...our 'Enry. Fight night. Henry Cooper was one of Britain's most popular sportsmen, he
died yesterday two days from his 77 birthday; he was probably best remembered - apart from being a really decent bloke - for knocking down Cassius Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali). East End lad and Smithfield meat porter done good. The image is of the second time Cooper and Ali fought: in 1966 at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium. This time, Ali was already world champion and stopped Cooper in the sixth round. The 'orthodox' is the stance when a boxer has his weaker side closer to the opponent, left foot farther in front of the right in 'Enry's case. He was knighted in 2000 and is the only British boxer to win three
Lonsdale Belts outright; he is regarded as one of the all-time best British heavyweights. RIP.
4 comments:
Henry was liked by men and women alike(even those who dislike boxing)
For some reason I thought that he was older.
Sadly they say that he was frail and had been affected earlier by the loss of his wife and twin brother.
Boing doesn't do much for your looks!Looking at pictures of him and George in their youth you can certainly see the change isn't just age! His brother died only the year before, almost excatly a year, in April.
The Bugner fight is one moment from my tender years that still sticks with me. My Dad was a big boxing fan (actually went to school with Terry Downes) and I can remember his incredulity at the result, although at that age I just knew he was very annoyed and it would be years before I knew what incredulous meant.
Hi Paul, welcome back! Thanks for the comments that I see you are making while I was posting this morning!
I was a bit too young but remember Bugner for the Ali and Frazier fights (1973) and thereafter.
In another life I worked a few months for Joe Bygraves (he defeated Cooper by KO, mind you a bit before my time: for the 1957 Commonwealth title!)
Post a Comment