The best British boxer to never win a world title?

None of them.
Jim Driscoll
Owen Moran
Dave Charnley

 

Not really world class,imo.

 

If a fighter is not a top, top contender for a world title and doesn't stand a good chance of becoming the champion then I don't see how he can be regarded as world class.

That's why I don't consider Cooper to have been a world class fighter.

He never came close to winning a world title and was flattened by both Patterson and Johansson.

Yes, he knocked Ali down but I think far too much has been made of that, especially the immediate aftermath and the ridiculous myths that have developed around it, which even Cooper himself started to believe.

 

What did he have against your capital city? Why wasnt he as offensive against Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle , Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh or Liverpool???

LOL jokes aside, you are right..plus he had Ali knocked out in their first fight...

 

If that's how you see it, I suppose that makes sense.

Do remember that I made no mention of his first encounter with Ali, as I agree with your statement. Muhammad wasn't even Muhammad then- He was extremely green, showing off, and got caught bad during such against the more experienced fighter.

 

Im adding another one: Tony Sibson.

 

Cooper was only an offense in London, as his forehead reflected much of the sunlight into citizens eyes. Everywhere else, he wore a cap.

 

NO HE DIDN'T.

 

The jokes are supposed to stop when you say 'jokes aside'.

 

Nah, not really.

 

Of course he didn’t have Ali knocked out.

 

We can argue all day about whether Henry Cooper was a World class fighter or not but early in 1958 he outpointed Zora Folley who in the annual The Ring rankings was rated Number 2.

After that he defeated to former World title challengers in Brian London and Roy Harris as well wins over solid fighters Joe Erskine and Alex Mitteff.

Folley blasted Cooper in 2 in the return for quite an emphatic win for a fighter not noted for his power but Cooper rebouned again with 2 good performanes vs Ali, undefeated at Euro and British level but the suffered crushing loss to Patterson and listless point losses to Roger Rischer and Amos Johnson.

In 1968 he scored a one sided win over former World title challenger Karl Mildenberger (and reigning Euro champ) who was rated Number 9 in the The Ring Annual rankings for 1967.

He scored two more European title fights defences (dropped all his titles because the BBBC wouldn´t sanction a World title shot vs Jimmy Ellis) and then hammered undefeated Spanish puncher Jose Manuel Urtain for the European title again.

I don´t know Urtain´s ranking but in those days holding a European title usually got you an automatic top ten ranking then one could assume he was ranked plus there was talk of a possible Frazier-Urtain title fight in Madrid had he beaten the ancient Cooper.

All in all Cooper was a World ranked fighter through most of his career from at least 1958.

 

lmao!

 

Basically, he did..

 

lol I love what you did there!