Now that is a shock. I thought he was never going to die, didn't even know he was ill or anything, and seemed to be in great shape the last time I saw him.
Boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper has passed away at the age of 76 at his son's house in Oxted, Surrey. The former English, Commonwealth and European heavyweight champion fought 55 times and is revered for his knockdown of Muhammad Ali in 1963. London-born Cooper, who won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award twice, was knighted in 2000. Alongside Frank Bruno, Tommy Farr and Lennox Lewis, Cooper is considered as one of the great British heavyweights. He also represented Britain at the 1952 Olympics - losing in the second round to Russian Anatoli Petrov. Despite enjoying a hugely successful professional career, he never won a world title and retired in 1971 after losing to Joe Bugner. Cooper, who began boxing professionally in 1954, is best remembered for his two famous clashes with Ali in the 1960s. He floored the American in the fourth round with 'Enry's 'Ammer - his trademark left hook - but Ali eventually won the 1963 non-title fight at Wembley. Ali later said on British television that Cooper "had hit him so hard that his ancestors in Africa felt it". Ali triumphed again when they boxed three years later but Cooper remained a favourite with the British public. Following his retirement Cooper pursued a successful career in television as a pundit and was also a published author. Britain's world heavyweight champion David Haye used his Twitter feed to pay tribute to Cooper following his death. "One of Britain's greatest sports man Sir Henry Cooper passed away today. A true warrior and great human being. Rest in Peace," Haye wrote. Ireland's former world featherweight champion Barry McGuigan told the BBC: "He was a lovely fella, and I was a personal friend of him and his wife. "It really is tragic news for the world of boxing, what a great man he was."
:: Perhaps I should say...."I thought he could never die" Did you know that Cooper would have destroyed both Klitschkos? This is fact.
Cooper wouldn't even have beaten them in Mario Kart, but he did give Ali a Sandering, maybe Dundee will begin tearing up Haye's gloves from 2 onwards,.. Enry had the brow bone of a triceratops,.. it'd bust at the seems all by itself, that feminine pale english skin does noone any good, but I do notice sometimes, according to the 'show your picture' thread, that the thinner your skin, the more tanned ones personality seems to be. :crafty:
Surely surely. A veritable reverse Malteaser, some of this lot. Do you see what I did there?? Do you see what I did there!!!
You know he was old-school....apparently he gave up on boxing in his later years because of Naz and the rioting at a fight where he had to appeal to the crowd to behave....it might have been McCreesh vs Smith, but I am not sure.
A splotch of bold, and the 'subtle, subtle' Turkey craw for that, you have atleast 3 linked bangles to this slinky,.. and 'Maltese' ...is the the silent B... :crafty: scorched arabids.
Just how massive is the need for David Haye to beat Wladimir? Well look at this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/may/02/henry-cooper-boxed-without-fear-or-fuss There is no way Henry Cooper could have held his own with Lennox Lewis in the ring. But who was loved the more? Cooper by a distance. He might have edged Frank Bruno too, in popularity, although that contest would be far closer than a fight in the ring between either of them and Lewis. Lewis, without doubt, was Britain's greatest heavyweight. He should be followed by Haye when the reckoning is done, especially if Haye beats one or both of the Klitschkos. You would have to rank Bruno next, however brief his stint as world champion. Thereafter, with a passing nod to Herbie Hide and Michael Bentt, we are delving into ancient history. It was not Lewis's fault that he spent some of his youth in Canada and would be accused of carpet-bagging when he returned. Perhaps, had his mother not taken him out of the East End for a shot at a better life when he was 11, Lewis might have been the perfect British champion. But Cooper never left. He grew up modestly and stayed that way. He was a son of the blitz, who ignored air-raid sirens growing up on the streets of south London and, when he heard the bell to start a fight, got down to business without fear or fuss. When Cooper won the British and Commonwealth titles in 1959, he was still living at home with his parents and sharing a bedroom with his twin brother, George. He moved out only the following year, when he got married. As for his fighting skills, Cooper would never place himself anywhere near the elite of his sport, nor even in the upper echelons of his period. Henry knew exactly how good he was and why. And he knew, too, that had that left hook landed just a few seconds earlier in the fourth round against Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, at Wembley in 1963 to change the course of boxing history, he would have struggled to do what Clay did to Sonny Liston in his next fight. Cooper and Lewis had no need to exaggerate their fighting skills, far apart as they were. Neither spoke ill of his opponents. Both graced boxing with dignity. And that is some achievement in itself. What of Haye, then? Again, it is difficult to imagine Cooper living with Haye for more than half a dozen rounds before those tender eyebrows were slashed. It was his curse. And even Haye, a small heavyweight by current standards at just over 15 stone, would have outweighed Henry by a stone-and-a-half. I would imagine he would finish it within a few rounds. Of course, if Cooper landed the left, it would probably be over in a twinkling but you could say that about any opponent of Our 'Enry. Those that got in the way of his 'ammer usually went, few more spectacularly than Joe Erskine at Earls Court in 1959, when he finished draped over the bottom rope and motionless in the 12th round – but 14 opponents managed to stay clear of it long enough to beat him. One managed a draw. While Cooper's record was modest, 40 wins from 55 bouts spread over 17 years, he was British champion longer than anyone else. He also conquered Europe but did not win a world title because he was not quite good enough and there is no shame in that. What he was a world champion at was honesty, generosity of spirit and, more importantly, an unmatched willingness not to take himself too seriously. How many fighters today could say that? :: :: Even when charged with writing an ode to Henry Cooper, this stupid varicose alcoholic cannot resist getting in a few words about Haye and how Haye is the 2nd best British Heavyweight of all time :laugh11:
Cdoogg: Cooper was really quite limited. He cut badly and was stopped on a few occasions by pretty nondescript opposition. He had a big left hook, at least by the standards of the day. Contrary to what the decrepit wretch Kevin Mitchell claims in his latest foul epistle, Cooper, especially at the 200lb limit, would have beaten Haye.
yeah, he was a game guy with one good punch in his arsenal... skin like wet paper and nothing to write home about technichally You dont have to convince me that Haye sucks:giggle:
Cooper was a terrific fighter. Beautiful short hook, particularly when he'd double up on body and head. His knockout over Joe Erskine is the stuff of highlight reels. I liked his stand up style, and he moved good left and right, front and back. He was just about even on points both times with Ali when the fights were stopped due to Cooper's cuts.
Cooper was not a "terrific" fighter Eddie Mustafa Muhammad was a "terrific" fighter Cooper was a popular English heavyweight at a time when England had basically nothing but scrubs... he was a brave guy, he seemed a fine gentleman, but he was an ordinary fringe contender
Cooper was a great guy, done alot for the sport in this country. He and Danny Williams are the best two British heavyweight champions who never went on to world honours. Both wonderful ambassadors for British heavyweight boxing. RIP Henry
