Henry Cooper, a renowned British heavyweight boxer, was considered the greatest in modern British history prior to Lennox Lewis's rise in the 1990s.
Born into a boxing family, Cooper's twin brother, George, also pursued a professional boxing career, although he never reached his brother's level of success, retiring in 1964 with a 16-14-1 record.
In contrast, Henry Cooper went on to dominate the European boxing scene for 15 consecutive years, capturing the British Commonwealth Heavyweight Title in 1957 and holding it four times until 1972.
He was a multiple European Heavyweight Champion and is most notable for knocking down a young Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali) in their 1963 elimination bout.
Cooper fought Muhammad Ali for the championship in 1966, but was brutally battered and bloodied in the process.
At the age of 36, Cooper scored the biggest win of his career by defeating the undefeated Jose Manuel Urtain of Spain in 1970, stopping him in the 9th round to capture the European crown.
He also regained the British title with an upset victory over the younger Jack Bodell, but lost a highly disputed 15-round decision to Joe Bugner, resulting in the loss of all three of his boxing championships.
Cooper was so angered by the decision that he announced his retirement with a 40-14-1 record, never to box again.
It took him almost 20 years to forgive the ring official who voted against him.
Today, Henry Cooper remains an honored, respected, and popular figure in the UK, appearing in movies and television shows, and is an avid golfer.
