Johnny Cooke vs. Stig Walterson
Johnny Cooke 149 lbs beat Stig Waltersson 148 lbs by PTS in round 8 of 8
- Date: 1966-03-18
- Location: Masshallen, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Referee: Bengt Almqvist
Top British Welterweight Johnny Cooke (50 fights in a 6-year career), gave Swedish hope Stig Walterson his first loss in a 8-0-0 career by outpointing him in an 8-rounder.
Walterson was often described as the best stylist ever to come out of a Swedish ring, amateur as well as pro. Before turning pro in 1964, he had to his credit incredibly 5 wins on points over the KO-king Bo Hogberg.
Against Cooke, Walterson was undeniably the best technican. But his lack of punch enabled the rugged Cooke to brush away the left jabs and get close to fight without ever fearing a KO-punch in return. Cooke held a high tempo all through the fight and scored more often than the Swede.
Yet, the Stockholm paper Dagens Nyheter had to conclude that although Cooke won in every way, Walterson's boxing was the best they had ever seen, perhaps in a lifetime.