Lionel Rose

Lionel Rose
Statistics
Real name	Lionel Edmund Rose
Nickname(s)	"Slim"
Rated at	Bantamweight
Nationality	Australian
Born	21 June 1948(1948-06-21) Jacksons Track, Victoria, Australia
Died	8 May 2011(2011-05-08) (aged 62) Warragul, Victoria, Australia
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	53
Wins	42
Wins by KO	12
Losses	11
Draws	0
No contests	0

Lionel Edmund Rose MBE (21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian bantamweight boxer, the first Indigenous Australian to win a world title.

Early life

Born and raised at Jacksons Track near the Victorian town of Warragul. Rose grew up in hardship, learning to box from his father, Roy, a useful fighter on the tent-show circuit. According to boxing historian Grantlee Kieza, Rose "sparred with rags on his hands in a ring made from fencing wire stretched between trees".

At 10, Rose struck up a friendship with his teacher Ian Hawkins (who observed him shadow boxing in the school yard)encouraged him and bought him his first pair of gloves. Aged about 15, he went under the tutelage of Frank Oakes, a Warragul trainer (whose daughter Jenny he later married). He won the Australian amateur flyweight title at 15.

Boxing career

After missing selection for the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Rose began his professional boxing career on 9 September 1964, outpointing Mario Magriss over eight rounds. This fight was in Warragul, but the majority of Rose's fights were held in Melbourne. Along the way he was helped by Jack and Shirley Rennie, in whose Melbourne home he stayed, training every day in their backyard gym.

After five wins in a row, on 23 July 1965, Rose was rematched with Singtong Por Tor, whom he had beaten in a 12-round decision. Por Tor inflicted Rose's first defeat, beating him on points in six rounds. On 14 October of the same year, he had his first fight abroad, beating Laurie Ny by a decision in 10 rounds at Christchurch, New Zealand.

Over his next nine fights, Rose had a record of eight wins and one loss, with one knockout. The lone loss in those nine fights was to Ray Perez, against whom Rose split a pair of bouts. Then, on 28 October 1966, he met Noel Kunde at Melbourne for the Australian bantamweight title. He won the title by defeating Kunde in a 15-round decision.

Rose won one more belt in 1966 and eight in 1967 (including a thirteenth round knockout win against Rocky Gattellari to defend his Australian championship) before challenging Fighting Harada for the world bantamweight title on 26 February 1968 in Tokyo. Rose made history by becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to be a world champion boxer when he defeated Harada in a 15-round decision. This win made Rose an instant national hero in Australia and an icon among Aboriginal Australians. A public reception at Melbourne Town Hall was witnessed by a crowd of more than 100,000. On 2 July of that year, he returned to Tokyo to retain his title with a 15 round decision win over Takao Sakurai. Then, on 6 December, he met Chucho Castillo at the Inglewood Forum in Inglewood, California. Rose beat Castillo by decision, but the points verdict in favour of him infuriated many in the pro-Castillo crowd and a riot began: 14 fans and fight referee Dick Young were hospitalised for injuries received.

On 8 March 1969, Rose retained the title with a 15-round decision over Alan Rudkin, but five months later he returned to Inglewood, where he faced Rubén Olivares on 22 August. Rose lost the world bantamweight title to Olivares via a fifth-round knockout.

Rose continued boxing after his defeat against Olivares, but, after defeats against practically unknown fighters, many believed he was done as a prime fighter. However, he was far from finished: he upset future world lightweight champion Itshimatsu Suzuki on 10 October 1970 in a 10-round decision, and once again, he positioned himself as a world title challenger, albeit in the lightweight division, 17 pounds over the division where he crowned himself world champion.

Despite having lost to Jeff White for the Australian lightweight title, Rose got another world title try when he faced WBC world junior lightweight champion Yoshiaki Numata, on 30 May 1971 at Hiroshima. Numata beat Rose by a fifteen round decision, and Rose announced his retirement soon after.

In 1975, he came back, but after losing four of his next six bouts, including one against Rafael Limón, Rose decided to retire for good. Rose compiled a record of 42 wins and 11 losses as a professional boxer, with 12 wins by knockout.

Singing career

During his time off from boxing in the 1970s, Rose embarked on a modest singing career in Australia having hits with "I Thank You" and "Please Remember Me" in 1970. The song "I Thank You" was a nationwide hit, produced and written by Johnny Young and engineered by John L Sayers; it was played as a substitute to the Australian National Anthem during radio broadcasts of Rugby League State of Origin, and other sporting events by the comedic sports commentators, Roy Slaven and H.G. Nelson.

Rose sang "Jackson Track" and "I Thank You", in both the SBS documentary and accompanying cd, Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music.

Discography

Albums

• I Thank You - Summit (SRA 250 033) (1970)

Singles

• "I Thank You"/"Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" - Festival (FK-3425) (1969)
• "Please Remember Me"/"Good Old Country Song" - Festival (FK-3575) (March 1970)

Retirement

In retirement, Rose became a successful businessman, and he enjoyed the monetary benefits his career brought him. Rose was showcased in 2002 in the The Ring section 'Where are they now?'.

In 1996, Rose presented young burns-attack victim Tjandamurra O'Shane with his world-title belt, hoping to speed the youngster's recovery. O'Shane, also an Aboriginal Australian, had been the victim of an horrific attack in Cairns the previous year.

In 2007, Rose suffered a stroke that left him with speech and movement difficulties.

Rose died on 8 May 2011 after an illness which lasted for several months.

Awards

Rose was Australian of the Year in 1968, the first Aboriginal Australian to be awarded the honour. The same year he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

In 2003 he was an inaugural inductee in the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame.

Rose's boxing gloves featured in a 2005 Australia Post stamp issue.

In 2005 Rose was awarded the Ella Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sport.

TV and film

The TV miniseries Rose Against the Odds was produced in 1991 - a period drama of Rose's life story starring Paul Williams and Telly Savalas. It was released as a feature film in 1995.

In 2008, after nearly three years of conducting interviews with Rose, his family and friends, Melbourne filmmaker Eddie Martin premiered his feature-length documentary Lionel at the Melbourne International Film Festival. After a brief theatrical run, a shorter version of the film premiered on SBS television on 28 November 2008.

References

Lionel Rose's Musical Legacy at Your Daily Spa.

Further reading

• Rod Humphries (1969). Lionel Rose Australian : the life story of a champion. ISBN 0207951462. http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1055076. 
• Andrew Rule (1991). Rose against the odds: the Lionel Rose story. ISBN 0646033905. http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn688277. 
• Stoddart, Brian & Vamplew, Wray (1994). Sport in Australia: A Social History. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43513-7. 
• Kieza, Grantlee (1990). Australian Boxing: An Illustrated History. Paddington, NSW: Gary Allen Pty. Ltd.. ISBN 1-875169-10-5. 

External links

• Recording of Lionel Rose winning the World Title in 1968 on australianscreen online. Commentary by Ron Casey.
• IMDB: Rose against the odds - TV movie
• Bill Long presents Lionel Rose in his first featherweight bout against Vicente Garcia featherweight champion of Mexico (1969)
• Aboriginal boxer Lionel Rose dies, aged 62. [1] World Socialist Web Site (2011)
• Professional boxing record for Lionel Rose from BoxRec

Sporting positions
Preceded by Fighting Harada	WBA Bantamweight Champion 27 Feb 1968 – 22 Aug 1969	Succeeded by Rubén Olivares
Awards
Preceded by The Seekers	Australian of the Year Award 1968	Succeeded by Richard Gardiner Casey