Henry Cooper
Henry Cooper OBE, KSG (London, May 3, 1934 - May 1, 2011) was a boxer who became British and European champion in the seventies. In 2000 he was arrested.
Cooper had a twin brother George. During the Second World War, they were evacuated to Lancing on the coast of Sussex. In 1942 their father was called, and the identical twins went to Athelney Road School in Lewisham. During an incident at the schoolyard there, Henry was knocked out for the first time. At school, the brothers played football and cricket. Boxer
After the war, Henry became a member of the Eltham Amateur Boxing Club, where he won 73 of the 84 games. In 1952 he went to the Olympic Games. Then he was in military service. Together with George, he became a boksprofessional. Incident
His most famous fight was in 1963 against Cassius Clay, in which he dropped at the end of the fourth round Clay. Clays coach approached the referee with the announcement that Clay's glove was broken and had to be replaced. In this way he tried to stretch time to help Clay recover. It was one of the first times that television shows were watched to see how everything was done, and it turned out that it was badly won for 5 seconds. The incident has resulted in an extra pair of gloves being present at each match. Two years later, Cooper and Clay, who in the meantime called Muhammad Ali, stood opposite each other in the ring. Ali became world champion.
Coopers 54th and final battle was in 1971 against the much younger Joe Bugner. Referee Harry Gibbs decided that the young Bugner had won. For many years Cooper was no longer talking to Gibbs. Eventually, they each shake hands for the benefit of a charity.
Sir Henry Cooper was named by the BBC in 1967 and 1970 as Sportsman of the Year. Other activities
Cooper lived in his youth in southeast London, close to Kent, and in recent years in an old, converted farm in Kent. In 1980 his book, The Great Heavyweights, appeared, describing and analyzing the best boxers. In addition, he did much charity and he served as the patron of the Sir Henry Cooper Foundation, which annually organizes the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters.
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