It is a sad day for the boxing world as the news of Joe Bugner’s death has been shared with the world. He was an absolute Icon of the boxing world and inspired many others to join the sport as well. He apparently passed away in his care home in Brisbane. As a tribute to his life, we would like to take a look at his boxing career and other things he did when he was alive. Keep on reading to discover more.
Joe’s incredible Pro fighting career
Joe Bugner was an incredible fighter and an icon of the heavyweight division of the sport. He fought legends like Muhammad Ali multiple times. While Muhammad Ali always won their fights, Joe earned his respect as he was one of the most resilient fighters who could keep up with Ali. He only lost the fights on points, while many others lost because of knockouts.
The UK boxer held the British and the Commonwealth titles twice and managed to become a three-time European Heavy Weight Champion. Later in 1995, he managed to get the Australian heavyweight champion title as well. In total, he fought 83 fights, won 69 of these with 43 knock-out wins. He has only 13 losses and one draw on his record. When he was still active in the sport, he was regarded as one of the top 10 heavyweight fighters of all time, as his record proves.
Joe Bugner’s career didn’t stop there
While he might have retired a couple of times after claiming a title, only to join the sport again after a few years, Boxing was definitely not the only thing he did. He was also an actor… sort of. He appeared in movies such as Street Fighter from 1994 and Gettin’ Square from 2003. Bugner also took an advising role for the Cinderella Man film, which helped with the boxing scènes. One of his latest appearances in the showbiz was in 2009 when he was a contestant in the “I’m a Celebrity” TV show.
Featured image credit: BBC