Henry Cooper shocked the world when he knocked down Muhammad Ali in Wembley Stadium, but the big hit came slightly too late to win the fight.
Muhammad Ali famously predicted that he’d beat Henry Cooper in the fifth round of their 1963 fight, which he managed with a TKO win in London.
However, “The Greatest” had a scare in the fourth round when he was knocked down by Cooper’s trademark left hook, affectionately nicknamed ‘Enry’s ‘Ammer by the press in England.
Ali was knocked against the ropes before carefully falling to the mat. He managed to survive and cut Cooper enough to end the fight in the next round, but the Englishman thinks he would have won had he hit that hook just seconds earlier.
- READ MORE – Muhammad Ali’s biggest payday was his $8 million purse for his devastating final title bout
Henry Cooper thinks Muhammad Ali was saved by the ropes in their 1963 bout
Had he knocked Ali down just a few seconds earlier, Cooper was sure he’d have knocked him out clean in the ring right then and there.
Speaking in the 2009 documentary “Facing Ali”, Cooper was very complimentary of “The Greatest” but was sure that he was close to beating him at Wembley Stadium.
The Englishman noted that had he knocked Ali down just ten seconds earlier, when he was in the middle of the ring and not up against the ropes, he’s sure he would have won the bout and handed Ali his first loss.
Cooper said: “When I caught him with that punch, that was the downfall really. When I caught him with that punch, the ropes let him down gently.
“He went from the top rope to the middle rope to the bottom. Now, if I had caught him, say, 10 seconds earlier in the middle of the ring, he’d have gone down.
“Usually, your shoulders hit the balls (of your shoulder joints), and it whips your head through. That knocks you out a bit more than what the actual punch did. But unfortunately, it didn’t happen. He had a gentle letdown.”
Ali was wary of ‘Enry’s ‘Ammer after that moment, not wanting to get knocked down again by the vicious left hook.
Muhammad Ali didn’t let himself taste ‘Enry’s ‘Ammer in the rematch three years later
In their rematch three years later, Ali was much more tentative and wary of taking another one of Cooper’s big left hooks.
This fight, held in the Arsenal Stadium, more commonly known as Highbury, drew 46,000 fans to see this long-awaited rematch, this time for Ali’s world Heavyweight title.
He kept Cooper at arm’s length for the first three rounds, not wanting to take any big hits from the power puncher.
In the fourth, he let his guard down and let Cooper get closer and closer, although he continued to open up cuts on his head with his constant jabbing.
Just like the first fight, the referee was forced to stop the fight due to Cooper’s cuts and award Ali another stoppage win in London.