Jean-Pierre Coopman (born 11 July 1946) is a retired Belgian

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who is best known for his title fight against

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

in 1976 in

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Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, which Ali won by KO in round 5.

Early life

Jean-Pierre Coopman was born on 11 July 1946, in the

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

(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

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 A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, where he was knocked out by a far more experienced (315 fights)

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the 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 Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III, billed as the ''Thrilla in Manila'', was the third and final professional boxing match between undisputed champion Muhammad Ali, and former champion Joe Frazier, for the heavyweight championship of the world. ...

", 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 Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

took place in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, on 20 February 1976 at

Roberto Clemente Coliseum Roberto Clemente Coliseum (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the large ...

; 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 US 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

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, 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 Freddie or Freddy may refer to: Entertainment *Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980 * Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series'' Cromartie High School'' *Freddie (dance), a short-lived 1 ...

while acting in the film

Camping Cosmos ''Camping Cosmos'' is a 1996 Belgian satirical comedy film and a sequel to '' La Vie sexuelle des Belges 1950-1978'', directed by the same director: Jan Bucquoy. It stars Claude Semal, Lolo Ferrari (Miss Vandeputte), Noël Godin ( Pierre Mertens) ...

. 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

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 36 Wins (20 knockouts, 13 decisions, 3 DQ), 16 Losses (6 knockouts, 9 decisions, 1 DQ), 2 Draws , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Draw , 36-16-2 , align=left, Freddy De Kerpel , MD , 6 , 1999-04-05 , align=left,

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 36-16-1 , align=left, Dragomir Milo Popovic , TKO , 5 , 1981-05-16 , align=left,

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 36-15-1 , align=left, Vincenzo Pesapane , TKO , 3 , 1981-04-03 , align=left,

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

, Italy , align=left, , - , Loss , 35-15-1 , align=left, Pierre Babo Kabassu , PTS , 8 , 1980-12-25 , align=left,

Izegem Izegem (; ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Izegem proper and the towns of Emelgem and Kachtem. Emelgem was added to Izegem in 1965, Kachtem in 1977. Izegem itse ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 35-14-1 , align=left, Rudie Lubbers , TKO , 5 , 1980-09-29 , align=left,

Energiehal The Energiehal was an events hall built in a park in west Rotterdam in 1955, for the E55 exhibition. It was then relocated to the Blijdorp district in north Rotterdam, being used for decades as a sports hall and for other events. In the 1990s, it ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, Netherlands , align=left, , - , Loss , 35-13-1 , align=left,

Albert Syben Albert Syben (born 1 July 1951) is a Belgian former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1986. He challenged for the European heavyweight title twice between 1982 and 1983, and held the Belgian heavyweight title twice between 1979 and 1982 ...

, PTS , 10 , 1980-06-27 , align=left,

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western p ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 35-12-1 , align=left, Winston Allenq , KO , 1 , 1980-05-01 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 35-11-1 , align=left, Denton Ruddock , PTS , 10 , 1980-02-02 , align=left,

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 34-11-1 , align=left, Avenamar Peralta , PTS , 10 , 1979-12-25 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 34-10-1 , align=left, George Butzbach , PTS , 10 , 1979-11-01 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 34-9-1 , align=left,

Rudy Gauwe Rudy Gauwe (born 14 June 1951) is a Belgian former professional boxer. As an amateur, he competed in the men's heavyweight event at the 1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad ( ...

, PTS , 12 , 1978-09-30 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, Belgium Heavyweight Title. , - , Win , 34-8-1 , align=left, Scotty Welsh , DQ , 1 , 1978-09-02 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 33-8-1 , align=left, Mario Baruzzi , TKO , 6 , 1978-04-22 , align=left, La Louviere, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 32-8-1 , align=left, Santiago Alberto Lovell , TKO , 3 , 1978-02-11 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 31-8-1 , align=left,

Alfredo Evangelista Alfredo Evangelista (born December 3, 1954) is a Uruguayan former professional boxer. Boxing career Evangelista started his career in 1975. He went undefeated in his first fifteen fights, One being a draw. In his sixteenth fight he was defeate ...

, KO , 1 , 1977-11-26 , align=left,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium , align=left,

EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

Heavyweight Title. , - , Draw , 31-7-1 , align=left, Tony Moore , PTS , 10 , 1977-11-01 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 31–7 , align=left, Kurt Luedecke , PTS , 10 , 1977-09-09 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 30–7 , align=left, Lucien Rodriguez , UD , 15 , 1977-05-07 , align=left,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, align=left,

Heavyweight Title. , - , Win , 30–6 , align=left,

Jose Manuel Urtain Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean *Jose ben Halafta * ...

, KO , 4 , 1977-03-12 , align=left,

Sportpaleis The Antwerps Sportpaleis () (to be renamed to AFAS Dome effective 1 September, 2025), also called Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Sportpaleis Merksem or simply the Sportpaleis, is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It is a multipurpose hall used for organizin ...

, Belgium , align=left,

Heavyweight Title. , - , Loss , 29–6 , align=left, Lucien Rodriguez , PTS , 10 , 1977-01-15 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 29–5 , align=left,

Neville Meade Neville Meade (12 September 1948 – 13 March 2010) was a British boxer from Swansea. Born in Montserrat, he moved to Wales at the age of nine. He rose to prominence when he won the gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1974 Commonwea ...

, PTS , 10 , 1976-12-25 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 28–5 , align=left, Roy Wallace , PTS , 10 , 1976-11-20 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 27–5 , align=left, George Jerome , KO , 4 , 1976-11-01 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 26–5 , align=left, Hennie Thoonen , TKO , 6 , 1976-10-09 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 25–5 , align=left, Hennie Thoonen , DQ , 5 , 1976-05-31 , align=left, Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis,

, Netherlands , align=left, , - , Win , 25–4 , align=left, Ba Sounkalo , PTS , 10 , 1976-05-07 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 24–4 , align=left,

, KO , 5 , 1976-02-20 , align=left,

Hato Rey Hato Rey ( Spanish for ''king’s cattle farm''), often considered the central business district of Puerto Rico, is a highly urbanized financial, commercial, and residential district in San Juan, the capital municipality of the archipelago and ...

, Puerto Rico , align=left, WBC/ WBA Heavyweight Titles. Coopman knocked out at 2:46 of the fifth round. , - , Win , 24–3 , align=left, Lisimo Obutobe , TKO , 7 , 1975-11-01 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 23–3 , align=left, Domingo Silveira , PTS , 10 , 1975-10-04 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 22–3 , align=left, Terry Daniels , DQ , 7 , 1975-05-17 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 21–3 , align=left, Karsten Honhold , TKO , 6 , 1975-04-12 , align=left,

Menen Menen (; ; or ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe (Belgium), Lau ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 20–3 , align=left, Jan Lubbers , PTS , 10 , 1975-03-14 , align=left,

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 19–3 , align=left, Adriano Rosati , TKO , 5 , 1975-02-21 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 18–3 , align=left, Charley Green , KO , 8 , 1975-01-17 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 17–3 , align=left, Vasco Faustino , PTS , 10 , 1974-12-25 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 16–3 , align=left, Bernd August , PTS , 10 , 1974-11-22 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 15–3 , align=left, Lino Finotti , KO , 4 , 1974-11-01 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 14–3 , align=left, Rocky Campbell , KO , 6 , 1974-09-27 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 13–3 , align=left, Rudie Lubbers , PTS , 10 , 1974-04-27 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 13–2 , align=left, Ferenc Kristofcsak , DQ , 3 , 1974-02-22 , align=left,

Roulers Roeselare (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The name of the city is derived from two Germ ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 12–2 , align=left, Ireno Werleman , KO , 1 , 1974-01-25 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 11–2 , align=left, Jean Belval , PTS , 6 , 1973-12-23 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 10–2 , align=left, Horst Lang , KO , 3 , 1973-11-16 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 9–2 , align=left, Erwin Josefa , KO , 3 , 1973-11-01 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 8–2 , align=left, Juan Rodriguez , TKO , 3 , 1973-09-08 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 7–2 , align=left, Ireno Werleman , KO , 2 , 1973-05-18 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 7–1 , align=left, Ray Philippe , KO , 5 , 1973-05-05 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 6–1 , align=left, Ermanno Festorazzi , PTS , 6 , 1973-03-16 , align=left,

Ingelmunster Ingelmunster (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Ingelmunster proper and the village of Kriek. As of January 1, 2006, Ingelmunster had a total population of 10,617. ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 5–1 , align=left, Gino Martinis , PTS , 6 , 1973-02-16 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 4–1 , align=left, Harald Skog , PTS , 6 , 1973-01-25 , align=left, Messehallen,

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway , align=left, , - , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Kilani Ramdani , PTS , 6 , 1972-12-25 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Antonio Rimasti , KO , 4 , 1972-12-08 , align=left,

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Siegfried Ackers , TKO , 2 , 1972-11-01 , align=left,

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Norbert Suehrig , TKO , 3 , 1972-09-29 , align=left,

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coopman, Jean-Pierre Living people 1946 births Sportspeople from West Flanders Heavyweight boxers European Boxing Union champions Belgian male boxers People from Ingelmunster 20th-century Belgian sportsmen

Early life

Fighting career

Professional boxing record

See also

References