Muhammad Ali vs. Jean-Pierre Coopman
Date | February 20, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Venue | Roberto Clemente Coliseum, Oriente, San Juan, Puerto Rico | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ali won via fifth round KO (2:46) |
Muhammad Ali and Jean-Pierre Coopman fought a boxing match on February 20, 1976. This was Ali's first boxing bout after Thrilla in Manila, and fifth title defense since 1974. Ali won the fight after knocking out Coopman in the fifth round.[1][2][3][4][5][6] In an interview, Coopman denied claims that he had been drinking champagne before the fight, but confirmed that he had drunk some champagne during the fight to help him move faster and to feel euphoric.[7]
The bout took place in Puerto Rico at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum and was televised in the United States live on CBS to an audience of over 40 million viewers.
The Fight
In the ring during the introduction, Coopman smiled easily while Ali stared at him. In his orange robe with a small black lion over the left breast, Coopman sat on the stool in his corner and appeared to enjoy Ali's attempted psych. But when the bell rang for the first round, the Belgian stopped smiling.
Ali had a 20-pound advantage in weight at 226 over 206 and a five-inch advantage in reach, in addition to his advantage in skill and experience. In the first round, he coughed twice midway through the round, then coughed up his mouthpiece near the end of the round. Ali was recovering from a recent battle with the flu.[citation needed]
Through four rounds, Ali was fighting in a flatfoot stance, peppering Coopman with flurries of punches. In the fifth, the champion started to dance, circling to his left, then to his right, and confusing Coopman with backhand jabs. Then Ali threw a big uppercut.
With a combination of punches, culminated by a right uppercut, the 29-year-old challenger toppled into the ropes. Trying to regain his equilibrium, Coopman wobbled back into the canvas in an apparent delayed reaction from the punch. Coopman was counted out by referee Ismael Quinones-Falu at 2 minutes 46 seconds. The referee and the two judges, Ismael Fernandez and Roberto Ranirez, each had rewarded Ali a 10–9 advantage in points in each of the first four rounds.
Moments later, Coopman was dragged to his corner, with Ali helping. About 20 minutes after the bout, Ali appeared in the interview area, dressed and relaxed.
References
- ^ "Muhammad Ali's ring record". ESPN. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "Muhammad Ali's road show rolls on: A one-nighter in San Juan". Sports Illustrated. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "Flemish boxer pays tribute to Muhammed Ali". Flanders News. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ Stephen Brunt (2002). Facing Ali. The Lyons Press. pp. 251–61.
- ^ Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. pp. 244–46.
- ^ Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali:His Life and Times. Simon & Schuster. pp. 329–32. ISBN 978-0-671-68892-9.
- ^ Stephen Brunt (2002). Facing Ali. The Lyons Press. p. 257.
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- Boxing at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Clay vs. Hunsaker
- Clay vs. Siler
- Clay vs. Esperti
- Clay vs. Robinson
- Clay vs. Fleeman
- Clay vs. Clark
- Clay vs. Sabedong
- Clay vs. Johnson
- Clay vs. Miteff
- Clay vs. Besmanoff
- Clay vs. Banks
- Clay vs. Warner
- Clay vs. Logan
- Clay vs. Daniels
- Clay vs. Lavorante
- Clay vs. Moore
- Clay vs. Powell
- Clay vs. Jones
- Clay vs. Cooper
- Liston vs. Clay
- Ali vs. Liston II
- Ali vs. Patterson
- Ali vs. Chuvalo
- Ali vs. Cooper II
- Ali vs. London
- Ali vs. Mildenberger
- Ali vs. Terrell
- Ali vs. Williams
- Ali vs. Folley
- Ali vs. Quarry
- Ali vs. Bonavena
- Fight of the Century (Frazier vs. Ali I)
- Ali vs. Ellis
- Ali vs. Mathis
- Ali vs. Blin
- Ali vs. M. Foster
- Ali vs. Lewis
- Ali vs. Patterson II
- Ali vs. B. Foster
- Ali vs. Bugner
- Ali vs. Norton
- Norton vs. Ali II
- Ali vs. Lubbers
- Ali vs. Frazier II
- The Rumble in the Jungle (Foreman vs. Ali)
- Ali vs. Wepner
- Ali vs. Lyle
- Thrilla in Manila (Ali vs. Frazier III)
- Ali vs. Coopman
- Ali vs. Young
- Ali vs. Dunn
- Ali vs. Norton III
- Ali vs. Evangelista
- Ali vs. Shavers
- Ali vs. Spinks
- Spinks vs. Ali II
- Holmes vs. Ali
- Ali vs. Berbick
Docu films and series |
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- Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962 film)
- I Am the Greatest (1963 album)
- The Super Fight (1970 film)
- "Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)" (1974 song)
- The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay (1976 album)
- The Greatest (1977 film)
- I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali (1977 animated series)
- Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (1978 comic book)
- Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing (1992 video game)
- Foes of Ali (1995 video game)
- When We Were Kings (1996 film)
- King of the World (2000 TV film)
- Ali: An American Hero (2000 TV film)
- "Muhammad Ali" (2001 song)
- Ali (2001 film)
- "The World's Greatest" (2002 song)
- One Night in Miami (2013 play)
- Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013 TV film)
- Approaching Ali (2013 opera)
- One Night in Miami... (2020 film)
associates
- Chuck Bodak (trainer, cutman)
- Angelo Dundee (cornerman)
- Drew Bundini Brown (trainer, cornerman)
- Ferdie Pacheco (personal physician, cornerman)
- Joe E. Martin (first trainer)
- Archie Moore (trainer)
- George Dillman (instructor)
- Jabir Herbert Muhammad (manager)
- Luis Sarria (trainer, cutman, masseur)
- Joe Frazier (opponent, friend)
- Richard Durham (autobiography co-writer)
- The Greatest: My Own Story (1975 autobiography)
- The Fight (1975)
- Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times (1991 biography)
- The Tao of Muhammad Ali (1997)
- King of the World (1998 biography)
- Facing Ali (2002)
- Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years (2002 biography)
- The Soul of a Butterfly (2004 autobiography)
- Twelve Rounds to Glory (2007 biography)
- Ali: A Life (2018 biography)
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