SIR HENRY COOPER An appreciation
ON November 10, 1970, Henry Cooper knocked out Jose Manuel Urtain at Wembley Stadium in London to reclaim the European Boxing Union heavyweight crown. Cooper, as was often the case when he fought, was cut above his left eye and below the right one. But he won every round en route to a ninth-round stoppage. It was gratifying victory and also the last triumph in a long ring career that saw Cooper become arguably the most beloved fighter in the history of British boxing.
Cooper was born in Lambeth, London, on May 3, 1934. He represented Great Britain as a light-heavyweight at the 1952 Olympics and lost on points in the to eventual bronze medalist Anatoly Perov of the Soviet Unon. He turned pro at age 20 and was a small heavyweight, generally weighing in around 188 pounds. His most potent weapon was a devastating left hook, known as “’Enry’s ‘ammer.”
To be honest, Cooper acknowledged, “I couldn’t hurt a fly with my right hand.”
Cooper won the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles in 1959 and held them for a record 10 years. His “Achilles heel” was the tendency to cut.
“If you gave Henry a rough towel, you needed a basin to catch the
