WHEN THE Louisville Lip met ’Enry’s’Ammer at Wembley Stadium in 1963 there was only going to be one outcome – Cassius Clay was dumped on his backside.
Clay, later to become a sporting legend as Muhammad Ali, was a young contender for the World Heavyweight title. Henry Cooper, later to become Sir Henry, was the popular British and Commonwealth champion.
As a massively respected British sporting hero, Cooper was still the underdog for the fight. Clay had been impressed with the commercial ploy of a wrestler in the USA who styled himself Gorgeous George. As he later revealed to the BBC’s Harry Carpenter,