Ex-British champion Cooper dies at 76
May 3, 2011, Tuesday
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FORMER British and European heavyweight champion Henry Cooper, one of his country's most popular sportsmen, has died at the age of 76, the British Boxing Board of Control said on Sunday.
The first boxer to be knighted and receive the title "Sir" from a British monarch, Cooper had been ill for some time and died at his son's house in Oxted, Surrey, southern England, two days short of his 77th birthday.
London-born Cooper was at his peak during the 1960s and is best remembered for a defeat by Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, in a non-title fight at Wembley in 1963.
He famously sent Clay to the canvas near the end of the fourth round with his trademark left hook, known as "'Enry's 'Ammer", only for the American to earn more recovery time when trainer Angelo Dundee said Clay's glove was split. The incident is still a favorite topic of discussion for boxing fans to this day.
Cooper lost when the referee stopped the fight because of his cuts in the fifth round and he lost to Clay again in a world title fight at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium in London in 1966, again when cuts forced the referee to step in.
"I am at a loss for words over the death of my friend, Henry Cooper," Ali said in a statement.
Cooper, who won the British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight titles but never the world crown, remained revered in Britain as much for his warm personality and gentlemanly manner as a 40-14-1 record in a professional career spanning more than 16 years.
"He was one of the sporting icons, not just for the boxing public but sport in general," BBBC General Secretary Robert Smith told Sky Sports News.
Britain's current World Boxing Association world heavyweight champion David Haye wrote on Twitter that Cooper was "a true warrior and a great human being".
The first boxer to be knighted and receive the title "Sir" from a British monarch, Cooper had been ill for some time and died at his son's house in Oxted, Surrey, southern England, two days short of his 77th birthday.
London-born Cooper was at his peak during the 1960s and is best remembered for a defeat by Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, in a non-title fight at Wembley in 1963.
He famously sent Clay to the canvas near the end of the fourth round with his trademark left hook, known as "'Enry's 'Ammer", only for the American to earn more recovery time when trainer Angelo Dundee said Clay's glove was split. The incident is still a favorite topic of discussion for boxing fans to this day.
Cooper lost when the referee stopped the fight because of his cuts in the fifth round and he lost to Clay again in a world title fight at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium in London in 1966, again when cuts forced the referee to step in.
"I am at a loss for words over the death of my friend, Henry Cooper," Ali said in a statement.
Cooper, who won the British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight titles but never the world crown, remained revered in Britain as much for his warm personality and gentlemanly manner as a 40-14-1 record in a professional career spanning more than 16 years.
"He was one of the sporting icons, not just for the boxing public but sport in general," BBBC General Secretary Robert Smith told Sky Sports News.
Britain's current World Boxing Association world heavyweight champion David Haye wrote on Twitter that Cooper was "a true warrior and a great human being".
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