British boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper dies at 76

Written By DNA Web Team | Updated:

Cooper had fought with Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, twice, the first one in 1963 at Wembley Stadium.

British boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper has died at the age of 76 at his son’s house at Oxted in Surrey.

Cooper, who was affectionately known as 'Our Enry', had fought with Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, twice, the first one in 1963 at Wembley Stadium, the Daily Mail reports.

Ali said several decades later that Cooper "had hit him so hard that his ancestors in Africa felt it".

Cooper fought Clay in 1966 for the second time.

He was the first to win the 'BBC Sports Personality of the Year' award twice in 1967 and 1970, and one of only three two-time winners in the award’s history, along with Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill.

He became a familiar face on television following his retirement and became one of the team captains on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport for a number of years.

Despite being successful, Cooper never won a world title and retired at the age of 36 years in 1971 after losing to Joe Bugner, a year after being awarded with the BBC Sports Personality award.