"Brian London Brian Sidney Harper (born 19 June 1934), known professionally as Brian London, is an English retired heavyweight boxer. He was the British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion from 1958 to 1959, and twice challenged for the world heavyweight title, losing to Floyd Patterson in 1959 and Muhammad Ali in 1966, both times via knockout. He was one of a quartet of British boxers, with Henry Cooper, Joe Erskine, and Dick Richardson, who dominated the British boxing scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s. An orthodox fighter, London was 6 feet tall and fought at about 14 stone 9 pounds (205"
"Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was an English heavyweight boxer. Cooper held the British, Commonwealth, and European heavyweight titles several times throughout his career, and unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight championship in 1966. Following his retirement from the sport, Cooper continued his career as a television and radio personality; he was the first (and is today one of four people) to twice win the public vote for BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and is thus far the only boxer to be awarded a knighthood. Cooper was born on 3 May"
"was the subject of ""This Is Your Life"" in 1970 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Thames Television's Euston Road Studios. Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was an English heavyweight boxer. Cooper held the British, Commonwealth, and European heavyweight titles several times throughout his career, and unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight championship in 1966. Following his retirement from the sport, Cooper continued his career as a television and radio personality; he was the first (and is today one of four people) to twice win the public vote for BBC Sports"
"meantime Henry Cooper had defeated Brian London to take the British and Commonwealth titles from him. On 17 November 1959, Erskine fought Cooper for both titles, having beaten him on their two previous meetings. The bout was held at the Earls Court Arena, London. Cooper won the fight on a technical knockout. Cooper, who was renowned for the power of his left hook, floored Erskine twice with terrific left hooks and Erskine was hanging almost unconscious over the lower rope when the referee stopped the bout. On 21 March 1961, Erskine fought Cooper again for the two titles, this time"
"victim of a mis-match. When promoters were trying to match Cooper with Sonny Liston, Wicks said: ""I would not allow 'Enery into the same room as him, let alone the same ring."" Henry Cooper represented Great Britain as a light heavyweight boxer at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Here are his results from that event: Henry was at one time the British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight champion. His early title challenges were unsuccessful, losing to Joe Bygraves for the Commonwealth belt (KO 9), Ingemar Johansson for the European belt (KO 5), and Joe Erskine (PTS 15) for the British and Commonwealth."
"Lonsdale Belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club, intending it to be awarded to British boxing champions. Freddie Welsh won the first Lonsdale Belt in 1909 after winning the NSC British Lightweight title. Heavyweight Henry Cooper was the first boxer to win three Lonsdale Belts during his 17-year professional career. In 1929 the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) assumed responsibility for awarding the belt, which continues to be awarded"
"Gary Cooper (boxer) Gary Cooper (born 31 May 1957) is a British former boxer who was British light middleweight champion in 1988. Born in Hythe, Cooper was trained by Jack Bishop in Southampton, and turned professional in 1978. After winning five and drawing two of his first seven fights, he suffered his first defeat in October 1979 at the hands of future British and Commonwealth welterweight champion Lloyd Hibbert. Between 1980 and 1982 he had six fights, losing to Jimmy Cable and twice to Cliff Gilpin. Copper was out of the ring for over two years, returning in December 1984"
"an astonishing first-round knockout. The bout was held in Dortmund. Mildenberger would fight Muhammad Ali for the world title several years later. Richardson’s fourth defence of his title was in June 1962, against the hard-punching Swede, Ingemar Johansson. Johansson had been world heavyweight champion after beating Floyd Patterson, but had subsequently lost the title to Patterson in June 1960. The bout was held in Gothenburg, Sweden in front of 50,000 spectators, and Richardson was knocked out in the eighth round. Richardson’s last fight was in March 1963, when Henry Cooper defended his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles against him at"
"Harris at Wembley on points. In his first defence of the title in September he was beaten on points by Gary Stretch. Cooper's final fight came in March 1989, a win over future British champion and world title challenger Ensley Bingham. Gary Cooper (boxer) Gary Cooper (born 31 May 1957) is a British former boxer who was British light middleweight champion in 1988. Born in Hythe, Cooper was trained by Jack Bishop in Southampton, and turned professional in 1978. After winning five and drawing two of his first seven fights, he suffered his first defeat in October 1979 at the"
"match was scheduled for 15 rounds, the first time Bygraves had contested a fight of this length. The bout went the distance, with the judges declaring Bygraves the victor, and new Commonwealth champion. Bygraves lost his next fight to American Wayne Bethea, and this was followed by a win over another ex-British Heavyweight champion, Johnny Williams. His first title defence was on 19 February 1957, against Henry Cooper. The fight is regarded as one of Bygraves best of his career, stopping Cooper via technical knockout in the ninth round. Just three months later, Bygraves defended the Commonwealth belt again, on"
"for £22,000. The others sold for £10,000 each. Cooper was expecting £70,000 for the sale but was content they all were all sold together. Heavyweight boxer, Henry Cooper is the only man ever to win three Lonsdale belts outright. Lonsdale Belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club, intending it to be awarded to British boxing champions. Freddie Welsh won the first Lonsdale Belt in 1909 after winning the NSC British"
"affectionately known in the UK as ""Our 'Enery"". He started his boxing career in 1949, as an amateur with the Eltham Amateur Boxing Club, and won seventy-three of eighty-four contests. At the age of seventeen, he won the first of two ABA light-heavyweight titles and, before serving in the Army for his two years' National Service, represented Britain in the 1952 Olympics (outpointed in the second stage by Russian Anatoli Petrov). Henry and his twin brother, George (boxing under the name Jim Cooper) turned professional together under the management of Jim Wicks. Wicks never allowed his boxer to be the"
"Johnny Prescott Johnny ""Playboy"" Prescott (20 August 1938 — 11 November 2012 (aged 74)) born in Birmingham was an English professional cruiser/heavyweight boxer of the 1960s and '70s, who won the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) Midlands Area heavyweight title, and was a challenger for the BBBofC British heavyweight title, and British Commonwealth heavyweight title against Henry Cooper, the outdoor bout at Birmingham City's St Andrew's stadium was postponed for a day because of bad weather, his professional fighting weight varied from , i.e. cruiserweight to , i.e. heavyweight, he died in Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield. Johnny Prescott"
"Liverpool in 1952. After winning the Empire featherweight championship, he won the world crown by defeating French Algerian Cherif Hamia in Paris in 1957. He lost the title to US fighter Davey Moore on 18 March 1959. Other opponents include Billy ""Spider"" Kelly, Percy Lewis, Tommy Profitt, Sammy McCarthy, Ricardo Moreno, and Willie Pep. In 1959 he was awarded the MBE following his world title win and went on to become a coach in Nigeria, which awarded him the country's highest honour in 1973. He died on 26 January 1998 at his home in Apapa, Lagos. Hogan Bassey Hogan ""Kid"""
"the then unbeaten Jack Petersen to become the British Heavyweight champion. He then went on to beat Canada's Larry Gains to become British Empire champion, but lost both titles in a rematch with Petersen being stopped in the 12th round on cuts. Harvey then went on to fight for the world title on 9 November 1936, but was beaten on points by John Henry Lewis. He then regained the British Heavyweight title by disqualification against old foe Eddie Phillips. In 1938 John Henry Lewis retired after developing eye problems, Harvey was then matched with another old foe Jock McAvoy for"
"a revenge win against Willie Pastrano, by a technical knockout in the fifth round. On 12 January 1959, London lost his titles in a fight against Henry Cooper, losing for the second time to the Londoner by a points decision after fifteen rounds. In May 1959 he was given the chance of a world title fight against current champion Floyd Patterson, but he lost the bout in Indianapolis by a knockout in the eleventh. He also lost to the Cuban Nino Valdez later that year, by a technical knockout in the seventh. However, in January 1960, London bounced back when"
"attempt at the British light-heavyweight title when he fought Ron Barton for the vacant title. The fight at Harringay Arena ended with Barton winning by a technical knockout in the eighth round. This was his last title fight. He continued fighting, with mixed success. One notable victory was a win by disqualification against Jim Cooper, Henry Cooper's twin brother, in Stockholm. He had his last fight in March 1958, losing by a knockout in the third round against Noel Trigg. After his retirement he worked at a meat market in Croydon and was active in assisting youthful boxers. He died"
"and Andy Murray in 2013, 2015, and 2016). Cooper was given the award in 1967 for going unbeaten throughout the year. His second award came in 1970, when Cooper had become the British, Commonwealth, and European heavyweight champion. He is the only British boxer to win three Lonsdale Belts outright. Cooper was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1969, awarded a Papal Knighthood in 1978, and was knighted in 2000. He is also celebrated as one of the great Londoners in the ""London Song"" by Ray Davies on his 1998 album ""The Storyteller"". He"
"Cockell. He beat fellow Welshman, Johnny Williams on points in a fifteen-round fight at the Maindy Stadium, Cardiff. On 17 September 1957, he added the British Empire (Commonwealth) heavyweight title, when he beat Henry Cooper for the second time. The fight was at Harringay Arena over fifteen rounds, and was won on points. He successfully defended his British Empire (Commonwealth) against Jamaican-born heavyweight Joe Bygraves on 25 November 1957, again winning over fifteen rounds on points. On 21 February 1958, he unsuccessfully fought for the European heavyweight title against Ingemar Johansson, in Gothenburg, Sweden, losing on a technical knockout in"
"and Willie Pastrano. Erskine was a small heavyweight who outmaneuvered rather than overpowered his opponents. Angelo Dundee who saw his prospect Pastrano defeated by Erskine said he was surprised by his skill – further remarking that if Erskine had been just a bit bigger he could have been a world beater. On 15 December 1955, Erskine had his first fight against Henry Cooper, at Harringay Arena, in an eliminator for the British heavyweight title, and won the ten-round fight on points. On 27 August 1956, Erskine won the British heavyweight title, which had been vacated by the retirement of Don"
"with Folley by a second-round KO. Cooper twice fought Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay), firstly in a non-title fight in 1963 at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park. Ali's mobility, fast reflexes, and unorthodox defensive tactic of pulling back from punches made him a frustratingly elusive opponent. In the final seconds of the fourth round, Cooper felled Ali with an upward angled version of his trademark left hook, ""Enry's 'Ammer"". Ali stood up and started towards Angelo Dundee who guided him into the corner. At first Dundee talked and slapped Ali's legs, but after Ali misunderstood and tried to get"
"heavyweight categories, which was not reflective of the rest of the United Kingdom. The notable exceptions to this were the Dick Richardson of Newport and Joe Erskine from Cardiff, who, along with England's Henry Cooper and Brian London formed a quartet of promising British heavyweights during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The final decade of the twentieth century saw four Welshmen take World Championship titles. Steve Robinson became the WBO Featherweight Champion in 1993, followed by Robbie Regan (WBO World Bantamweight) in 1996, Barry Jones (WBO World Super-Featherweight) and Joe Calzaghe (WBO Super Middleweight), both in 1997. The first"
"of the sport to the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), which started to issue the Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt in 1936. Lonsdale consented to the use of his name and image on the belt in perpetuity; an image of his face remains on it. In 1939 the last 9-carat gold belt was launched by the BBBofC. In 1939 the last 9-carat gold belt was launched by the BBBofC, won by the lightweight Eric Boon that year. The last 9-carat gold belt was won outright by Henry Cooper in 1959. Belts made from 1945 are composed of hallmarked silver and"
"was the first Olympic gold medalist to win a professional heavyweight title. After a series of defenses against fringe contenders (Hurricane Jackson, Pete Rademacher, Roy Harris, and Brian London), Patterson met Ingemar Johansson of Sweden, the number one contender, in the first of three fights. Johansson triumphed over Patterson on June 26, 1959, with the referee Ruby Goldstein stopping the fight in the third round after the Swede had knocked Patterson down seven times. Johansson became Sweden's first World Heavyweight Champion, thus becoming a national hero as the first European to defeat an American for the title since 1933. Patterson"
"started the 5th round aggressively, attempting to make good on his advantage, but a recovered Ali effectively countered and Cooper was hit high on the face with a hard right which opened a severe cut under his eye. Referee Tommy Little was forced to stop the fight, and thus Ali defeated Cooper by technical knockout. After this fight, a spare pair of gloves was always required at ringside. On the 40th anniversary of the fight, Ali telephoned Cooper to reminisce. In 1966 Cooper fought Ali, now world heavyweight champion, for a second time at Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. However, Ali was"
"become the heaviest world champion in history, weighing as high as 328Ibs during his reign. Carnera still ranks as the second-heaviest, over eighty years after he held the title. Carnera's 1933 title defense against Paulino Uzcudun in Italy was the first Heavyweight title fight to be held in Europe since Jack Johnson's title defence against Frank Moran in Paris in 1913. It would be the last such occasion until Muhammad Ali defended the title against Henry Cooper in London in 1966. Carnera-Uzcudun was the first World Heavyweight championship fight to be contested between two Europeans. It was not until Lennox"
"he won 31 (24 on knock-outs), and lost 14 (4 on knock-outs). Two of his bouts were drawn. Dick Richardson (boxer) Dick Richardson (1 June 1934 – 15 July 1999) was a heavyweight boxer from the Maesglas area of Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales. He held the European heavyweight title from March 1960 to June 1962. In all, he won 31 of his 47 professional bouts, losing 14, with two drawn. He was one of a quartet of outstanding British heavyweights in the 1950s and early 1960s, along with Henry Cooper, Joe Erskine and Brian London, who held out the possibility of"
"a world title shot despite winning the NABF belt and defeating Olympic gold medallist Henry Tillman and future world champion Tyrone Booze, he began boxing in the heavyweight division, knocking out Willie DeWitt in 2 rounds but being stopped in 8 rounds by No. 1 ranked heavyweight contender Carl ""The Truth"" Williams and in 2 rounds by George Foreman. In 1990, having failed to secure a cruiserweight world title fight, Cooper moved to heavyweight permanently, knocking out top 5-ranked Orlin Norris and claiming his NABF title. He lost the title in his first defense, outpointed over 12 by undefeated Olympic"
"Muhammad Ali vs. Henry Cooper Muhammad Ali and Henry Cooper fought two boxing matches with each other. Their first match took place on 18 June 1963 and the second on 21 May 1966. Ali won both matches.The first fight was stopped by the referee in the fifth round, and the second in the sixth round. Both fights were stopped after Cooper started bleeding excessively. The first Ali-Cooper bout is remembered for being one of the four fights in which Ali was officially knocked down in the ring by his boxing opponent. After a close victory over Doug Jones, Ali's management"
"Harry Gibbs (referee) Harry Gibbs OBE (1920–1999) was an English boxing referee and judge. In a career spanning four decades, Gibbs took charge of numerous world title fights, and officiated in bouts involving Muhammad Ali, Roberto Durán, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Thomas Hearns, Mike Tyson, Barry McGuigan and Joe Frazier. He was the referee and sole judge of the fight between Henry Cooper and Joe Bugner in 1971, awarding the fight to Bugner by a quarter of a point, which remains one of the most controversial decisions in British boxing history. His name was put forward to be"
"by Graham Chapman). Jack Bodell Jack Bodell (11 August 1940 – 9 November 2016) was an English professional boxer, active during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, Bodell started out as a light heavyweight, winning the 1961 ABA championships and a bronze medal at the European amateur championships the same year. He won the British heavyweight championship in 1969, before losing it to Henry Cooper in his first defence. Bodell regained the title a year later by out-pointing Joe Bugner. He lost the European title in 1971 after a defeat by Spaniard José Manuel Urtaín, and after losing"
"replied with an impressive combination of blows, decking him, and chaos broke out. As a result of the incident, London was fined by the British Boxing Board of Control. In October 1961, London lost to the American, Eddie Machen by a technical knockout in the tenth, and in April 1963, he lost to the Swede, Ingemar Johansson on points over twelve rounds. He fought Henry Cooper for the third time in February 1964, when he challenged for his British and Commonwealth titles, as well as the vacant European title. The fight took place in Manchester, and Cooper won on points"
"Harry Corbett (boxer) Henry William Coleman (13 January 1904 – 6 May 1957), better known as Harry Corbett, was an English boxer who was British featherweight champion between 1928 and 1929, and also fought for titles at bantamweight and lightweight. From Bethnal Green, Coleman began his professional career in September 1921, initially at bantamweight and under the name 'Young Corbett' (in tribute to his hero, Gentleman Jim Corbett, later settling on 'Harry Corbett'), beating Barney Brown and Jack Landon on consecutive days. His first eight fights included four wins and four defeats (one to Harry Mason). He won his next"