Jean-Pierre Coopman

Jean-Pierre Coopman (born 11 July 1946 in Ingelmunster) is a retired Belgian boxer who is best known for his title fight against Muhammad Ali in 1976 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which Ali won by KO[1] in round 5.[2]

Jean-Pierre Coopman
Statistics
Real nameJean-Pierre Coopman
Nickname(s)Lion of Flanders
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m)
NationalityBelgian
Born (1946-07-11) 11 July 1946
Ingelmunster, West Flanders, Belgium
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights54
Wins36
Wins by KO20
Losses16
Draws2
No contests0

Early life

Jean-Pierre Coopman was born on 11 July 1946, in the Flemish (northern Belgium) community of Ingelmunster. Early in life, he showed a gift for artistry. He was instructed in sculpting by his stepfather, and Coopman's first fully paid job was as a stone cutter. The stone-cutting he learned from childhood was more specifically that of an artisan. His skills were put to use, among other things, in reparations of the medieval churches of Belgium—most notably, Saint Nicholas' Church in Ghent. By having to perform a kind of historic preservation, using and applying tools from this ancient period, Coopman developed great strength in his arms and hands.

In young adulthood, he appears to have been a lover of night-life, but after sparring several times with Gilbert Montagne, a noted Belgian middleweight, Coopman was urged to pursue a ring career, or at least to try. By his own words, once the decision was made, Coopman at least gave up smoking, and cold turkey at that.

Jean-Pierre Coopman (left), the producer of Camping Cosmos in the middle and Freddy De Kerpel (right) during the shooting of the movie Camping Cosmos, August 1995, Westende, Belgium.

Fighting career

Though best known in fight circles as an opponent of Muhammad Ali, Coopman had been fighting for a half decade, before being granted his title shot at "The Greatest". He began in the amateur ranks, rising quickly enough to compete in the 1971 European Championships, where he knocked out by a far more experienced (315 fights) Soviet fighter. He turned professional, in 1972.

Coopman fought his early bouts primarily in Belgium, though he is recorded as having won an early match versus Harald Skog, in Oslo, Norway. Coopman lost (via decision) to Rudie Lubbers of The Netherlands, in 1973. Coopman's earlier record shows a disqualification victory over Terry Daniels, who had also received a title shot during his own career, versus Smokin' Joe Frazier, in January 1972. Despite mixed fortunes, Coopman proved popular with his fellow Belgians, and by 1975, was able to pursue boxing as a full-time career; the company which employed him to sculpt, now paid him to fight, instead.

Coopman was said to have been one of the least-deserving boxers to fight for the heavyweight title. Ali had recently had his third fight with Joe Frazier, the "Thrilla in Manila", a match Ali later called, "the closest thing to death." Understandably, the champion wanted an "easy" opponent. The match was made almost by happenstance, as the promotion fell to George Kanter, a Belgian by birth. Kanter, after surveying the European scene, contacted Charles de Jager, Coopman's manager, and thus the match was made. Coopman, unknown outside Belgium, was overwhelmed by the sudden fame. Ali was a hero to him, and he was grateful for a title shot.

Coopman was dubbed "The Lion of Flanders" by the Western press, but he had never called himself that. The name was thought to be related to Coopman's birthday, 11 July, which is a national holiday in Flanders marking a military victory over the French, in 1302.

The fight took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 20 February 1976 at Roberto Clemente Coliseum; the fight was not broadcast by Belgian media, as Coopman's native land was the first nation to ban boxing broadcasts. CBS Sports broadcast the bout in the USA for free, in prime time. The bout was easy for Ali, who knocked out Coopman in round five.

After the Ali fight, Coopman became European champion after beating a Basque, Jose Urtain. Two months later, in Antwerp, he lost the title to Lucien Rodriguez of France. He retired in 1980. His last official fight was against Cookie Wallace.

In 1995 he fought Freddy De Kerpel while acting in the film Camping Cosmos.

As of 2007, Coopman was painting oil paintings of famous boxers. He was awarded a contract to sculpt a statue of fellow Belgian fighter Cyril Delannoit.

Coopman was the subject of "Lion", a tongue-in-cheek tribute by songwriter Freddy Blohm.

Professional boxing record
36 Wins (20 knockouts, 13 decisions, 3 DQ), 16 Losses (6 knockouts, 9 decisions, 1 DQ), 2 Draws [3]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Draw 36-16-2 Freddy De Kerpel MD 6 05/04/1999 Ghent, East Flanders 57-57, 58-58, 57-58.
Loss 36-16-1 Dragomir Milo Popovic TKO 5 16/05/1981 Liege
Win 36-15-1 Vincenzo Pesapane TKO 3 03/04/1981 Piacenza, Emilia Romagna
Loss 35-15-1 Pierre Babo Kabassu PTS 8 25/12/1980 Izegem, West Flanders
Loss 35-14-1 Rudie Lubbers TKO 5 29/09/1980 Energiehal, Rotterdam
Loss 35-13-1 Albert Syben PTS 10 27/06/1980 Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Brussels
Loss 35-12-1 Winston Allenq KO 1 01/05/1980 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 35-11-1 Denton Ruddock PTS 10 02/02/1980 Turnhout, Antwerp
Loss 34-11-1 Avenamar Peralta PTS 10 25/12/1979 Izegem, West Flanders
Loss 34-10-1 George Butzbach PTS 10 01/11/1979 Izegem, West Flanders
Loss 34-9-1 Rudy Gauwe PTS 12 30/09/1978 Turnhout, Antwerp Belgium Heavyweight Title.
Win 34-8-1 Scotty Welsh DQ 1 02/09/1978 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 33-8-1 Mario Baruzzi TKO 6 22/04/1978 La Louviere, Hainaut
Win 32-8-1 Santiago Alberto Lovell TKO 3 11/02/1978 Liege
Loss 31-8-1 Alfredo Evangelista KO 1 26/11/1977 Brussels EBU Heavyweight Title.
Draw 31-7-1 Tony Moore PTS 10 01/11/1977 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 31-7 Kurt Luedecke PTS 10 09/09/1977 Izegem, West Flanders
Loss 30-7 Lucien Rodriguez UD 15 07/05/1977 Antwerp EBU Heavyweight Title. 139-150, 139-150, 142-150.
Win 30-6 Jose Manuel Urtain KO 4 12/03/1977 Sportpaleis, Antwerp EBU Heavyweight Title.
Loss 29-6 Lucien Rodriguez PTS 10 15/01/1977 Brussels
Win 29-5 Neville Meade PTS 10 25/12/1976 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 28-5 Roy Wallace PTS 10 20/11/1976 Liege
Win 27-5 George Jerome KO 4 01/11/1976 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 26-5 Hennie Thoonen TKO 6 09/10/1976 Antwerp
Loss 25-5 Hennie Thoonen DQ 5 31/05/1976 Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis, Rotterdam
Win 25-4 Ba Sounkalo PTS 10 07/05/1976 Izegem, West Flanders
Loss 24-4 Muhammad Ali KO 5 20/02/1976 Roberto Clemente Coliseum, Hato Rey WBC/WBA World Heavyweight Titles. Coopman knocked out at 2:46 of the fifth round.
Win 24-3 Lisimo Obutobe TKO 7 01/11/1975 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 23-3 Domingo Silveira PTS 10 04/10/1975 Antwerp
Win 22-3 Terry Daniels DQ 7 17/05/1975 Antwerp
Win 21-3 Karsten Honhold TKO 6 12/04/1975 Menen, West Flanders
Win 20-3 Jan Lubbers PTS 10 14/03/1975 Bruges, West Flanders
Win 19-3 Adriano Rosati TKO 5 21/02/1975 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 18-3 Charley Green KO 8 17/01/1975 Ghent, East Flanders
Win 17-3 Vasco Faustino PTS 10 25/12/1974 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 16-3 Bernd August PTS 10 22/11/1974 Ghent, East Flanders
Win 15-3 Lino Finotti KO 4 01/11/1974 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 14-3 Rocky Campbell KO 6 27/09/1974 Turnhout, Antwerp
Loss 13-3 Rudie Lubbers PTS 10 27/04/1974 Ghent, East Flanders
Win 13-2 Ferenc Kristofcsak DQ 3 22/02/1974 Roulers, West Flanders
Win 12-2 Ireno Werleman KO 1 25/01/1974 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 11-2 Jean Belval PTS 6 23/12/1973 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 10-2 Horst Lang KO 3 16/11/1973 Ghent, East Flanders
Win 9-2 Erwin Josefa KO 3 01/11/1973 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 8-2 Juan Rodriguez TKO 3 08/09/1973 Izegem, West Flanders
Loss 7-2 Ireno Werleman KO 2 18/05/1973 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 7-1 Ray Philippe KO 5 05/05/1973 Ghent, East Flanders
Win 6-1 Ermanno Festorazzi PTS 6 16/03/1973 Ingelmunster, West Flanders
Win 5-1 Gino Martinis PTS 6 16/02/1973 Ingelmunster, West Flanders
Loss 4-1 Harald Skog PTS 6 25/01/1973 Messehallen, Oslo
Win 4-0 Kilani Ramdani PTS 6 25/12/1972 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 3-0 Antonio Rimasti KO 4 08/12/1972 Tournai, Hainaut
Win 2-0 Siegfried Ackers TKO 2 01/11/1972 Izegem, West Flanders
Win 1-0 Norbert Suehrig TKO 3 29/09/1972 Menen, West Flanders
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gollark: Kicking initiated.
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References
  1. Hauser, Thomas (2004). Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. Robson Books Ltd. p. 332. ISBN 978-1-86105-738-9. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  2. Brunt, Stephen (2002). Facing Ali. Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press. p. 301. ISBN 1-58574-829-3.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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