A lot of people seem to overlook that Ali wasn`t landing that much v Cooper until the cut, and was struggling to land without getting countered, did Ali lose any rounds in this rematch?
I'm not sure about the score card s here but I don't think Cooper ever gave Ali an easy ride. OK, Ali was miles above Henry but Cooper did seem be having little moments of success . But of course, once Henry's cuts opened up then there was only one way this fight was going to end.
The referee was the sole judge and I don't think anyone knows what his score was. The Associated Press actually had it even after five rounds, but what's significant is they scored the first two for Cooper, called the third even, and gave the fourth and fifth to Ali. It wasn't uncommon for Ali to lose a couple of early rounds by dodging and moving while throwing very few punches of his own. What sets Cooper apart from other opponents during this period is he's the one whose face burst open like a water balloon at the first hard blow to the temple so we never got a chance to see how the fight would have developed.
"Boxing Illustrated" wrote that the referee had it even at the time of the stoppage, but how should they know as the referees scorecard were secret in Britain at that time.
