How the hell did Henry Cooper nearly stop Ali?

If Walcott's hook was a 7/10 in raw power, Coopers wouldn't be far behind if not the same I'd imagine. Both were nasty shots when they land flush regardless of how much you weigh. Nobody is taking either hook to the jaw and just shrugging it off (especially if they don't see it coming, which is why it affected young Ali so much). When Ali gained more experience, he learned to roll with shots at the last split second and was less cocky respecting his opponent's power.

 

Cooper putting Clay on his ass(Not a disrespect, he was Clay at the time)
is a perfect demonstration of what CAN happen when a fighter is bent on
clowning his opponent, takes him lightly, get's caught with a perfect shot
from that opponent, dropped like he was shot by a shot gun at close range.
Any well trained fighter can drop his opponent if he gets a shot in like that
regardless of weight differences above 180 lbs .
Factor in for whatever reason, Ali was susceptible to the left hook his entire
career, and Coopers powerful, quick , and short left hook it was a recipe for
disaster for Ali. It almost was.
If Ali had the mindset of say Hagler this wouldn't be a topic, because he
had the ability and skillset to get Cooper out of their in 3rds or less .

 

thread closed. I mean this is what it comes down to, any fighter is susceptible to a flash knockdown when they're being absolutely ignorant like Clay was in the fight. Cooper caught him lacking with the timing and power required to put him on the canvas. I don't think anyone can argue Clay was hurt though, not one bit.

 

True, Cooper’s description of events just prior to and including the moment of the KD weren’t entirely accurate.

However, it’s worth noting that Cooper did execute the “set up”‘ he described several time earlier in the round but didn’t land the money punch on those occasions when Ali was backed onto or very near the ropes.

As it was, a pattern was forming. Ali kept circling as Cooper, more often than not, forced the action which did often end near or on the ropes. With the cut eye, Cooper’s efforts were intensified and Henry was really ripping the left hook for all he was worth.

Ultimately, when he landed the hook, Henry did have Ali close to the ropes after Ali took a small step back. I’m sure Ali’s spatial awareness would’ve told him there wasn’t a lot of room left to back up.

I wouldn’t say Cooper was necessarily deceitful since he was successfully forcing Ali back in the manner described earlier in the round.

I will say Henry (and self promoting Dundee) made a great “yarn” out of the time “gained” between rounds 4 and 5 - claiming up to 4 minutes. LOL, the reality was a mere 4 sec delay - a truth that took some years before being irrefutably proven - and even to this day some pundits randomly present the alleged extensive delay as fact.

Perhaps my imagination but was that ring a bit smaller than normal?

 

I too have always maintained that Muhammad Ali was overconfident and clowning when Henry Cooper added some resin shine to the bottom of Ali's trunks on June 18 1963.

 

Cooper was a good boxer & excellent left hook. it is not surprise.
in previous fight Clay struggle to win with against Doug Jones.
the big surprise was Clay come along 8 months after Cooper match to beat Sonny Liston.

 

I think Muhammad was eyeing up Liz Taylor who was at ringside.

 

Yes - during the buildup to the rematch in 66 it was only 30 seconds, but the legend grew over the years.

 

LOL. Imagine how that went down when Ali, wearing that prop crown into the ring, said you gotta Queen, you need a King. I am King!

In a way, to an extent, maybe a blessing in disguise that Henry dumped young Ali. Firstly, a nice wake up call.

Secondly, Liston’s estimation of Ali wasn’t high before that…, likely that much less after the first Cooper fight. Sonny would’ve thought, well yeah, I’ve got a left hook too…..and the rest.

Enter a not so perfectly trained (at least not to go too many rounds) and overly complacent Liston in Miami - not that Sonny was alone in thinking that he would see Ali off in just a few rounds.

Maybe that’s why Ali took such a shine to Ol’ ‘Enry even though Cooper dumped him on his self appointed, royal a**. Ha.

 

Cooper actually fought very well in both fights against Ali even including the second one when Ali was switched on, they were both competitive fights.
Unfortunately Henry’s delicate skin let him down.

 

Foreman did not land the way Cooper did. Otherwise it would have been lights out for Ali.

 

People are saying Ali was clowning around too much vs Cooper which is true, but I think people forget Cooper was still competitive vs Ali in the rematch aswell. I think I had it 3-2 in rounds at the time of the stoppage, so let's give Cooper some credit he gave Ali a good fight both times.

 

No doubt, I would have too. Ha Ha.

 

Agreed. Henry was an awkward customer in both fights. Ali never looked entirely comfortable with him, even as Champ in 66.

 

That May 21 1966 title defense that Muhammad Ali had against Henry Cooper did have some drama to it, the thought of the knockdown on June 18 1963 added to some apprehension on the part of Ali. The fight started with some holding, especially Ali holding Cooper's left hook, but Ali was starting to demonstrate his respect for that damaging left hook. I always believed that Ali was very relieved when the bout was stopped in round 6, Ali could not rile Henry as he did to Floyd Patterson or Sonny Liston, this also worked later on for Joe Frazier to a point in 1971.