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Cooper did it the hard way - Bunce

Sir Henry Cooper had a war with Joe Bugner in 1971 that is still talked about today © PA Photos

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Sir Henry Cooper should be remembered for so much more than his defeats to Muhammad Ali and Joe Bugner, according to ESPN's Steve Bunce.

Cooper died aged 76 on Sunday, with his death leading to a string of tributes from the great and the good of boxing.

The Londoner is undoubtedly the most popular Brit ever to step into a ring and he will be remembered for putting Ali on the seat of his pants with a stunning left hand in 1963. He went on to lose a second fight to Ali in 1966, but his career was about so much more.

"It is a pity that people only remember the two Ali defeats and the Bugner defeat," Bunce said. "If you look back at his record he beat some world-class fighters in world-class performances.

"He was not Britain's best boxer, but was certainly Britain's most popular."

Cooper lost a controversial bout to Bugner in 1971, after a brutal 15 rounds, and he never fought again. Many felt his come-forward style was enough to claim victory but with no judges, the fight was scored by referee Harry Gibbs and he awarded the win to Bugner by a narrow margin.

It is a defeat that angered Cooper to the end, as Bunce continued: "It was a shame that towards the end he got a bit bitter towards the sport and individuals inside the sport.

"He was angry to the end with Joe Bugner and angry to the end with Harry Gibbs, the referee in the controversial 1971 fight.

"I made a film with Bugner and Cooper in 2008 and it was the only time they did an interview together to talk about their fight. Bugner was their waiting when I walked in with Cooper and gave him a hug. Cooper never put his arms around him. You could sense the hostility and the hate and that was 37 years later."

Cooper lost six of his first 20 fights and pulled himself up the ranks through hard work and determination.

"He hated modern boxers and he hated modern boxing and he hated them for an understandable reason," Bunce said. "He had fought his way from absolute obscurity, people forget this. He lost six of his first 20 fights. He was not the beneficiary of easy match-making and promotional protection. It did not happen back then. Back then fighters were washed up and spat out and some ended extremely poor. Henry felt modern fighters were lacking something."

Cooper may have been smarting about his defeat in the ring, but he did exact a semblance of revenge on Bugner.

"It is a little-known fact that Cooper got his revenge in a sporting contest over Joe Bugner," Bunce said. "They both swam the Channel, both in a pair of tight Y-fronts, and Cooper won."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.