost a rematch with Folley by a second-round KO.[8]
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali and Henry Cooper following their fight on 18 June 1963
Cooper twice fought Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay), firstly in a non-title fight in 1963 at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park. Ali's mobility, fast reflexes, and unorthodox defensive tactic of pulling back from punches made him a frustratingly elusive opponent.[7]
In the final seconds of the fourth round, Cooper felled Ali with an upward angled version of his trademark left hook, "Enry's 'Ammer".[7]
Ali stood up and started towards Angelo Dundee who guided him into the corner. At first Dundee talked and slapped Ali's legs, but after Ali misunderstood and tried to get off the stool, Dundee used smelling salts.[9] Dundee has since claimed to have opened a small tear in one of Ali's gloves and told the referee that his fighter needed a new pair of gloves, thus delaying the start of the 5th round. Cooper insisted that this delay lasted anywhere from three to five seconds according to the footage and that this did not deny him the chance to try to knock Ali out while he was still dazed.[10] Tapes of the fight show that Ali received only an extra six seconds, and the gloves were ultimately not replaced.[11][12][13] Cooper started the 5th round aggressively, attempting to make good on his advantage, but a recovered Ali effectively countered and Cooper was hit high on the face with a hard right which opened a severe cut under his eye. Referee Tommy Little was forced to stop the fight, and thus Ali defeated Cooper by technical knockout.[14]
After this fight, a spare pair of gloves was always required at ringside.[15] On the 40th anniversary of the fight, Ali telephoned Cooper to reminisce. In 1966 Cooper fought Ali, now world heavyweight champion, for a second time at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury.[16] 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]
Last fights
After the loss to Ali, Cooper fought former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson, but was knocked out in the fourth round. After that, he went undefeated until the final fight of his career, and made more defences of his British and Commonwealth titles against Jack Bodell (TKO 2 and PTS 15) and Billy Walker (TKO 6). In 1968 Cooper added the European crown to his domestic titles with a win over Karl Mildenberger, and later made two successful defences of his title.
In his last fight, in May 1971, a 36-year-old Cooper faced 21-year-old Joe Bugner, one of the biggest heavyweights in the world at the time, for the British, European, and Commonwealth belts. Referee Harry Gibbs awarded the fight to Bugner by the now abolished quarter of a point margin. 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?"[17] Cooper announced his retirement shortly afterwards. Cooper refused to speak to Gibbs for several years, but eventually agreed to shake his hand for charity six months before Gibbs died.[18]
Opinion on modern boxers
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."[19] 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.[20] In his final year, he said that he did not "think boxing is 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".[21]
Life outside boxing
After his retirement from boxing, Henry Cooper 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.[20] Although generally a traditionalist,[20] Cooper was officially the co-founder of the Anti-Nazi League, a largely left-wing campaign focused on far-right groups which opposed immigration.[22] He was also a frequent guest at charity fund-raising events.[23] 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![24]
Cooper had become a "Name" at Lloyd's of London, and 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, and he was forced to sell his Lonsdale belts.[20] 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 the death of his wife.[20][23]
Considering his long career, Cooper had suffered relatively little boxing-related damage to his health apart from "a bit of arthritis", remaining, 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'".[21] He lived in Hildenborough, Kent,[25] and he was the president of Nizels Golf Club in the town until his death.[1][20]
Cooper was married to Albina Genepri,[26] an Italian Catholic,[26] from 1960 until her death from a heart attack aged 71[25] in 2008.[3] He converted to her faith.[26] He was survived by their sons, Henry Marco and John Pietro,[3] and two grandchildren.[21] He left £747,098.[25] In an interview published a few days after her death, Cooper 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.[21]
Awards and honours
Cooper was the first to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award twice (in 1967 and 1970) and one of only four two-time winners in the award's history (the others being Nigel Mansell in 1986 and 1992, Damon Hill in 1994 and 1996, and Andy Murray in 2013, 2015, and 2016). Cooper was given the award in 1967 for going unbeaten throughout the year. His second award came 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 1969, awarded a Papal Knighthood in 1978, and was knighted in 2000. He is also celebrated as one of the great Londoners in the "London Song" by Ray Davies on his 1998 album The Storyteller.[26][27][28] 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.[29]
Professional boxing record
40 Wins (27 knockouts, 11 decisions, 2 disqualifications), 14 Losses (8 knockouts, 5 decisions, 1 disqualification), 1 Draw | |||||||
Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 40–14–1 |  Joe Bugner | PTS | 15 | 16 Mar 1971 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | BBBofC/EBU/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. Referee Harry Gibbs awarded the fight to Bugner by the quarter of a point margin. 73.5–73.75 |
| Win | 40–13–1 |  Jose Manuel Urtain | TKO | 9 | 10 Nov 1970 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | EBU Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 39–13–1 | Jack Bodell | PTS | 15 | 24 Mar 1970 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. 74.25–72.5 |
| Win | 38–13–1 |  Piero Tomasoni | KO | 5 | 13 Mar 1969 | Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome, Lazio | EBU Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 37–13–1 |  Karl Mildenberger | DQ | 8 | 18 Sep 1968 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | EBU Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 36–13–1 | Billy Walker | TKO | 6 | 7 Nov 1967 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 35–13–1 | Jack Bodell | TKO | 2 | 13 Jun 1967 | Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, West Midlands | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 2:18 of the second round. |
| Win | 34–13–1 |  Boston Jacobs | PTS | 10 | 17 Apr 1967 | De Montfort Hall, Leicester, Leicestershire | 49.5–48.25 |
| Loss | 33–13–1 | Floyd Patterson | KO | 4 | 20 Sep 1966 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | Cooper knocked out at 2:10 of the fourth round. |
| Loss | 33–12–1 | Muhammad Ali | TKO | 6 | 21 May 1966 | Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London, England | World Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:38 of the sixth round. |
| Win | 33–11–1 | Jefferson Davis | KO | 1 | 16 Feb 1966 | Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands | Davis knocked out at 1:40 of the first round. |
| Win | 32–11–1 | Hubert Hilton | TKO | 2 | 25 Jan 1966 | London Olympia, Kensington, London | |
| Loss | 31–11–1 | Amos Johnson | PTS | 10 | 19 Oct 1965 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | |
| Win | 31–10–1 | Johnny Prescott | TKO | 10 | 15 Jun 1965 | St Andrews Stadium, Birmingham, West Midlands | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 30–10–1 | Chip Johnson | KO | 1 | 20 Apr 1965 | Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands | Johnson knocked out at 2:34 of the first round. |
| Win | 29–10–1 | Dick Wipperman | TKO | 5 | 12 Jan 1965 | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London | |
| Loss | 28–10–1 | Roger Rischer | PTS | 10 | 16 Nov 1964 | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London | |
| Win | 28–9–1 | Brian London | TKO | 5 | 24 Feb 1964 | Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Belle Vue, Manchester | BBBofC/EBU/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. |
| Loss | 27–9–1 | Muhammad Ali | TKO | 5 | 18 Jun 1963 | Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London | Referee stopped the bout at 2:15 of the fifth round. |
| Win | 27–8–1 | Dick Richardson | KO | 5 | 26 Mar 1963 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 26–8–1 | Joe Erskine | TKO | 9 | 2 Apr 1962 | Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 25–8–1 | Wayne Bethea | PTS | 10 | 26 Feb 1962 | Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Belle Vue, Manchester | |
| Win | 24–8–1 | Tony Hughes | TKO | 5 | 23 Jan 1962 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | |
| Loss | 23–8–1 | Zora Folley | KO | 2 | 5 Dec 1961 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | Cooper knocked out at 1:06 of the second round. |
| Win | 23–7–1 | Joe Erskine | TKO | 5 | 21 Mar 1961 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 22–7–1 |  Alex Miteff | PTS | 10 | 6 Dec 1960 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | |
| Win | 21–7–1 | Roy Harris | PTS | 10 | 13 Sep 1960 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | |
| Win | 20–7–1 | Joe Erskine | TKO | 12 | 17 Nov 1959 | Earls Court Arena, Kensington, London | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 19–7–1 |  Gawie de Klerk | TKO | 5 | 26 Aug 1959 | Coney Beach Pleasure Park, Porthcawl | Commonwealth Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 18–7–1 | Brian London | PTS | 15 | 12 Jan 1959 | Empress Hall, Earl's Court, Kensington, London | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 17–7–1 | Zora Folley | PTS | 10 | 14 Oct 1958 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | |
| Win | 16–7–1 | Dick Richardson | TKO | 5 | 3 Sep 1958 | Coney Beach Pleasure Park, Porthcawl | |
| Loss | 15–7–1 | Erich Schoppner | DQ | 6 | 19 Apr 1958 | Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse | |
| Draw | 15–6–1 | Heinz Neuhaus | PTS | 10 | 11 Jan 1958 | Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia | |
| Win | 15–6 | Hans Kalbfell | PTS | 10 | 16 Nov 1957 | Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia | |
| Loss | 14–6 | Joe Erskine | PTS | 15 | 17 Sep 1957 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London | BBBofC/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. |
| Loss | 14–5 |  Ingemar Johansson | KO | 5 | 19 May 1957 | Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm | EBU Heavyweight Title. Cooper knocked out at 2:57 of the fifth round. |
| Loss | 14–4 | Joe Bygraves | KO | 9 | 19 Feb 1957 | Earls Court Arena, Kensington, London | Commonwealth Heavyweight Title. |
| Loss | 14–3 | Peter Bates | TKO | 5 | 7 Sep 1956 | Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Belle Vue, Manchester | |
| Win | 14–2 | Giannino Luise | TKO | 7 | 26 Jun 1956 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London | |
| Win | 13–2 | Brian London | TKO | 1 | 1 May 1956 | Empress Hall, Earl's Court, Kensington, London | |
| Win | 12–2 |  Maurice Mols | TKO | 4 | 28 Feb 1956 | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London | |
| Loss | 11–2 | Joe Erskine | PTS | 10 | 15 Nov 1955 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London | BBBofC Heavyweight Title Eliminator. |
| Win | 11–1 | Uber Bacilieri | KO | 7 | 13 Sep 1955 | White City Stadium, White City, London | |
| Win | 10–1 | Ron Harman | TKO | 7 | 6 Jun 1955 | Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire | |
| Loss | 9–1 | Uber Bacilieri | TKO | 5 | 26 Apr 1955 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London | |
| Win | 9–0 | Joe Bygraves | PTS | 8 | 18 Apr 1955 | Manor Place Baths, Walworth, London | |
| Win | 8–0 | Joe Crickmar | TKO | 5 | 29 Mar 1955 | Earls Court Arena, Kensington, London | |
| Win | 7–0 | Hugh Ferns | DQ | 2 | 8 Mar 1955 | Earls Court Arena, Kensington, London | |
| Win | 6–0 | Cliff Purnell | PTS | 6 | 8 Feb 1955 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London | |
| Win | 5–0 | Colin Strauch | TKO | 1 | 27 Jan 1955 | Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London | |
| Win | 4–0 | Denny Ball | KO | 3 | 7 Dec 1954 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London | |
| Win | 3–0 | Eddie Keith | TKO | 1 | 23 Nov 1954 | Manor Place Baths, Walworth, London | |
| Win | 2–0 | Dinny Powell | TKO | 4 | 19 Oct 1954 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London | |
| Win | 1–0 | Harry Painter | KO | 1 | 14 Sep 1954 | Harringay Arena, Harringay, London | |
References
^ abc "British boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper dies aged 76". BBC Sport. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ abc "George Cooper". The Daily Telegraph. 18 April 2010.
^ abcdefg Samuel, John (1 May 2011). "Sir Henry Cooper obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
^
Edwards, Robert. Henry Cooper: The Authorised Biography Of Britain's Greatest Boxing Hero. Helter Skelter. pp. 51–58. ISBN 0-563-48831-X.
^ Interview with Henry Cooper, 'Lads' Army' television show, Series 1 (2001)
^ "'How I knuckled down to National Service': Sir Henry Cooper". Legion. Royal British Legion. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011.
^ abcdef Edwards, Robert. Henry Cooper: The Authorised Biography Of Britain's Greatest Boxing Hero. Helter Skelter. ISBN 0-563-48831-X.
^ Lewis, Mike (29 January 2006). "Harrison out to prove his manager wrong". The Daily Telegraph.
^ Cassius Expects Hard. The Palm Beach Times. 19 May 1966
^ McDonald, Charlotte (13 February 2012). "Counting down the Cooper-Ali fight" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "The Time Tunnel: Remembering Cassius Clay- Henry Cooper". East Side Boxing. 14 November 2002. Archived from the original on 17 December 2003.
^ "Boxing History: Cassius Clay vs. Henry Cooper". Saddo Boxing. 8 June 2006.
^ "Sir Henry Cooper". BBC Sport. 1 October 2000.
^ Matthew Taylor (Jan 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.)
^ "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.
^ "Cooper and Ali's world title fight". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011.
^ "He Didn't Do So Bad". Boxing Monthly. August 1999. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012.
^ "Henry hits back". BBC Sport. 1 December 2001. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
^ "BBC Sport – Tributes pour in for British boxer Henry Cooper". BBC News. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
^ abcdef "Brian Viner on Henry Cooper". The Independent. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
^ abcd McEntee, John (June 2011). "Still With Us – Henry Cooper". The Oldie.
^ Lowles, Nick (2 May 2011) RIP Henry Cooper Archived 27 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Hopenothate.org.uk. Retrieved on 2015-07-24.
^ ab Lynam, Des (5 May 2011). "Des Lynam: My friend Sir Henry Cooper was modest to a fault". The Daily Telegraph.
^ "Henry Cooper launches flu offensive". BBC News. 21 September 2000.
^ abc Boxing legend leaves £750k. Dailymail.co.uk (2011-12-17). Retrieved on 2015-07-24.
^ abcd "Sir Henry Cooper". The Daily Telegraph. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
^ "New Years Honours List – United Kingdom". The London Gazette (55710): 1. 30 December 1999.
^ "People's champions knighted". BBC Sport. 31 December 1999. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
^ "BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016: Andy Murray wins for a record third time". 18 December 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
External links
Remembering Clay v Cooper East Side Boxing, 14 November 2006
Professional boxing record for Henry Cooper from BoxRec- Henry Cooper's appearance on This Is Your Life
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brian London | Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion 12 January 1959 – 13 March 1971 | Succeeded by Joe Bugner |
| Preceded by Jack Bodell | 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 Bobby Moore | BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1967 | Succeeded by David Hemery |
| Preceded by Ann Jones | BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1970 | Succeeded by HRH The Princess Anne |
Authority control  |
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