In a sport now littered with meaningless world titles, a man who never won one remains Britain's most popular prize-fighter.
Sir Henry Cooper, who died on Sunday aged 76, came within seconds of defeating the great Muhammad Ali during a career in which he won no global honours but incredible goodwill and public support.
Armed with his legendary left hook, dubbed "'Enry's 'Ammer", a fighter's heart, solid skills and a winning personality, the respectful Londoner was as popular for his character outside the ring as his achievements inside it.
A former British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, Cooper was the first to win two BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards - in 1967 and 1970 - and reigned at home and in Europe without managing to conquer the world.
Cooper stood at just six feet tall but carried genuine heavyweight power, as witnessed by young American upstart Cassius Clay, who before becoming Ali, found himself floored and floundering at the hands of his British host at Wembley in 1963.
With Clay knocked down, his senses scrambled, the Louisville Lip barely got to his feet before being saved by the bell at the end of the fourth round.
"I knew I had the style to upset him," Cooper said in 2007.
"I was faster than your usual heavyweight - though not as fast as he was - and I cut his mobility down. I crossed him, trapped him in corners and tried to get him on the ropes, which I did for a certain amount of time."
An extended break before the fight's resumption after a rip conveniently appeared in Clay's gloves essentially saved the future champion as he collected himself and proceeded to open up decisive cuts around Cooper's notoriously tender eyes. The fight was stopped in that very round.
Though a non-title affair, it was Cooper's big chance. Though defeated, it remained his big night.
"I'm not bitter about it at all. It's many years ago now," said the Briton when asked about the suspicious circumstances which proved Clay's salvation.
Three years later, a wiser Ali - having changed his name and won the world heavyweight championship - returned to London and staged a masterclass to effectively take care of unfinished business, boxing his way to another cuts stoppage. His win, at Highbury, bolstered his own reputation in Britain but did nothing to diminish his opponent's.
Cooper remained a firm favourite with a crossover, mainstream appeal few sportsman have ever achieved or are likely to again.
More memorable nights came and went before and after his retirement in 1971, not least his knighthood in 2000.
Like so many British sporting favourites including the likes of Jimmy White, Tim Henman, Stirling Moss and Colin Montgomerie, 'Our 'Enry' came up just short when it mattered. Yet in reality, it mattered not at all.