Floyd Patterson vrs Henry Cooper/50th anniv./Sept.20.1966

[Caractacus]

The weigh in at the Cambridge Gymnasium in Berkshire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygjxC_UZ-TI

[Caractacus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd43cwl6VW8

[Caractacus]

BTW This fight was on a Tuesday at the Empire Pool and Sports arena and the BBC recorded it on video-tape to show it the following evening on the station.
commentater Simon Smith
It was also replayed a few days later on ABC'S WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS with Howard Cossell
and Muhammad Ali talking about it.

[Caractacus]

Interesting both Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis picked Cooper to win this fight.
Only the last two rounds can be seen on the video.but it appears to me that Cooper looked kind of sluggish
and didnt have much oomph and zing in his punches there already by the third round.
(in the newspaper accounts it said Cooper was the agresser in the first two rounds)
Maybe he had a case of the squirts or something.
Because he kind of looked flat before he fell face flat.

[Caractacus]

BTW BBC F&FVTL stands for : BBC Film and Video Tape Library.
My guess is that they somehowthey got this tape from a private collector some time ago.
As the BBC pretty much wiped out their archives back in the ealy 1970's in order to save money.
and my question is,if this tape (or at least 2 rounds survives,
could the Jerry Quarry vrs Buster Mathis fight have been video-taped from the BBC as well ?

[Kalan]

Floyd Patterson was the 8th opponent to KO Henry Cooper... "Our Henry" was one of the nicest gentlemen who ever pulled on the gloves. He had all the courage in the world, but admitted to having a "push button chin" ... The number of times Henry was knocked down must be astronomical... Patterson added 3 knockdowns to the total... Ingemar Johansson, Zora Folley, Roger Rischer, Amos Johnson, Joe Bygraves, and Erich Schoeppner also added to the total... Muhammad Ali did not.

[dalcumly]

We need to clarify KO when we talk about Cooper's chin. I admit there were a few knock downs ( many from body shots), but if we are talking complete and devastating KO's, there were only 3 in my opinion. Johansson, Folley and Patterson.
A quick glance at Johansson's record shows that although he was a poor looking boxer he could punch like a mule. In fact it was the only thing he could do correctly !! If Sonny Liston could not dent Eddie Machen over 10 rounds, but Johansson could knock him out in the first, demonstrates his punching power. Cooper's loss was not embarrassing!
Folley was a good puncher , but not devastating, although he too has a high amount of knockouts. But Folley was clever. He knew exactly how to counteract Henry and Folley caught him with a thunderous overhand right as he was coming forward. The knockout was not due to a weak chin.
Patterson as we all know was a lethal puncher, his knockout record is there for all to see. It still gives me shivers when I see Johansson's foot vibrate as he's lying unconscious following Patterson's left hook. Henry got nailed with a right hand again as he was coming forward against Patterson, just shortly after he was put down, and he was perhaps a bit shaken. Again no weak chin here, for me.

Great discussion, and I've covered these fights in the new book on Henry coming out within 2 weeks.

[Caractacus]

actually Floyd Patterson needed two Big "Gazelle Punches" to put Johannson away in that round.
I think his leg was twitching because they way he fell over on it. (but I'm not a doctor).