Henry Cooper - Partial Amateur Record

[williefromrichmond]

HENRY COOPER

Eltham B.C., London

Born May 3, 1934

Amateur record (career): 73-11
Amateur record (partial, verifiable below): 34-7

“Henry Cooper, at age 18, is one of the youngest and certainly one of the most promising members of the [British Olympic] side ... after only one season as a senior and 24 bouts against men, who, more often that not, had the advantages of experience and weight.... There were no outstanding junior successes for Cooper. One of his first title bids was with twin brother George in the district schoolboys championship. Both boxed their way through to the final, tossed for the title and Henry won.... The following season Henry won a S.E. London divisional schoolboy title but an increase in weight forced him to withdraw from the London semi-finals.... [He had been boxing for five years at the time of this article]” (“Broughton,” Boxing News 6-25-52:15).

1951

Oct. 6 - Trevor Watkins W pts
Oct. 22 - Trevor Watkins W pts
Oct. 29 - W. Norris W 2
Nov. 3 - R. Trevor W pts
Nov. 9 - Tel. Hone W pts
Nov. 22 - J. Cornelius W pts
Dec. 10 - M. Kavanagh W 2

1952

Jan. 14 - John Trevillion W pts
Trevillion is the Metropolitan Police light-heavyweight champion (Boxing News 8-23-52:15).
Jan. 17 - A. Walker W 3
Jan. 26 - C. Marsh W 1
Jan. 26 - Trevor Watkins W pts
Feb. 5 - L. Cheeseman W
Mch. 12 - C. Double W disq 2
Mch. 12 - G. Rayment W disq 2
S.E. London Divisional light-heavyweight champion; Eltham.
Mch. 24 - Trevor Watkins W pts
Apr. 1 - M. O’Shea W pts
Apr. 1 - Basil Kew W pts
London light-heavyweight champion; Albert Hall, Wembley. “Cooper outpointed the much-fancied Kew. His performance was the only bright spot in the four heavier weights and his display offered a lesson in good straight left hitting. Time and again he halted the aggressive Kew and virtually booked his semi-final place [in the A.B.A. championships] with a perfect right uppercut that dopped Kew for ‘eight’ in the second round” (Boxing News 4-9-52:15).
Apr. 25 - Joe Erskine W pts
Apr. 25 - John McLean W pts
A.B.A. light-heavyweight champion; Wembley. “Cooper worked hard and well earned the winner’s cup by outpunching the tough McLean in a really punishing final of fluctuating fortunes” (Boxing News 4-30- 52:15).
May 12 - Glyn Jones L disq 3
England vs. Wales; Cardiff, Wales. “Cooper could not check a right uppercut that was on the way a split second before the referee’s ‘stop, stop’ command in the third round. He was set for a certain points win when the punch landed, but the referee had no alternative but to rule him out” (Boxing News 5-21-52:15).
May 24 - Basil Kew, Catford W pts
“Cooper turned in another workmanlike performance against the tough Kew. He was a clear-cut points winner. His fast, hard left stabbed and hooked its way through Kew’s defence, and Kew, who preferred getting in close, could never do so without taking heavy punishment. His nose began to bleed halfway through the first round, and as the bout progressed Kew’s face became a mask of blood. In the later stages Cooper pinned his faith on some vicious left-hooking, but Kew took everything that came his way and doggedly continued to move forward. Cooper’s only fault was that in close he kept losing his left under Kew’s arm, and punching only with his right, but his left hand hitting at long range was so superior that his victory was never in doubt” (Boxing News 5-28-52:16).
June 7 - Peter Toch ND
British Olympic Trial light-heavyweight division; Hackney. “The champion who came away with the highest honours was the fair-headed Cooper, who gave a polished display of straight left hitting to tame the aggressiveness of Toch. Remarkably cool in the face of Toch’s persistent aggression, Cooper proved by far the cleaner puncher and completed a good afternoon’s work with a perfect right hook in the closing round" (Boxing News 6-11-52:15).
June 18 - Toni Gruber W pts
London vs. Hesse State, Frankfurt; Frankfurt, West Germany.
June 25 - “His hardest bout [to date]? His own opinion is the gruelling struggle with Basil Kew in the final of the London championships, but with that I would bracket his equally strenuous struggle with the tough Scot, John McLean, in the A.B.A. final” (“Broughton,” Boxing News 6-25-52:15).
July 29 - Anatoli Perov (Russia) L pts
Olympic light-heavyweight participant (lost in second series of the competition); Helsinki, Finland. “Cooper boxed well enough to earn the award from one of the judges. The trouble with our men is that they too frequently allow themselves to be pushed into corners and against the ropes, instead of using the ring and keeping more in the centre. They showed too little aggression and in these rough-and-tumble Games the offensive fighter is bound to succeed, because for most of the time he is catching the eyes of judges who are used to action rather than skill” (Boxing News 8-6-52:15). “Cooper certainly would have got the decision over Perov in this country. Instead he went out on a majority decision, .... despite the fact that he took the last round. Toughness and the stamina to move forward for the full nine minutes was the reason for the successes gained by the Russian team up to the semi-final stage. Perov had these qualities, but Cooper’s boxing would almost certainly have taken the decision in England, but here aggression took the award and another of our bright prospects was eliminated” (“Broughton,” Boxing News 8-13-52:3).
Oct. 7-
Oct. 8 - Joe Erskine W pts
Royal Army Trials light-heavyweight champion; Tidworth, Hampshire. Cooper probably boxed three or four more matches in this competition which were not recorded in Boxing News.
Oct. 24 - Eddie Woollard, W 4
Bethnal Green. “Cooper won his bout so convincingly that it is doubtful Woollard won a round. He was given a lesson in left leading by Cooper before the referee stopped the one-sided battle in the fourth round. Cooper’s early leads were so successful that he concentrated on this form of attack with the result that his right was only rarely used” (Boxing News 10-29-52:16).
Oct. 31 - Joe Erskine L pts
Royal Army vs. Wales; Aldershot. “Erskine showed that he had profited by his two previous losing matches with Cooper by his policy of continually boxing his way underneath Cooper’s long left to punch away at the body. Cooper generally held his own at long range but his failiure to check Erskine’s aggressiveness at close quarters cost him the verdict” (Boxing News 11-5-52:15).
Nov. 11 - Hans Nielsen L pts
Imperial Services vs. Sparta (Denmark); Aldershot. “Nielsen had a spot of luck when he received the points verdict over Cooper, who certainly looked the cleaner puncher in a very close affair, but he could have put the issue beyond any possible doubt by backing up his good left leading with a litle more use of his right” (Boxing News 11-19-52:15).
Nov. 19 - Vicente Romeu W 3
A.B.A. vs. Spain; Empire Pool, Wembley. “Cooper was provided few problems by southpaw Romeu, who after being dropped to his knees early in the first round by a left hook, became an easy target for Cooper’s perfect left leads until midway through the third round when the referee halted the one-sided battle” (Boxing News 11-26-52:14).

1953

Jan. 15 - Arthur Berry, Shepherd’s Bush W pts
“Cooper stepped in as a late substitute and outpointed Berry” (Boxing News 1-21-53:16).
Jan. 22 - Jim McMillan W 2
England vs. Scotland; Glasgow, Scotland. “Cooper made a workmanlike job of beating McMillan in two rounds. Good left leads in the first round gradually slowed McMillan and opened the way for Cooper’s right, neglected in recent bouts. McMillan, twice dropped for ‘eight’ in the second, retired at the end of the round with a damaged mouth” (Boxing News 1-18-53:15).
Mch. 13 - Royal Army Southern Command light-heavyweight champion; Tidworth, Hampshire. Cooper probably boxed two or three matches in this competition which were not recorded in Boxing News.
Mch. 24 -
Mch. 25 - Royal Army preliminary rounds light-heavyweight champion; Aldershot. Cooper probably boxed two or three matches in this competition which were not recorded in Boxing News.
Mch. 27 - Tony Smith W pts
Royal Army light-heavyweight champion; Albert Hall, London. “Down for two long counts in the opening round and again for ‘five’ in the second, Smith did well to hold on until the final bell” (Boxing News 4-8-53:16).
Apr. 15 -
Apr. 16 - Imperial Services (I.S.B.A.) light-heavyweight champion; Hullavington. Cooper probably boxed two matches in this competition which were not recorded in Boxing News.
Apr. 24 - Tommy George W pts
“Cooper never looked like losing against George” (Boxing News 4-29-53:15).
Apr. 24 - Tony Madigan W pts
A.B.A. light-heavyweighht champion; Wembley. “Madigan could find no answer to Cooper’s brilliant left hand” (Boxing News 4-29-53:15). But Cooper later felt that “the best fighter I fought as an amateur was Tony Madigan. He was a hell of a puncher, and tough” (Henry Cooper, An Autobiography :45-46.
May 21 - Jurij Jegorow (Soviet Union) L 1
European light-heavyweight participant (lost in first series of the competition); Warsaw, Poland. “In ninety seconds it was all over and three right hooks beat Cooper. The first caught Cooper as he was backing into a neutral corner and dropped him to his knees. He was up before ‘eight,’ but was almost immediately caught again, and once more took his time in rising. The third hook, for which he had no defence, landed flush on the chin and left him in a dazed condition, whereupon the referee intervened” (Boxing News 5-27-53:15).
June 26 - L. Lizarraga W 2
England vs. Spain; Madrid, Spain.
Sept. 26 - Emil Willer L pts
England vs. Frankfurt Select; Frankfurt, West Germany. (Boxing News 10-7-53:16).
Sept. 29 - Bettendorf W 3
England vs. Hesse Select; Fulda, West Germany. (Boxing News 10-7-53:16).
Oct. 13 -
Oct. 14 - Tony Smith W pts
Royal Army Trials light-heavyweight champion; Tidworth, Hampshire. Cooper probably boxed two or three more matches in this competition which were not recorded in Boxing News.
Oct. 28 - Pierre Nadirian W pts
England vs. France; Empire Pool, Wembley. “Cooper slowly left-jabbed Nadirian’s face into a mass of blood until there were calls of ‘Stop it, Ref.’ Nadirian must be given credit for staying the three rounds and showed tremendous courage, but had little else to offer. Cooper was in great form and rarely stopped going forward” (Boxing News 11-4- 53:16).
Oct. 30 - Don Sainsbury W pts
Royal Army vs. Wales; Aldershot. “Cooper won without real difficulty” (Boxing News 11-11-53:16).
Nov. 23 - Basil Kew, Nine Elms Bath L 2
“Cooper came in as a last-minute substitute. Kew decided that the only way to beat Cooper was to go in punching. Cooper managed to avoid many of Kew’s wild rushes but never got going. It was all over in the second. Kew came out of his corner throwing punches from all angles. He landed a good left to the body and a few seconds later a terrific left follow-up to the chin. Cooper went down in a heap and at ‘six’ tried to rise, but his eyes were glassy and he could not make it. For Cooper, it was a tragedy. He damaged his left hand in the first round. ‘I hit him on the top of his head,’ Cooper told me after the bout” (Boxing News 12- 2-53:16).
Dec. 2 - Having trouble with his weight, Cooper abandoned the light- heavyweight ranks and moved up to heavyweight (Boxing News 12-2-53:16).

1954

Feb. 19 - “Cooper will not be able to take part in this season’s [A.B.A.] championships owing to a hand injury [suffered when he lost to Kew in November]. His hand, although not broken, is still badly puffed with painful fluid under the surface” (Boxing News 2-19-54:15).
July 29 - Signed a pro contract (Boxing News 7-16-54:1).