Joe Bugner dead.

Went the distance with both Ali (twice) and Frazier.

Beating 'Enry Cooper made him about as popular as the man who shot Bambi. Tough for a guy who was only 20 odd at the time and should have been able to celebrate a memorable victory without the ridicule.

When you factor in Bugner 2.0 or 'Aussie Joe' as he became, Bugner's career spanned from 1967-1999, an amazing 32 years.

RIP Joe Bugner.

 

I see he also had a win over murderous punching Mac Foster....hmm

 

I'll never forget him running over to hug Ali after their match in Las Vegas and his manager having to pull him away. In the run-up to the fight Ali said "man you're ugly" and Bugner said "you should see my sister."

 

He was devastated from demenita/CTE in his later years.

 

very sad, i saw an interview with him in the late 2000;s and he sounded great. sad how he ended up with CTE

 

Sad news. RIP.

 

He boxed professionally for 32 years! I enjoyed the fights I have seen of his. Rest in peace, Warrior! Condolences to Family, Friends, and Fans!

 

RIP to Joe.

 

Posted this in the main forum, but posting here too as I know some don't read both and thought it might be of interest.

I was lucky enough to meet Joe when I was about 16 or so. He was training in the Police Citizen’s Youth Club down the Gold Coast and I went in to train. What an absolute privilege to train alongside a bit of a living legend as a teenage fight fan.

After training I was lucky enough to get to chat to Joe. I think he was pretty impressed that a kid in the late 90s was asking him questions about facing the likes of Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers. I kind of stayed away from asking about Ali and Frazier in a childish attempt to impress him.

I think it worked! Joe honestly spoke near non-stop for the best part of an hour. We were the only ones left outside the gym and he was still talking about how unpopular beating Henry Cooper was in Britain at the time! By the end he was offering me a lift back to where I was staying, something he clearly didn’t have to do at all.

I was also lucky enough to attend his fight with Colin Wilson for the Australian Heavyweight title in 1998. Joe put on a boxing lesson against his much younger and willing opponent. I also sat ringside the same year for his WBF title bout against Bonecrusher Smith. Bonecrusher caught Joe with a wild right hand with the very first punch of the fight. Somehow during that round he dislocated his shoulder and was forced to retire on his stool. I was actually doing work experience at a local newspaper and managed to get a press pass. At the post fight presser Joe, ever the charismatic entertainer, called out both Holyfield and Tyson! Haha.

RIP Joe and thanks for the memories.

 

RIP legend.

A genuinely affable guy and a quite brilliant, albeit conservative fighter.

 

RIP Champ......

 

Terrible thing to have, Stevie.
Worked in a care home for a numberof years and most of the residents had dementia.
I always said if I get like that I don't want my family to see me anymore.