HENRY Cooper is one of the most enigmatic names in British boxing. Our ‘Enery, as he was known, charmed the public in a way that few fighters have. Of the heavyweights, perhaps only Bombardier Billy Wells and Frank Bruno have achieved a similar level of popularity with the general public.
Today he is best remembered for two contests. In 1963 he knocked a teenage Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, on the seat of his pants after catching him with a left hook at Wembley Stadium, and then eight years later Cooper lost controversially to Joe Bugner in his final contest at the Empire Pool, Wembley. During his 17-year professional career, Henry fought everyone, and when he retired it was on a wave of public sentiment and acclaim.
But what about Henry the amateur boxer? Few will know, and even fewer will remember, that Henry was an Olympian, a two-time ABA champion, and a British Army and Forces champion.
As a youngster he boxed for Eltham BC, as did his twin brother Jim, who I wrote about in this column in December 2021. Henry’s first major title came in March 1952, when, as a teenage 17-year-old, he won the South East London Delicate Heavyweight Championship at Eltham Baths. In the 1950s, these championships were usually decided there, although from 1969 the usual venue became the Manor Place Baths in Walworth.
After winning the South-East London title, Cooper naturally moved on to the next stage of the ABA Championships and did so three weeks later when he won the London Championships at the Royal Albert Hall. Under the slogan “Cooper only delivers the London surprise” BN reported that the only real surprise in the championship was “the success of seventeen-year-old decorator Henry Cooper (Eltham) in beating the points favourite Basil Kew (Caius).” This victory secured Cooper a chance at the ABA title and on 23 April, still a few weeks before he turned 18, he beat Joe Erskine in the semi-finals and then John McLean in a tough contest to win the prestigious title.
In his first international match, just three weeks later, Henry lost by disqualification when boxing for England against Wales, but this did not prevent him from earning a place in the British squad for the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. The Games came too soon for the teenage airy heavyweight and he was defeated in his first fight by Russian Anatoly Perov. Cooper managed to win on one of the scorecards but lost four to one.
In slow 1952, Henry and Jim were called up for military service and served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. This life suited them both and in March 1953 Henry became Army Champion with a sticker he gave to Bombardier Tony Smith of the Royal Artillery. Brother Jim was not so lucky, losing to Joe Erskine in the heavyweight division. The following month, Cooper won the Inter-Services title at his first attempt.
His path to the ABA Finals that year began with this victory, as the ISBA title was considered so outstanding that it guaranteed a place in the final four at the Royal Albert Hall. Henry came out on top again, defeating the Welsh champion, Tommy George, and then the London champion, Tony Madigan of Fulham BC. Tony Madigan was an Australian living in London at the time and will be best remembered as the man who lost to a teenage Muhammad Ali in the semi-finals of the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Cooper’s last major tournament as an amateur was at the 1953 European Championships in Warsaw, where he was crushed in 90 seconds by Russian Yuri Yegorov. After winning his final international bout, boxing for the ABA against Spain, Henry turned professional, like his twin brother, and what great things he achieved.
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