As we all know both are two tough journeymen that when not fighting D level opponents were known to face the best prospects in the game. Often lasting a good few rounds and earning their dollar. The journeyman is something boxing can not live without, he is a man who knows his job. A "journeyman" is a boxer who has little or no expectation of winning his fights, thus he is said to be "along for the journey". They are generally competent boxers who possess solid boxing skills and/or the ability to absorb punishment. Often they were aspiring novices or even prospects, but were defeated and found to have limitations which relegated them to the role of journeyman.
Zack Page Just got ripped off against Tom Dallas over in the UK. I know Zack personally. Giving that he would fight People at his level he would smash them, but the guy gets thrown to the Wolves. He is tough, but never was giving The chance to work his way up the ladder. Not that he would have came close to a World Champion status or anything but at least have a respectable record!
Henry Cooper was in no way shape or form a journey man. The guy was the number one heavyweight in Europe for years and the number one in Britain for even more years. Had he come along a few years earlier who knows he may have been champ and if there was 4 belts back then he certainly would have been.
Yes but winning a European title back then in the micky mouse Soviet era was a piece of **** really. Britain, France and half of Germany were the only Nations that were able to produce any sort of heavyweight. In this golden era of European heavyweight boxing would a chancer Journey man like Cooper really win a European title? Let's look at some of the names out there he would have had to face. Lewis W. Klitschko V. Klitschko Povetkin Adamek Valuev Maskaev Chagaev Helenius Lykovich Haye Dimitrenko Pulev Mormeck Boytsov Ibraimov Ustinov A-Force Sosnowski Pianeta Price Fury Greber Chisora Wach Glazkov Bakhtov Bydenko Wolfgramn Schulz Hoffman As you can see Cooper wouldn't be able to do much in this era at European level. The real question in regards to Cooper is what could he have done at British and Irish level in this World class Euro level? Lewis Haye Hide Williams Fury A-Force Fury Rogan Price Chisora Sexton Skelton Sprott The way I see it, against prime versions of the above the only fights there that Cooper stands a chance against are Sprott, Sexton, Skelton and Rogan.
Thos are modern Heavyweights that are all over 230 pounds, Cooper in his prime was less then 190 pounds he can't possibly be compared to super heavys like that. Despite this however Cooper was smaller then most of his opponents anyway and beat them with sheer force of will. Therefor with modern training to utilize his size disadvatage he would have beaten many more on that list then just Sprott, Sexton, Skelton and Rogan
Of course we can match him up, if hypothetically Coop had of turned pro as a heavy in this era those are the names that he would have had to face at Euro level at some stage. Unlucky for Coop this just so happens to be the strongest European era of boxing ever.