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 Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, which Ali won by KO in round 5.

Early life

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

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

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

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

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 Rudolfus Josefus Maria "Rudie" Lubbers (born 17 August 1945) is a retired Dutch boxer who competed at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. In 1964 he finished ninth as light-heavyweight and in 1968 fifth as heavyweight. Nationally, Lubbers won six ...

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 San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

, on 20 February 1976 at

Roberto Clemente Coliseum Roberto Clemente Coliseum ( 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 largest. General info ...

; 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 Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

, 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 ''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), H ...

. 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 ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Loss , 36-16-1 , align=left, Dragomir Milo Popovic , TKO , 5 , 1981-05-16 , align=left, Liège, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 36-15-1 , align=left, Vincenzo Pesapane , TKO , 3 , 1981-04-03 , align=left,

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

Izegem Izegem (; vls, Yzegem) 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. ...

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, 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 ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

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

Albert Syben Albert Syben (born 1 July 1952) 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 198 ...

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

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (French, ) or ( Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

, 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 Belgian municipality and city located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. In 2021, Turnhout had a total population of 45,874. The total area is . The agglomeration, ho ...

, 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 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Soc ...

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

Alfredo Evangelista Alfredo Evangelista (born December 3, 1954) is a former Uruguayan-born boxer. He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. "The Lynx of Montevideo" Evangelista faced Muhammad Ali in a bout for the List of heavyweight boxing champions, world heavyweight ...

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

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium , align=left, EBU 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 , align=left, EBU Heavyweight Title. , - , Win , 30–6 , align=left, Jose Manuel Urtain , KO , 4 , 1977-03-12 , align=left,

Sportpaleis The Antwerps Sportpaleis ( eng, Antwerp's Sport Palace), also called Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Sportpaleis Merksem or simply the Sportpaleis, is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It is a multipurpose hall where concerts, sporting events, festivals and f ...

, Antwerp, Belgium , align=left, EBU 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 Commonweal ...

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

, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 28–5 , align=left, Roy Wallace , PTS , 10 , 1976-11-20 , align=left, Liège, 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, Antwerp, 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, Muhammad Ali , KO , 5 , 1976-02-20 , align=left,

Hato Rey Hato Rey is a former barrio located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of Río Piedras. It now stretches over three barrios, of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico: Urban landscape Its name means "king's cattle farm" (' ...

, 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, Antwerp, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 22–3 , align=left, Terry Daniels , DQ , 7 , 1975-05-17 , align=left, Antwerp, Belgium , align=left, , - , Win , 21–3 , align=left, Karsten Honhold , TKO , 6 , 1975-04-12 , align=left,

Menen Menen (; french: Menin ; vls, Mêenn or ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French/Be ...

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

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

, 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,

, 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 (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') 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 ...

, 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 (; vls, Iengelmunstr) 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 popu ...

, 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 ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

, 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, 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,

, Belgium , align=left,

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