Henry Cooper

Before the ascent of Lennox Lewis in the 1990s, Henry Cooper was considered the greatest heavyweight boxer in modern British history. Friendly, polite, well-mannered, and always a "good sport", he and his twin brother George Cooper (he fought as Jim Cooper) embarked on colorful professional boxing careers together. Jim Cooper, however, never reached his brother's abilities or popularity and retired in 1964 with a 16-14-1 record. Henry on the other hand, went on to dominate the European scene for 15 straight years. He captured the British Commonwealth Heavyweight Title in 1957 and held the crown no less than 4 times till 1972. He was also a multiple European Heavyweight Champion. He is most noted for knocking down a young Cassius Clay (later to become Muhammad Ali) in their 1963 elimination bout. He fought Muhammad Ali for the championship in 1966, only to be brutally battered and bloodied. In 1970, at the advanced age of 36, he scored the biggest win of his career by destroying the myth of invincibility surrounding Spain's Jose Manuel Urtain, who had a 34-1 record with 33 knockouts. Cooper boxed him beautifully and stopped him in 9 rounds to capture the European crown. Previously, he had regained the British titles with an upset victory over the much younger Jack Bodell. Seemingly on the verge of another title shot, he lost a highly controversial and disputed 15 round decision to 21 year old Joe Bugner to lose all three of his boxing championships. Cooper was so angered by the decision that he announced his retirement with a 40-14-1 record, never to box again. It took almost 20 years for him to forgive the ring official who voted against him. Henry Cooper today remains an honored, respected, and popular man in the UK. He appears in movies and television shows, and is an avid golfer.