London, May 2 (AFP) Former British heavyweight champion Sir Henry Cooper, who famously knocked down Muhammad Ali in 1963, before becoming a cult hero for his lionhearted performances in the ring and modesty out of it, died aged 76.
He passed away at his son's house at Oxted yesterday in Surrey, southern England, just two days short of his 77th birthday.
The London-born Cooper met Ali -- then known as Cassius Clay -- at Wembley in 1963, with the British fighter famously flooring the great American.
Many fans were convinced Cooper had been robbed of victory by some ringside trickery.
Towards the end of the fourth round of that non-title bout, Cooper floored Clay with a trademark left hook known as 'Enry's hammer'.