Henry Cooper - The Authorised Biography
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Henry Cooper is best remembered for the night he nearly changed boxing history – 19 July 1963. Fighting an up-and-coming boxer by the name of Cassius Clay, later to become Muhammad Ali, his famous left hook (known as 'Henry's Hammer') sent Clay crashing onto the canvas. Arguable Britain's greatest ever heavyweight fighter, Cooper won 40 of his 55 professional bouts, beating most of the true boxing greats along the way. His story is littered with famous names – Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, and, of course, Ali. But Cooper's retirement from the sport did not spell then end of his time in the public eye, as he embarked on a successful media career. Disaster struck in the 1990s, however, when his innocent involvement in a scandal surrouding insuracne giants Lloyds of London led to him having to sell his unique collection of three Lonsdale belts topay his bills. He was knighted in the millennium New Year's honours list for his services to boxing, and his death in May 2011 sparkd a huge outpouring of tributes from the sporting community. This is the biography of an intriguing character, a great fighter and a true sporting legend.
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The author wishes to thank Sir Henry and Lady Cooper, Lord and Lady Teviot and in particular, for his diligent research and enthusiasm, Tony Gee. Thanks also to Andrew Lownie (the architect of this), Susan Dowdall at the Daily Mail and all at BBC Worldwide.
Dedication
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The sheer inaccessibility of boxing rather defines it to most people; one can stage a pro-celebrity event in most sports after all, except these martial arts. It is sometimes tempting to suggest it, of course, and many of us might imagine that Mike Tyson vs Paul Daniels would be an entertaining event to watch, but that simple reality, that boxing is actually about hurting people, sometimes very badly, and sometimes with quite disastrous results, makes many turn away from it. How can one like a man who does this for a living? Quite easily, in fact.
So, Henry Cooper was different. Different also from other fighters in terms of the perception with which he has long been regarded. Those who admired Henry, what he did, what he became, are a different group perhaps from those who admire Chris Eubank, although to a fighter, all are one – as intelligent men (and boxers by and large are highly intelligent, they have to be) they share both a living and a vast mutual respect and seldom really despise each other, whatever they may say in public.
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