Joe Bugner

Joe Bugner
Born	József Kreul Bugner (1950-03-13) March 13, 1950 Szőreg, Hungary
Nationality	Australian
Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Reach	82"
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	83
Wins	69
Wins by KO	41
Losses	13
Draws	1
No contests	0

József "Joe" Kreul Bugner (born March 13 1950 in Szőreg, Hungary) is a British/Australian former heavyweight boxer.

Physical Attributes

Stance: Orthodox
Height: 6' 4
Reach: 82" [1]

Early years

Joe and his family emigrated to the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and settled in the Cambridgeshire town of St Ives. At school Bugner excelled in sports and was the national junior discus champion in 1964.[2]

Boxing career

Professional debut

Bugner fought 16 times as an amateur boxer, winning 13 bouts. He turned professional in 1967 on the advice of his then trainer and friend Andy Smith. He had a losing debut against Paul Brown on the 20th December 1967 at the London Hilton, where he was knocked out in the third round. After his debut he went on to stop 12 of his next 13 opponents. This included four one-round wins, and two victories over Brown in rematches.[3]

In 1970 Bugner emerged internationally as an outstanding young prospect, and by the end of the year he was on the fringe of the world ratings. He won nine consecutive bouts this year, including victories over well known boxers such as Chuck Wepner, Brian London, and Mando Ramos. Bugner was now positioned to challenge world rated Englishman Henry Cooper for Cooper’s British, British Commonwealth and European titles. However, because Bugner was still too young to fight for the British Commonwealth title (the minimum age was 21 years old at the time), this much anticipated bout had to be postponed until the next year.

Beginning in his early years as a professional, Bugner earned a reputation for putting on boring fights. He was regarded by the public and media as being a boxer who lacked natural aggression. For example, Bugner was described as having "...the physique of a Greek statue, but fewer moves" by Scottish sports writing great, Hugh McIlvanney.[4] Some critics argued that Bugner's heart was never in boxing after an early opponent, Ulric Regis, died from brain injuries soon after being outpointed by Bugner at London’s Shoreditch town hall. Bugner defeats Henry Cooper in 1971

In March 1971, Bugner finally met Cooper, and defeated him by a 15 round decision. This bout was very closely contested, and the outcome remains one of the most controversial decisions in British boxing history. There were no judges and the fight was scored by the referee, Harry Gibbs. Bugner won by a 1/4 point. This result prompted the well respected-boxing commentator Harry Carpenter to state, "I find that [the result] amazing!".[5]. Cooper promptly retired after the fight. [6]

Nonetheless, Bugner was now the British, British Commonwealth, and European champion, and for the first time he was ranked among the world’s top ten heavyweights. Bugner would remain in the world ratings for most of the rest of the decade.

Later in 1971, Bugner lost decisions to underdogs Jack Bodell and Larry Middleton. The Bodell fight was particularly costly, depriving Bugner of his British, British Commonwealth and European championships. Bugner’s relative inexperience (his youth and lack of an extensive amateur background) was the chief cause of these defeats.

In 1972 Bugner won eight consecutive fights, including a knockout over Jurgen Blin for the European championship. By the end of this year Bugner had acquired sufficient seasoning as a boxer that his manager began seeking matches against the world’s very best heavyweights.

Bugner's prime years

In 1973 Bugner lost 12 round decisions to Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Although the scorecards in these fights were lopsided, Bugner fought well in both bouts and he won the respect of the boxing media and public alike. After their bout, Ali declared that Bugner was capable of being world champion. The fight with Smokin’ Joe in July 1973 at Earls Court in London was deemed a classic. Bugner took a count in the fight, but managed to "shake" Frazier later on in the contest. [10]

After the Ali and Frazier fights, Bugner won eight matches in a row, his most notable victories being over Jimmy Ellis, Mac Foster, and Jose Luis Garcia. By the end of 1974 Bugner was rated among the top five heavyweight contenders in the world.

Bugner challenged Muhammad Ali for the world championship in June 1975, the bout being held in Kuala Lumpur. This fight has been described as one of the most boring championship bouts of all time, with Ali winning a one-sided 15 round decision. Bugner maintained a strictly defensive posture throughout this fight, and as a result he was widely scorned by the media and public. [7].

Early in 1976, Bugner announced his retirement from boxing, stating that he no longer felt motivated to fight professionally. Within months however he returned to the ring, and in October he knocked out Richard Dunn to reclaim the British, British Commonwealth, and European championships.

In 1977, Bugner lost a close 12 round decision to top contender Ron Lyle. After this bout, Bugner again retired, making only sporadic comebacks to the ring over the next decades.

Comebacks during the '80s and '90s

Bugner returned to the ring for brief periods in the '80s and '90s, but due to the effects of age and inactivity, he was never again as effective as he had been during his prime.

In 1982, Bugner lost by technical knockout to Earnie Shavers. He also lost a decision to Joe Frazier's son Marvis Frazier two years later.

In 1986 he moved to Australia, where he acquired the name Aussie Joe Bugner[8]. In Australia, Bugner launched a moderately successful comeback, winning victories over James Tillis, David Bey, and Greg Page. In 1987 however he was stopped in the eighth round in London by Frank Bruno for the British Commonwealth championship.

Bugner won the Australian heavyweight title in 1996 by a points victory over Vince Cervi.[9]

He won the lightly regarded 'WBF' version of the heavyweight crown in 1998, by defeating James "Bonecrusher" Smith. At the age of 49 years and a 110 days, it made him the oldest ever boxer to hold a world championship belt.[10]

Fight record

His record for 83 professional fights is 69 wins (41 on knockouts), 13 Loses and 1 Draw. He last fought in June 1999 beating Levi Billups, who was disqualified for low blows.[11]

In an interview in 2004, Bugner said that the hardest puncher he had ever faced was Earnie Shavers and the biggest beating he took was from Ron Lyle. [12]

Life outside of boxing

On his move to Australia, Bugner and his wife Marlene opened a vineyard. It failed in 1989, and he estimated to having lost some one and a half million Australian dollars. [13]

He now lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

More recently Bugner has started to carve a career in the movie industry. He was the expert adviser on the recent Russell Crowe film, Cinderella Man, which was a film about the heavyweight boxer James J. Braddock.[14] Bugner was dropped part way through the project, which prompted him to call Crowe, “a gutless worm and fucking girl” [15][16]

External links

Career Record Summary [17]

Career Record Extended [18]

Film Career [19]