Could Henry Cooper have fought at LHW?

[Mctaggert]

I occasionally watch the odd Henry Cooper fight and I have a sneaking suspicion that he could have made 175lbs on a regular basis. In a documentary I saw the other day it said that Cooper was actually 2 stone lighter than Ali - which to me puts him easily in realm of LHW.

The question in my mind is could the likes of Bob Foster take Coopers left hook? To me Henry Cooper would have been an incredibly dangerous and feared LHW fighter - whose left hand would splatter a lot of the guys fighting at the time and if time machines existed - even today.

I am the first to admit that my boxing knowledge is nothing compared to many here, but could Henry Cooper have turned an average heavyweight career into an excellent LHW career if he had dropped down in his prime?

[Primo Carnera]

No doubt he could've made LHW, but I think the stark reality was that there was no money to be made at that weight. Not necessarily because of the lack of opposition, but more because LHW was always seen as a "Cinderella division". I think Foster came at the end of Henry's time , and even if he had fought and beat him (which is not a given, Foster was an ATG LHW.), he probably would've still made more money fighting Ali, London, Bugner later on and even being a sparring partner to the top HW's .
He would never have become the face of BRUT by being LHW World champ.

[El Kabong]

How would Henry Cooper have done vs...

Rocky Marciano
Jack Dempsey
Bob Foster
Michael Spinks


I'm just wondering. He would no doubt be elated with British boxing today, lots of bright stars and young talent.

[Master]

How would Henry Cooper have done vs...

Rocky Marciano
Jack Dempsey
Bob Foster
Michael Spinks


I'm just wondering. He would no doubt be elated with British boxing today, lots of bright stars and young talent.

Cooper would have lost to all of them at their best weights. Cooper had a monster left hook but he was easily cut and knocked out by the best fighters.

[erics44]

How would Henry Cooper have done vs...

Rocky Marciano
Jack Dempsey
Bob Foster
Michael Spinks


I'm just wondering. He would no doubt be elated with British boxing today, lots of bright stars and young talent.

Cooper would have lost to all of them at their best weights. Cooper had a monster left hook but he was easily cut and knocked out by the best fighters.

Cooper would have smashed them all

[Master]

How would Henry Cooper have done vs...

Rocky Marciano
Jack Dempsey
Bob Foster
Michael Spinks


I'm just wondering. He would no doubt be elated with British boxing today, lots of bright stars and young talent.

Cooper would have lost to all of them at their best weights. Cooper had a monster left hook but he was easily cut and knocked out by the best fighters.

Cooper would have smashed them all

Cooper was regularly knocked out by the top fighters and these guys were top fighters.

Cooper may have had a chance if he was heavyweight the Foster and Spinks were light heavyweight but even then I think he may lose.