Jean-Pierre Coopman (born 11 July 1946) 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[2] in round 5.[3][4]

Jean-Pierre Coopman
Born (1946-07-11) 11 July 1946 (age 78)
NationalityBelgian
Other namesLion of Flanders
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights54
Wins36
Wins by KO20
Losses16
Draws2
No contests0

Early life

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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

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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".[5][6][7][8] He began in the amateur ranks, rising quickly enough to compete in the 1971 European Championships, where he was 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 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 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

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36 Wins (20 knockouts, 13 decisions, 3 DQ), 16 Losses (6 knockouts, 9 decisions, 1 DQ), 2 Draws [9]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Draw 36-16-2   Freddy De Kerpel MD 6 1999-04-05   Ghent, Belgium
Loss 36-16-1   Dragomir Milo Popovic TKO 5 1981-05-16   Liège, Belgium
Win 36-15-1   Vincenzo Pesapane TKO 3 1981-04-03   Piacenza, Italy
Loss 35-15-1   Pierre Babo Kabassu PTS 8 1980-12-25   Izegem, Belgium
Loss 35-14-1   Rudie Lubbers TKO 5 1980-09-29   Energiehal, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Loss 35-13-1   Albert Syben PTS 10 1980-06-27   Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Belgium
Loss 35-12-1   Winston Allenq KO 1 1980-05-01   Izegem, Belgium
Win 35-11-1   Denton Ruddock PTS 10 1980-02-02   Turnhout, Belgium
Loss 34-11-1   Avenamar Peralta PTS 10 1979-12-25   Izegem, Belgium
Loss 34-10-1   George Butzbach PTS 10 1979-11-01   Izegem, Belgium
Loss 34-9-1   Rudy Gauwe PTS 12 1978-09-30   Turnhout, Belgium Belgium Heavyweight Title.
Win 34-8-1   Scotty Welsh DQ 1 1978-09-02   Izegem, Belgium
Win 33-8-1   Mario Baruzzi TKO 6 1978-04-22   La Louviere, Belgium
Win 32-8-1   Santiago Alberto Lovell TKO 3 1978-02-11   Liège, Belgium
Loss 31-8-1   Alfredo Evangelista KO 1 1977-11-26   Brussels, Belgium EBU Heavyweight Title.
Draw 31-7-1   Tony Moore PTS 10 1977-11-01   Izegem, Belgium
Win 31–7   Kurt Luedecke PTS 10 1977-09-09   Izegem, Belgium
Loss 30–7   Lucien Rodriguez UD 15 1977-05-07   Antwerp EBU Heavyweight Title.
Win 30–6   Jose Manuel Urtain KO 4 1977-03-12   Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium EBU Heavyweight Title.
Loss 29–6   Lucien Rodriguez PTS 10 1977-01-15   Brussels, Belgium
Win 29–5   Neville Meade PTS 10 1976-12-25   Izegem, Belgium
Win 28–5   Roy Wallace PTS 10 1976-11-20   Liège, Belgium
Win 27–5   George Jerome KO 4 1976-11-01   Izegem, Belgium
Win 26–5   Hennie Thoonen TKO 6 1976-10-09   Antwerp, Belgium
Loss 25–5   Hennie Thoonen DQ 5 1976-05-31   Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Win 25–4   Ba Sounkalo PTS 10 1976-05-07   Izegem, Belgium
Loss 24–4   Muhammad Ali KO 5 1976-02-20   Roberto Clemente Coliseum, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico WBC/WBA Heavyweight Titles. Coopman knocked out at 2:46 of the fifth round.
Win 24–3   Lisimo Obutobe TKO 7 1975-11-01   Izegem, Belgium
Win 23–3   Domingo Silveira PTS 10 1975-10-04   Antwerp, Belgium
Win 22–3   Terry Daniels DQ 7 1975-05-17   Antwerp, Belgium
Win 21–3   Karsten Honhold TKO 6 1975-04-12   Menen, Belgium
Win 20–3   Jan Lubbers PTS 10 1975-03-14   Bruges, Belgium
Win 19–3   Adriano Rosati TKO 5 1975-02-21   Izegem, Belgium
Win 18–3   Charley Green KO 8 1975-01-17   Ghent, Belgium
Win 17–3   Vasco Faustino PTS 10 1974-12-25   Izegem, Belgium
Win 16–3   Bernd August PTS 10 1974-11-22   Ghent, Belgium
Win 15–3   Lino Finotti KO 4 1974-11-01   Izegem, Belgium
Win 14–3   Rocky Campbell KO 6 1974-09-27   Turnhout, Belgium
Loss 13–3   Rudie Lubbers PTS 10 1974-04-27   Ghent, Belgium
Win 13–2   Ferenc Kristofcsak DQ 3 1974-02-22   Roulers, Belgium
Win 12–2   Ireno Werleman KO 1 1974-01-25   Izegem, Belgium
Win 11–2   Jean Belval PTS 6 1973-12-23   Izegem, Belgium
Win 10–2   Horst Lang KO 3 1973-11-16   Ghent, Belgium
Win 9–2   Erwin Josefa KO 3 1973-11-01   Izegem, Belgium
Win 8–2   Juan Rodriguez TKO 3 1973-09-08   Izegem, Belgium
Loss 7–2   Ireno Werleman KO 2 1973-05-18   Izegem, Belgium
Win 7–1   Ray Philippe KO 5 1973-05-05   Ghent, Belgium
Win 6–1   Ermanno Festorazzi PTS 6 1973-03-16   Ingelmunster, Belgium
Win 5–1   Gino Martinis PTS 6 1973-02-16   Ingelmunster, Belgium
Loss 4–1   Harald Skog PTS 6 1973-01-25   Messehallen, Oslo, Norway
Win 4–0   Kilani Ramdani PTS 6 1972-12-25   Izegem, Belgium
Win 3–0   Antonio Rimasti KO 4 1972-12-08   Tournai, Belgium
Win 2–0   Siegfried Ackers TKO 2 1972-11-01   Izegem, Belgium
Win 1–0   Norbert Suehrig TKO 3 1972-09-29   Menen, Belgium

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Boxing record for Jean-Pierre Coopman". BoxRec.
  2. ^ Hauser, Thomas (2004). Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. Robson Books Ltd. p. 332. ISBN 978-1-86105-738-9. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  3. ^ Brunt, Stephen (2002). Facing Ali. Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press. p. 301. ISBN 1-58574-829-3.
  4. ^ "The Curious Case Of The Muhammad Ali-Jean-Pierre Coopman Mismatch — Boxing News". www.boxing247.com. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Jean-Pierre Coopman: "Ik had Muhammad Ali graag nog 1 keer gezien"". TVOOST - Regionaal nieuws uit Oost-Vlaanderen (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Jean-Pierre Coopman: "Ali gaat nooit uit mijn gedachten"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  7. ^ Prillevitz, Paul. "Bokslegende Jean-Pierre Coopman: de 'Leeuw van Vlaanderen'". Historiek (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Postkaart van Muhammad Ali en Jean Pierre Coopman". Site-KnackWeekend-NL (in Dutch). 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Jean-Pierre Coopman - Boxer". Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2013.