Joe Bugner: Best I’ve Faced

We don't know how much the death of Ulric Regis who sadly died after their fight in 1969 affected him.

 

Surely you jest ? Joe was way....way over the hill at this juncture.

 

Bugner's two best fights were his '73 12 round losses to ali and Frazier. He really gave a good account of himself in both fights. Most of his other bouts I was screaming at the TV for him to do something. He was infuriating to watch because you practically had to set a fire under his stool to get him into action. Having said that, like Janitor said, these responses were great. Very honest and humble. Most of these that have been appearing have really been a lot of, 'I was robbed' 'i was the hardest puncher and fastest', etc. Really good, interesting answers from Bugner.

 

I must disagree....Bugner would,t do better at any age against Bruno.
he knew that he could,t beat Frank, that,s why he was in there to
survive and nothing else...

 

Which category ?
Fastest feet or smartest ?

 

At the time of the Bruno bout,Joe was 37 and around 28 lbs over his best fighting weight.

A prime for prime battle between Bugner and Bruno would have produced a far more even fight. One that,if he'd been up for it,I envisage Bugner winning.

 

We could look at how much the death of Bennie Paret affected Emile Griffith (unlike the snooze-underacheiving Bugner!) Emile's KO% from then on dropped off the charts! We should start a thread on your comment on Emile (a HOF'er) unlike 'Mr. Underachiever'. I loved Bugner until the Ali title fight in 75; then his promise was there for everyone to see....NONE!
NO CAREER WINS against ANY worthy fighter that wasn't past prime.
**** on Bugner, just another asterisk in boxing history.

 

Bugner let you down personally did he?

Boo fukking hoo. Sure he had a few disappointing nights but he still had a long career, had a reasonably successful comeback at an advanced age before finally retiring with his health intact and relatively financially sound.

What more does a fighter want? Joe was never the best in the world and never could have been. Should he have layed it on the line more and got his brains battered out so he could die in a vegative state before his time like Jerry Quarry or Jimmy Ellis did just to keep you happy? Grow up.

You don't know for **** how Regis's death affected Bugner either so **** on you and your attempted "hard" man routine. Joe did pretty good with what he had and that's all that matters.

 

Agreed on both counts Stevie.

 

Well, maybe Frazier had a better chin than many seem to think.

That is what I've always thought.

 

Me too. Joe's chin may not have been QUITE as good as Muhammad's but it was solid enough. There were n't too many heavy champs who could have flattened him like Foreman did.

 

Bugner was a big boy and physically strong for that era, what he was lacking was true belief in his ability to win. He fought mostly to survive once he got into big fights and that was his intent. What he needed was a Manny Stewart type that could teach him to sit down on his punches and use his height. With better tools Joe would have set his aim on winning instead of saying he survived the greats he could say he gave his all to win.

I knew Lyle and it is true he did not like white people in general but why should that matter to Bugner if he had true belief in himself. American whites had the same mentality in that era but a lot has to do with mentality. It showed up in South Africa and African boxing where the minority of white heavyweights dominated heavyweight boxing for years. The mind is a powerful thing

 

Spot on,Bummy :good

An Angelo Dundee or an Eddie Futch would have benefited Joe B.