The boxing world was in mourning last night after hearing that Sir Henry Cooper has died at the aged of 76.
Cooper, a former British heavyweight champion, died just two days before his 77th birthday. He passed away at his son's house at Oxted in Surrey.
Sir Henry, who was knighted in 2000, is best remembered for two famous clashes with Muhammad 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.
Robert Smith, general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control, paid tribute to Cooper and described him as ''one of the sporting icons, not just for the boxing public but sport in general".
Smith added: "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 added: "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, said: "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. Everybody in Britain – be proud of what he achieved and what he actually did.
"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 Henry that had a bad word for him."
The Sun's experienced boxing writer Colin Hart looked back on the most famous nights of Cooper's career and said: "He was more famous than anything else for putting Cassius Clay on his backside with that great left hook of his at Wembley. That was Ali in his prime.
"I'm sure Ali will shed a tear when he hears the news," the journalist added. "I was very lucky, I covered a lot of Ali's career and whenever I arrived, his first question was always: 'How's Henry Cooper?'. That rapport and friendship were never broken."
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