Sir Henry Cooper has died aged 76

• British heavyweight boxer dies at his son’s home in Surrey • ‘A true warrior and great human being,’ says David Haye Sir Henry Cooper, who will always be remembered for flooring Muhammad Ali, has died aged 76. Cooper, who was knighted in 2000, is best remembered for two famous clashes with Ali in the 1960s. He floored Ali in the fourth round with “Enry’s Ammer” – his trademark left hook – but Ali eventually won the 1963 non-title fight at Wembley. Ali triumphed again when they boxed three years later but Cooper remained a favourite with the British public. Alongside Frank Bruno, Tommy Farr and Lennox Lewis, he is regarded as one of the best all-time British heavyweights. The former British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight champion fought 55 times but never won a world title and retired in 1971 after losing to Joe Bugner. Tributes began to pour in on Sunday night for the London-born Cooper, who died at his son’s house at Oxted, Surrey, two days before his 77th birthday. David Haye, the British WBA world heavyweight champion, tweeted: “One of Britain’s greatest sports man Sir Henry Cooper passed away today. A true warrior and great human being. Rest in Peace.” Robert Smith, the general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control, described Cooper as “one of the sporting icons, not just for the boxing public but sport in general”. Speaking to Sky Sports News, Smith said: “He fought Muhammad Ali twice, once when he was Cassius Clay and once when he was Muhammad Ali, and he put up wonderful performances. “Ali is possibly the greatest athlete there’s ever been and Henry put up a great performance and just wasn’t quite good enough on both occasions – but he’s not the only one who wasn’t good enough to beat Ali. “Ali was one of the first ‘big’ heavyweights and Henry lost to Joe Bugner, who was 15-odd stone and Henry was 14 – just bigger men. For such a small man, he put up some great performances in a world-class context.” On the affection in which Cooper was held he said: “It’s not just the boxing and your ability, it’s the personality as well. He won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year on two occasions, which is a tremendous feat for a boxer. Everyone called him ‘Our Enry’ and he was much loved, he served boxing wonderfully.” Johnny Nelson, the former WBO cruiserweight world champion, told Sky Sports News: “Henry was a total champion. He was always a gentleman, always straight down the line. He told it how it was. “Ali always showed that bit of respect for Henry Cooper. He was a no-nonsense fighter, the man that almost dethroned one of the greatest fighters in the world, Muhammad Ali. There’s nobody that came across Sir

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