Henry Cooper

by Norman Giller

  RUSS ABBOT:

  Henry was simply the Best of British. We were often together doing our bit at things like Variety Club events and particularly at golf tournaments, and Henry lit up the fairway – and sometimes the rough – with his personality. The public loved him and followed him throughout his rounds. He used to spend ages before and after playing signing autographs and giving everybody of his time. Nothing was too much trouble for him. There have been few more popular sportsmen in the history of British sport.

  KENNY LYNCH:

  I followed Henry’s career closely and it seems like only the day before yesterday that I saw him robbed against Joe Bugner.

  It will soon be the fiftieth anniversary of when he floored Cassius Clay with his ’Ammer, the most famous punch ever thrown in a British ring. Those of us lucky enough to get close to him will remember him not so much as a great champion but as a wonderful human being, always looking to help those in need.

  PETER ALLISS:

  I have had three special Henrys in my life: Longhurst, the master of golf commentators; Cotton, arguably the greatest of all British golfers; and, of course, Cooper, a giant among men.

  I think if Henry had been able to select he would have rather won the Open Golf Championship than the world heavyweight title. He loved the game, but was not blessed with the same natural ability that he showed in the boxing ring. Henry was always the first to offer his services when I was organising my charity golf tournaments. He was such a giving man, never taking.

  Severiano Ballesteros departed in the same week as dear Henry. Losing two great men so close together is simply too much to bear.

  KEITH SIMMONS, KING RAT OF THE ESTEEMED CHARITY FUNDRAISING SHOWBUSINESS FRATERNITY, THE GRAND ORDER OF WATER RATS:

  Henry was a former King Rat, a charming companion who was always prepared to give his time to young and old, especially on behalf of the many charities he supported. A particularly generous action, which was typical, was when he was offered £10,000 to make an after-dinner speech. He discovered that the date clashed with an unpaid appearance at a Boy’s Club, to which he had given his word that he would attend. He unhesitatingly refused the fat cheque.

  Henry was a good boxer, but an outstanding man. A true Rat. The worlds of sport and showbusiness greatly mourn his passing, but his name and his deeds will always live on.

  PAT JENNINGS, FORMER TOTTENHAM AND ARSENAL GOALKEEPER:

  Henry and I used to compare our hand sizes, and he said he wished he’d had my size fists! When he was a boy he dreamt of becoming a goalkeeper like his old idol Frank Swift, but football’s loss was boxing’s gain.

  He jokingly said that he only accepted me as a friend when I moved from Tottenham to play in goal for Arsenal. He was such a kindly, modest man, who made everybody he met feel special. I was so pleased to be at his Thanksgiving Service because I wanted to say farewell and pay my final respects to a great person.

  KEN FRIAR, FOR MANY YEARS ‘MR ARSENAL’ AS THE CLUB’S MANGING DIRECTOR:

  We were very proud to have Henry as a VIP supporter of Arsenal. He represented the same sort of values as the club, competing with style and good sportsmanship. I was involved in all the organisational work when he challenged Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title at Highbury in 1966. What a night that was, and Henry was so unlucky that his old cut-eye curse struck.

  He was a gentleman in and out of the ring. When he had his knee problems he used to come to the club to use our medical and training facilities. He was a joy to be around, always very friendly and without an ounce of arrogance. A true legend.

  BOB WILSON, FORMER ARSENAL GOALKEEPER:

  When Henry was recovering from his cartilage operation I was out of action with a broken arm, and the pair of us used to train together as we worked at getting our fitness back. He was a natural athlete and we formed an instant friendship. He was the most popular sportsman in the country, but did not have a boastful or conceited bone in his body. I can reveal that while he had a mighty left hook, he also had a hard right foot shot; I collected the ball from the back of the net many times during our kickabouts.

  I learned two things from Henry – one, how to give 100 per cent at all times, whether inside sport or out; and two, the value of humility and tolerance.

  Henry was a very special person and I was so pleased our paths crossed. My wife Megs and I will so miss not receiving the Cooper Christmas card, which was always the first to fall on our mat and it used to give us a tingle thinking how it had come from such a loving, family-oriented couple.

  KEVIN KEEGAN:

  Some of the most memorable and enjoyable times of my life were shooting the Brut commercials with Henry. As a young footballer I was a little bit nervous about meeting a national treasure, but he immediately put me at my ease and I loved every second of being in his company. He had loads of stories about the boxing game, but never told them in a showing-off way.

  What always amazed me was how this kind, gentle, easygoing man ever got himself in the mood to punch people. Every time we met, long after the commercials, I used to say to him, ‘Splash it all over,’ and he’d reply, ‘Ahhh, the sweet smell of Brut.’ He was a lovely, lovely man and a great ambassador for his sport and for our country. If anybody deserved a knighthood, it was Our Enery.

  LAWRIE McMENEMY:

  I doubt if there has been another British sportsman who has reached into all hearts like Henry, regardless of whether they knew a left hook from a right cross. He became bigger than his sport and touched the lives of so many people, who were captured by his easygoing way and natural, unassuming nature. He was a Cockney, but people all over the country had an affinity with him, and he was as idolised in the North East, where I come from as in London.

  Henry was always giving his time to help raise money and awareness for those less fortunate than he was, and his life was a shining example to today’s young sportsmen, who could learn from his behaviour both when active in his sport and when he retired.

  JOE BUGNER:

  I’m so pleased Henry and I made our peace just a few years ago. It would have been so sad if he had gone to his resting place with us still divided by a controversial verdict. I was able to tell him how much I respected him, both as a boxer and even more so as a man. A hundred years from now, nobody will remember Joe Bugner, Frank Bruno, Lennox Lewis or David Haye – we will just be footnotes in history. But Henry Cooper will still be revered because his name will live on as a people’s champion. Everybody in Britain loved him and there will never be another who can get close to his popularity. He proved by how long he reigned as British champion that he was a great boxer, and we all know he was a great person.

  BILLY WALKER:

  The trouble when I fought Henry was trying to get in the mood to dislike him enough to want to bash him. But he was a thorough gentleman and sporting at all times, even when he was making a mess of my face with that powerful left hand of his. He was well on top against me when the ref stopped it because of my cut eye. For a change it was not Henry who had been cut, and he was genuinely sympathetic and concerned for me. I can now admit I was lucky to get the cut because if the fight had gone on, he would have just about murdered me with that jab of his, and that’s not counting his left hook!

  We became mates after we’d finished hitting each other, and he was always a model for how boxers should conduct themselves both in and out of the ring. I felt honoured to be at his funeral, saying goodbye to a lovely bloke, whose name will always live on in British boxing.

  FRANK BRUNO:

  When I first turned professional, my manager Terry Lawless always told me I should copy Henry Cooper, not so much as a boxer but in the way he carried himself outside the ring. He was a class act, always finding time to help charities. I met him many times and found him to be a proper English gentleman. Don’t think he rated me all that highly as a fighter, but he was entitled to his opinion.

  We often worked together trying to raise money for the Water Rats, the Prince
’s Trust and Great Ormond Street Hospital. The man in the street loved him, and this was years after he had given up fighting. To remain that popular for so long shows just what a wonderful man he was outside the ring, and the fact that he gave Muhammad Ali so much trouble and was British champion for so many years proved he could really do the business inside the ring. He was a very special man. I felt honoured whenever I was in his company.

  LENNOX LEWIS:

  I found him a very amiable and modest man, and a wonderful representative for our sport. He was a legend in Britain and known around the world for that knockdown of Cassius Clay. The surprising thing about him – showing how boxing has changed – is that during his career he rarely weighed more than thirteen and a half stone but obviously he punched like a mule with his left hook.

  BARRY McGUIGAN:

  It was fitting to have Henry’s wake at the London Golf Club because that’s where he spent so much of his time. We were both members, and my wife and I became very friendly with Henry and the lovely Albina. He never recovered from her passing.

  I first met him in London when I came over from Ireland to receive the Young Boxer of the Year award from the Boxing Writers’ Club in the early 1980s. He went out of his way to talk to me and encourage me, and kindly followed my career from then on. Having Henry Cooper look out for me made me feel special. He was Mr Boxing.

  The last time I saw him was at Harry Carpenter’s memorial in Fleet Street, and he looked so frail that I was concerned for him. I prefer to think of him in the good times when he was warm, generous and with a great sense of humour. My feelings and sympathy are for Henry Marco and John Pietro, who have lost their dad and mum in a short space of time. They had parents who were always giving their time and energy for others, and they can be extremely proud of them. As somebody who loves boxing, let me just say that our sport has not had a better ambassador than Henry Cooper, Sir Henry, Our Enery.

  DAVID HAYE:

  Henry had retired long before I was born, but his exploits meant he was a legend and anybody who followed boxing knew all about him and the famous punch that knocked down the then Cassius Clay. It was a privilege for me to meet him, and I listened carefully to his advice, which he gave freely. He told me to pace my career, not rush things, and always to put fitness above everything. Coming from a true warrior and a great human being I listened with respect. There will never be another Henry Cooper.

  AMIR KHAN:

  I met Sir Henry several times, and he came across as very humble and willingly gave me advice on my career. He told me not to rush things, pick the right fights at the right time. He had a huge fan base, and every time I saw him he would spend ages signing autographs, never saying no to anybody. I love watching the film of him knocking down Muhammad Ali – or Cassius Clay as he was then – with a left hook that was beautifully delivered. If the bell had not gone, it was almost certain that he would have knocked him out because he was a great finisher. The man is a legend.

  CHRIS EUBANK:

  I was inspired by the beacon that was Henry Cooper. He was loved by the public and it inspired me to try to follow his example, but we are pretenders who can only walk in his shadow. He always behaved like a champion in and out of the ring, and is the perfect role model not only for boxers but also for any young sportsmen who need an example of how to behave. It was an honour to meet the great man, and when I shook his hand I just hoped the magic of Henry Cooper would rub off on me. He knew how to win the hearts of people. That is a gift given only to the finest human beings. Sir Henry had the gift in abundance.

  STEVE COLLINS:

  Just the name Henry Cooper was an inspiration to all boxers when I was first starting out in the game. We grew up with the stories of how he knocked Cassius Clay on his bum, and Enery’s ’Ammer was part of boxing folklore. He had not been in the ring for forty years, but there was nobody in the fight game – and few outside it – who had not heard of him and his exploits. The way he gave so much of his time to good causes is an example to all sportsmen. He will never be forgotten.

  FRANK WARREN:

  Henry epitomised true British grit. He was one of sport’s really nice guys, and the public identified with him because he always gave 100 per cent. He had not fought for forty years but remained the best loved of British sportsmen, even by generations who never saw him fight. He was unlucky that his chance of becoming world champion came against the greatest champion of all time, and he acquitted himself well before, as so often happened, he was cut.

  Henry showed he had good taste by being an Arsenal fan. In these days of monster heavyweights, he would have had to fight in the cruiserweight division. People forget that early in his career he had four defeats on the trot, and he had to go abroad to reinstate himself. But what character he showed by fighting his way back to the top, and he won his way into the hearts of millions of people by his conduct and wonderfully natural personality. You could not manufacture what he had. Henry was a one-off.

  BARRY HEARN:

  Our best-loved boxer will be remembered for all time because of throwing the most famous punch in British boxing history, the left hook that put Cassius Clay down. Domestically he was the master heavyweight, as is proven by his reign of nearly twelve years as British champion. These days of course he would be considered a cruiserweight because he never weighed even fourteen stone, but that ’Ammer of his could take out anybody. Most times I met him over the last twenty or thirty years he was giving his time to fundraising for the disadvantaged, and he seemed to live on the golf course, where he was always playing in charity events. He put back much more than he took out.

  BERNARD HART, FORMER WELTERWEIGHT WHO FOUNDED THE FAMOUS LONSDALE SPORTS GOODS COMPANY:

  The twins and I used to box as amateurs for the Eltham club, and in those days George was considered just as bright a prospect as Henry. Then he started having trouble with his right hand, which was every bit as lethal as Henry’s left. They were lovely blokes, always good for a laugh but taking their boxing very seriously. Whenever they were on the bill, crowds flocked to see them at Eltham Baths, back in the days when amateur boxing was really flourishing.

  There’s talk about building a statue to Henry on the Bellingham council estate where he grew up. I’d give my support to that. I cannot think of a better role model for the kids on that estate or anywhere else. Henry was a credit to the area, a credit to boxing and a credit to the country.

  TERRY BAKER, AN ENTREPRENEUR WHO, WITH HIS WIFE FREDA, RUNS THE AI SPORTING SPEAKERS AGENCY THAT SET UP MANY ROAD SHOW APPEARANCES FOR HENRY:

  I booked Henry for a few evenings for theatre shows and we hit it off immediately. Obviously not a hard thing to do with Henry because just about everyone that ever met him felt the same way. He epitomised the saying, ‘What you see is what you get’. He really was the nicest man you could wish to meet. How he ever hit anybody is hard to imagine!

  Every time we worked with him, Freda and I would receive a bouquet with a card saying, ‘Thanks for a great evening, all the best, love from Henry’. Eventually I said to him, ‘I’m glad you enjoy working with us, Henry, and I appreciate the gesture, but I never thought in my wildest dreams that at some stage in my life I would regularly receive flowers from a heavyweight boxer!’

  ‘Oh,’ he replied, ‘that will be Albina. She must be sending them as a thank you because she knows how much I appreciate all the jobs you get me and how you always come and make it easy for me.’

  ‘Thank goodness for that,’ I replied, ‘I thought you were sending them!’ Albina was as lovely as her husband, but I’m glad the flowers were from her and the gesture was always appreciated. Freda and I felt blessed to have known Henry. He was unique.

  Henry’s fame was worldwide. The week after he passed on there was a Bob Arum promotion in Las Vegas featuring Manny Pacquiao’s world welterweight title defence against Shane Mosley and before the fight the capacity crowd paid their respects in silence during a ten-second tolling of the bell in Henry’s memory
.

  BOB ARUM:

  Henry epitomised what you want your champion boxer to be – dignified, sporting, dedicated, no trash-talking; but when he got in the ring, that’s when you saw his heart and determination. Sadly for him, the one thing he could not toughen was his skin and he bled all too easily. But he was a great fighter and a great man, and for those of us lucky to have known him, he will be missed. He served boxing well, and will be remembered on both sides of the Atlantic with warmth and respect.

  GEORGE FOREMAN:

  Henry came so close to changing the history of boxing. Had he landed his left hook on Clay’s jaw in the early part of the fourth round instead of the final seconds, he would have wrecked a lot of big plans. The fight with Sonny Liston would not have taken place when it did. It would have been a whole different picture. Maybe I would not have got beaten up in Zaire! Henry’s spirit was always willing, but unfortunately for him the flesh was often weak.