How good Joe in your opinion,he fought all the best in his day beating some and losing too.He was very big for his day,just lacked that special ingredient for me.But he was a very good heavyweight all the same.
i know joe well, he was a very tough heavyweight but in his era he was just a good contender, ali, foreman, etc were all around
You sparred him over at the PCYC in Broadbeach Waters aye? I was going to that gym around that time 2003/4 yeah?
Remember when they did a sports tonight section on you? I saw you on that and i went down there a few times to see if i could catch you two sparring Never saw you there though. Yeah i was trying to think of the street name, Monaco.
yeah i remember now, was to hype my fight against nathan briggs, l, he was still fast .i still speak to joe every now and then.
Joe never really got forgiven by the British public for beating a 37 year old Henry Cooper in a close decision, shame really because he was a lot better fighter than he's ever been given credit for. He was a huge bloke though and a very gifted athlete, just lacked aggression. Like a good version of Johnny Nelson
He must be in his late 50's now? I remember he was 21 back in 1971 when he beat Cooper...hope he's doing well he was one of my favourites when I was a kid. Time to trawl out the "if only he was fighting today he'd be a belt-holder for sure" line I think :good
Never saw much of him, but the old man always said he lacked either a bit of self belief or killer instinct. With those, he could have really been something, as it was, he was a solid contender type fighter.
I remember when he was living in Australia for many years (and still does) he went back to fight Frank Bruno in late 80's or early 90's at Wembley i think. Bruno gave him a touch up.
Bugner was a capable fighter with some skills... BUT! He was not nearly good enough to ever be THE CHAMP!! He was a real contender.... Never top-5; more like top 10 to 12.... Bug had a good chin and a decent left jab.... His power was SO-SO at best..... A good guy....:blurp MR.BILL
I think Bugner's main problem was he didnt have the mindset of a champion. He lacked that mental edge to take his talent and skill to its full potential. No shame in that, only a select few have that combination. Many say it was because he killed a man in the ring early in his career.
