Henry Cooper

by Norman Giller

  FIGHT NO. 5

  Venue: Royal Albert Hall, 27 January 1955. Weight: 13st 5lb.

  Opponent: Colin Strauch (Pretoria). Weight: 13st 2lb.

  Result: WON, referee stopped fight round 1.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Joe Bromley, Sporting Life): Colin Strauch has come over from South Africa to try to make a name for himself. Well, last night at the Albert Hall he did not know what his name was after Henry Cooper landed a peach of a left hook that had him rolling and reeling before the referee came to his rescue barely two minutes into the first round. Henry Cooper is a heavyweight who is going to make a huge impact with that left hook of his. It is a mighty weapon.

  HENRY: We thought we might get a few rounds under our belt tonight, but Strauch did not give us as much trouble as we expected. It was a nice way to start the New Year, particularly at one of our favourite venues. There’s a special atmosphere here at the Albert Hall.

  FIGHT NO. 6

  Venue: Harringay Arena, 8 February 1955. Weight: 13st 9lb.

  Opponent: Cliff Purnell (Weston-super-Mare). Weight: 13st 11lb.

  Result: WON points, 6 rounds.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Harry Carpenter, Daily Mail): Manager Jim Wicks did not mince words after his brightest prospect, Henry Cooper, was taken the distance for the first time since he turned professional. ‘Southpaws,’ he said, ‘should be drowned at birth. He made our Enery look bad, in fact he would make Marilyn Monroe look bad.’ Cooper was a comfortable points winner over six untidy rounds, but struggled to find his rhythm and timing against an experienced opponent who knows all the tricks of the trade and made the Bellingham plasterer work hard for his win.

  HENRY: The only good thing to say about tonight is that at least we know we can go six rounds comfortably. Purnell was an awkward cuss, and when I pinned him with a good punch he’d pull me in close and hold on. I learned some useful pro tricks from him. I only fought a handful of southpaws as an amateur and never enjoyed it. And to think I’d have been a wrong-way-round merchant if my first trainer had not rollocked me for leading with my right.

  FIGHT NO. 7

  Venue: Earls Court, 8 March 1955. Weight: 13st 7lb.

  Opponent: Hugh Ferns (Greenock). Weight: 15st 4lb.

  Result: WON on a disqualification, round 2.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Sydney Hulls, Daily Express): Hugh Ferns, former Scottish amateur heavyweight champion, came rushing at Henry Cooper like a wild Angus bull, and the referee had no option but to disqualify him in the second round after he had butted the Bellingham plasterer and landed with blows way off the compass. It is all part of the learning curve for Cooper, who is definitely one to watch for the future.

  HENRY: Ferns was using his head like a third glove, and his punches were landing well south of the border. A win like this leaves you feeling frustrated. He was a big target and we’d just about got his measure when the ref threw him out.

  FIGHT NO. 8

  Venue: Empress Hall, Earls Court, 19 March 1955. Weight: 13st 7lb.

  Opponent: Joe Crickmar (Stepney). Weight: 13st 2lb.

  Result: WON, referee stopped fight round 5.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Jack Wilson, Boxing News): Bellingham’s undefeated Henry Cooper chalked up his eighth successive victory with a commanding performance against Joe Crickmar, the pride of the Arbour Youth Club in Stepney. Cooper completely dominated the fight with his powerful left jab and thunderous hooks, and the referee stopped the one-way traffic with Crickmar suffering severe facial damage.

  HENRY: We’re pleased with that performance because Joe’s a good boxer, but he never really troubled us. As soon as I got the old trombone left working he couldn’t get out of the way of it, and I knew it was just a question of time before the referee would have to step in. Poor old Joe cuts worse than we do.

  FIGHT NO. 9

  Venue: Manor Place Baths, Walworth, 19 March 1955. Weight: 13st 7lb.

  Opponent: Joe Bygraves (Jamaica/Birkenhead). Weight: 14st 5lb.

  Result: WON points, 8 rounds.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Walter Bartleman, London Evening Star): Henry Cooper produced the best performance of his career to date with a clear points victory over Merseyside-based Joe Bygraves. It was Cooper’s first eight rounds contest, and proof that he travelled the distance comfortably is that he dropped Bygraves for an eight count in the final round and only the bell saved the heavily muscled Jamaican from a stoppage defeat.

  HENRY: We paced it nicely, and we felt so strong in the last round we went for a knockout. Joe was wobbling at the end and if there had been a few more seconds I think we’d have finished him off. We’re chuffed with that performance, easily our best so far.

  ‘Henry on the attack in his first fight with Jamaican Joe Bygraves in 1955’

  FIGHT NO. 10

  Venue: Harringay Arena, 26 April 1955. Weight: 13st 4lb.

  Opponent: Uber Bacilieri (Italy). Weight: 14st 2lb.

  Result: LOST, referee stopped fight round 2 (cut eye).

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Bill McGowran, London Evening News): Henry Cooper’s unbeaten record came to a gruesome end against Italian champion Uber Bacilieri, drowned in a river of blood that flowed from a nasty cut on his brow. The injury seemed to be caused by a clash of heads, although the Italian’s camp claimed it was from a punch. Cooper was just beginning to take control with his thumping left lead at the time of the abrupt finish.

  HENRY: Jim had already decided to stop the fight as the referee waved it over. We didn’t want to risk the cut getting any worse. It was definitely his head that caused the damage, but what’s the point in complaining? I just want to get back into the ring again as soon as possible. I’ve got so much unused energy to burn.

  FIGHT NO. 11

  Venue: Nottingham Ice Rink, 6 June 1955. Weight: 13st 4lb.

  Opponent: Ron Harman (Brighton). Weight: 14st 7lb.

  Result: WON, referee stopped fight round 7.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Peter Wilson, Daily Mirror): The last time I saw Brighton heavyweight Ron Harman was when he fought on the undercard on the Rocky Marciano/Don Cockell world title promotion in San Francisco, and he dispatched an American opponent in style. Here at Nottingham it was his turn to be dispatched, with equal violence, by Henry Cooper, a stylish young fighter whom his manager Jim Wicks tells me is ‘going to go all the way’. He certainly has impressive power in that left hand of his, and Harman needed to be rescued by the referee in the seventh round after taking quite a tanking.

  HENRY: Ron really knows the ropes and we had to be at our best to beat him. It was good to get some rounds under our belt, and now we’re going to try to put the record straight by getting a rematch with that Italian geezer who stopped our unbeaten run.

  FIGHT NO. 12

  Venue: White City Stadium, 13 September 1955. Weight: 13st 1lb.

  Opponent: Uber Bacilieri (Italy). Weight: 14st.

  Result: WON, knockout round 7.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Joe Bromley, Sporting Life): Henry Cooper gained sweet and savage revenge for his only defeat when he knocked out Uber Bacilieri in seven one-sided rounds. The Italian had beaten Cooper on a cut-eye stoppage five months ago, but was made to pay for it in an agonising way. Cooper peppered his face with a procession of solid left jabs before suddenly switching the attack to the body. A left-right combination deep into the pit of the stomach left Bacilieri writhing in pain on the canvas as the referee counted him out.

  HENRY: This was an important victory for us because we proved that defeat by Bacilieri was misleading. Jim told me to go for the body at the end of the sixth, and it worked to perfection. He had been eating my jab and was getting his guard higher and higher to try to block it, leaving his body as a very inviting target.

  FIGHT NO. 13

  Venue: Harringay Arena, 15 November 1955. Weight: 13st 2lb.

  Opponent: Joe Erskine (Cardiff). Weight: 14st 1lb.

  Result: LOST points, 10 rounds (British title eliminator)

  RINGSIDE REPORT (George Whiting, London Evening Standard): Fami
liarity breeds contempt, and Joe Erskine was quite contemptuous of his old amateur rival Henry Cooper, winning this British heavyweight title eliminator with a cleverly compiled points victory. As hard as Cooper tried, he could not land that pay-off left hook because the will o’ the wisp Welshman was never there to be hit.

  HENRY: Not making excuses, but I badly bruised my hand on Joe’s head in the seventh round, which reduced my power. No complaints. He deserved his victory, and we hope he now goes on and wins the British title. Joe boxed beautifully, and we are now two-two. One day we must meet again to sort out our private argument.

  FIGHT NO. 14

  Venue: Royal Albert Hall, 2 February 1956. Weight: 13st 8lb.

  Opponent: Maurice Mols (France). Weight: 14st 4lb.

  Result: WON, referee stopped fight round 4.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Tom Phillips, Daily Herald): Henry Cooper got back to his winning ways with a chilling execution of roly-poly Frenchman Maurice Mols, who looked like the Michelin Tyre Man but less mobile. It took three rounds for Cooper to find his distance against an opponent who hid behind a high guard, but when he found his range the overweight, overmatched Mols was quickly deflated. Referee Tommy Little rescued the forlorn Frenchman after he had made four visits to the canvas in round four.

  HENRY: This was good for my confidence. We were surprised that Mols did not look that well prepared considering he’s the French champion. I just got on and did my job, and those spare tyres round his tummy made a nice target.

  FIGHT NO. 15

  Venue: Empress Hall, Earls Court, 1 May 1956. Weight: 13st 4lb.

  Opponent: Brian London (Blackpool). Weight: 13st 13lb.

  Result: WON, referee stopped fight round 1.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Peter Wilson, Daily Mirror): Brian London had no idea what hit him at the Empress Hall last night. Let me tell him – it was a perfect left hook from Henry Cooper that knocked the Blackpool heavyweight back into a neutral corner, literally out on his feet. The referee waved it all over after just two minutes twenty-five seconds of round one, without the previously unbeaten London having landed one telling blow. The Blackpool Rock was reduced to candyfloss. London was having his thirteenth fight and weighed in at 13st 13lb. Unlucky for some, certainly for the blitzed London!

  HENRY: This is sweet revenge for what London did to my brother George when they fought in January. Brian did a lot of bad-mouthing before the fight, but I think I taught him to be more respectful. We like to let our fists do the talking.

  ‘Brian London finds that Henry can also hurt with his right hand’

  FIGHT NO. 16

  Venue: Empire Pool, Wembley, 26 June 1956. Weight: 13st 6lb.

  Opponent: Giannino Luise (Italy). Weight: 15st.

  Result: WON, referee stopped fight round 7.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Johnny Sharpe, Ring Magazine): Henry Cooper, tall, upright, stylish heavyweight in the tradition of English fighters of old, won every round against the lumbering Giannino Luise, pummelling him with a stream of left jabs to the head. In round seven he switched his attack to the body, and a left hook to the liver made the Italian whelp with pain and he sank backwards and fell under the bottom rope. He managed to scramble back into the ring with the count at nine, but the referee sensibly stopped the contest as the hard-punching Cooper moved in for the kill.

  HENRY: To be honest, I’d never even heard of the guy and had nothing to go on about his style, so I was playing it by ear. He was a hard nut who soaked up punches that would have floored most opponents, but the punch to the liver finished him off and the referee did him a big favour by stopping it when he did.

  FIGHT NO. 17

  Venue: King’s Hall, Belle Vue, Manchester, 7 September 1956. Weight: 13st 4lb.

  Opponent: Peter Bates (Shirebrook, Derbyshire). Weight: 14st 11lb.

  Result: LOST, retired end of round 5 (cut eye).

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Walter Bartleman, London Evening Star): The cut eye curse that is blighting the career of Jim Cooper now seems to have claimed his identical twin brother Henry. The Bellingham heavyweight was well on top against Peter Bates when he came out of a fifth round clinch with blood pouring from a cut, and at the bell manager Jim Wicks had no hesitation in retiring his fighter. I thought Cooper had won the fight in the first round when he floored Bates with a cracking left hook, and as he staggered up at nine he seemed in no position to defend himself, yet the referee allowed them to fight on. Bates was often shaken by Cooper’s power throughout the fight and he must have been a relieved and surprised man to have his hand raised in victory.

  HENRY: What a choker. I was looking for an opening to finish it when he caught me as we came together in a clinch. I knew straight away it was a bad cut, and as I walked back to the corner at the bell Jim was already calling the ref over. Just one of those things. We thought it wisest to call it a day at the end of the round rather than risk making it worse.

  FIGHT NO. 18

  Venue: Earls Court, 19 February 1957. Weight: 13st 13lb.

  Opponent: Joe Bygraves (Jamaica/Birkenhead). Weight: 14st 6lb.

  Result: LOST, knocked out round 9 (British Empire heavyweight title).

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Donald Saunders, Daily Telegraph): Usually the most elegant of boxers, Henry Cooper was reduced to a pitiful puppet of pain by a perfect punch to the solar plexus from Birkenhead-based Jamaican Joe Bygraves, who claimed the prize of the vacant Empire heavyweight championship. The dramatic finish to a rough and tumble fight came in the ninth round. Cooper had been dropped by a combination to the jaw, but seemed in control of himself when he got up at nine. Bygraves, a magnificently built man who appears to have muscles on his muscles, charged forward and threw a wicked punch to the body, and it literally took Cooper’s breath away and he was gasping for air as he took the ten second count on his knees.

  HENRY: That was the worst moment I’ve ever known in a boxing ring. I was really fighting for my breath and there was no way I could continue. I boxed badly and just could not get into my usual rhythm. Good luck to Joe. We used to be teammates with the England amateur squad, and he’s a good fellah. I felt really sluggish tonight, and will never again come into the ring this heavy.

  FIGHT NO. 19

  Venue: Johanneshov Ice Stadium, Stockholm, 19 May 1957. Weight: 13st 11lb.

  Opponent: Ingemar Johansson (Sweden). Weight: 14st 4lb.

  Result: LOST, knocked out round 5 (European heavyweight title).

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Tom Phillips, Daily Herald): Ingemar Johansson threw one meaningful punch in defence of his European title and it was enough to drop Henry Cooper on to his knees for the ten second count. I was busier typing than they were fighting for the first four rounds that featured Johansson pawing rather than punching and Cooper retreating as if in anticipation of the Swede’s famous Ingo’s Bingo punch. It arrived eventually, crashing against Cooper’s jaw as he squinted looking into a bright sun setting on a sprawling open-air arena. Suddenly the sun went out for Cooper as he crashed to a third successive defeat.

  HENRY: I know this will sound corny but I honestly didn’t see the punch coming. The sun was in my eyes, and then boom – I was on the deck. I should have stuck to our pre-fight plan to concentrate on counter punching, but I got frustrated and went after him. Not the wisest thing I’ve ever done.

  FIGHT NO. 20

  Venue: Harringay Arena, 17 September 1957. Weight: 13st 6lb.

  Opponent: Joe Erskine (Cardiff). Weight: 14st 2lb.

  Result: LOST points 15 rounds (British heavyweight title).

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Frank McGhee, Daily Mirror): Henry Cooper looked on open-mouthed in amazement like a man who’d had his pocket picked in an empty room as referee Eugene Henderson held up Joe Erskine’s hand as the points winner at the end of this frankly tedious fifteen rounds British championship contest. I made Cooper a winner by a quarter of a point, but the biased London crowd, Cooper fans to a man, booed angrily when Welshman Erskine had the Lonsdale Belt hooked around his waist.

  HENRY:
Oh well, that’s my hat-trick for the year, three title fights and three defeats. I thought I just nicked it tonight. I had him going in the fifth round but failed to finish it. Good luck to Joe. We’re old pals and I wish him well. I’m not sure what I’m going to do now. I’ll go away and have a good think, and talk things through with Jim and my brother George.

  FIGHT NO. 21

  Venue: Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, 16 November 1957. Weight: 13st 7lb.

  Opponent: Hans Kalbfell (Germany). Weight: 14st 2lb.

  Result: WON points 10 rounds.

  RINGSIDE REPORT (Johnny Sharpe, Ring Magazine): A rejuvenated Henry Cooper was carried around the ring in triumph in Dortmund by delighted German-based British soldiers after he had boxed majestically to outpoint Hans Kalbfell over ten rounds. Cooper’s career looked on the rocks after four successive defeats, but the way he outclassed the highly rated German champion suggests he has been written off far too soon.

  HENRY: That’s as good as I’ve ever boxed. They brought me over here thinking I would be easy meat for Kalbfell, but they didn’t know how hard I’d trained for this. I’m determined to get back on track after those three title-fight defeats.