How Badly Hurt Was Ali, Against Cooper?

I agree with you and Fergy - Ali hangs on and sees the round out.

 

He was hurt but there was zero way he was not going to get up and rip Cooper.

 

I rang the BBOC and asked the present Chairman when they were banned,he didn't know.
I was at the Mildenberger fight ,didnt know the German was given salts,Mildenberger was using his head a lot and was not in the best of shape.

 

According to this piece by Peter Wilson, the BBBoC brought in a blanket ban on all "stimulants other than water" in 1951.

https://ibb.co/KLX2BxR

It doesn't follow of course that Ali could have been disqualified - fighters aren't thrown out for a single breach of a little-known local rule. Karl Mildenberger and Jose Napoles are two examples of foreign fighters who were spotted using smelling salts during fights in Britain, and they were just told to knock it off.

https://ibb.co/V2Zyg9s
https://ibb.co/N78GNXP

 

Unless you had a great finisher...than things COULD have turned out differently! Folks that have been following the boxing scene for years will say..."if 185lb Cooper could nail his ass and knock him down...then ATG's Marciano...Louis...or Jack Dempsey couldn't have put him away?". He was NOT unhittable...

 

Henry Cooper’s left hook could have put ANY heavyweight fighter who’s ever lived on his ass, including Marciano, if he landed it just right. His problem is he was 20 pounds too light and bled like a butchered hog if anyone looked at him

 

There were three infractions...the smelling salts, the ripping of the glove, and Dundee guiding Ali back to the corner. Minimize them all you like, that is the way it happened.

 

Honestly, flame away if you will, but I think 63 years after the fact, people who have no use for Ali are still looking for something that coulda woulda shoulda kept him from happening.

He happened. You can’t change that. And IMO he was the heavyweight GOAT.

 

While I believe that Muhammad Ali was hurt, he was also embarrassed on the night of June 18 1963 against Henry Cooper in their first bout. Ali had been showboating for the local media in London, referring to Cooper as a Bum and a Cripple. Early on Ali began to toy with Cooper, making him look amateurish at times as Ali used his height and reach advantage to make Henry miss at times. But in round 4 with Ali suffering from a bloody nose, Ali chose to continue playing with Cooper until that left hook from a determined Cooper landed and deposited Ali on the seat of his behind. Of course there is the story about the cut glove between rounds, giving Ali extra time as the search was on for a new glove. Ali went on to stop Cooper in the next round due to a lacerated eyebrow. This fact played a major role in their May 21 1966 rematch as Ali entered the rematch as champion, he was very respectful of Henry Cooper's big left hook, went on to stop Henry again in round 6 due to a very severe bloody gash that would later require 14 sutures to close, the difference this time, no knockdown, Ali had learned his lesson from the 1963 match.

 

I consider it about equivalent to Galento knocking down Louis, accidents happen

 

The glove was already coming apart at the seam at the base of the thumb,the few seconds that ensured meant nothing,they just gave Danny Holland longer to work on Cooper's cuts.

 

No important damages suffered by Ali.

The better question would be "How badly hurt was Ali against Shavers".

 

He was as hurt as we've seen him on film. He certainly didn't know where he was when the bell rang ... I do not know if Cooper had what it took to finish him if it happened early in a round but it did show that a 185 pound man hit hard enough to put a great chin like Ali on ***** Street if landed ...

 

I have read Dundee himself talking about how he intentionally ripped it to give Ali more time, so...

 

I know you’ve claimed it before Catch but that is not true that Ali was guided back to his corner.

Ali got back under his own steam and senses. His corner simply jumped into the ring to receive him - you can see Cooper’s corner do exactly the same thing in one of the earlier rounds - very standard, nothing illegal.

If Dundee did worsen a small existing tear as Angelo later claimed, then that is illegal - glove tampering. It’s also never mentioned that a torn glove could lend itself to a possible cutting of the opponent.

Dundee was also prone to telling white lies IF he thought that the net perception would promote his savvy as cornerman - remember, Dundee also claimed up to 3-4 mins were gained between rounds - the reality was that the the 5th round was only delayed by about 6 seconds.

The salts. They were deemed illegal in the UK per a rule going back to 1951. Apparently the real world treatment was that fighters/corners copped a warning first if caught using same.

Cooper himself said that he didn’t blame Ali’s corner for using the salts - adding that his corner would’ve done same for him if necessary. That would seem to perhaps imply that Henry’s corner at least had salts on hand themselves.