BoxRec

I am only interested in what he did after he came here. Henry Cooper would have been a Cruiserweight if he fought now and was well past his best when Bugner fought him. My clearest memory of Bugner fighting after he came here was Frank Bruno destroying him.

Still looks like Peter Jackson.

If Bruno did not hurt him, why didn't he get up and keep fighting?

If my memory's right Bugner received Aus $750K for the Bruno fight. And yep, he never hid the fact that money was his biggest motivation at that stage

Gotta give him this.....he certainly helped the local boxing scene with the talking up of his fights

Aussie Joe ..no contest

Yeah. World Champion alimony dodger and bullshit artist.

"Alimony - Also called maintenance or spousal support. In a divorce or separation, the money paid by one spouse to the other in order to fulfill the financial obligation that comes with marriage"

The above was one definition of alimony that I found. Hmmm. Seems to me that once the marriage is over that financial support for the spouse........should end? (except for financial support for the children). Me thinks that Greg Norman may agree

mercman wrote:

Yeah. World Champion alimony dodger and bullshit artist.

And track and field athletcs champion. And businessman. And TV and film actor. And sports commentator. And Australia's best ever heavyweight boxer....

I think guys like Slavin and Jackson were far better than Joe Bugner.

I can't think of a single serious boxing observer who regards Joe Bugner as anything other than British.

Peter Jackson and Bob Fitzsimmons are the best Australian heavyweights of all time, followed by Joe Goddard and Frank Slavin.

Cap

I see that Fitz is being recognised as the best HW from 3 different countries.........Oz, NZ and England

Ignoring modern revisionists, he was generally recognized internationally as being an Australian.

Cap

Australia and New Zealand were both British colonies when Fitzsimmons started his career, and through his championships at middleweight and heavyweight (Australia was six colonies). That makes it confusing. Australian athlete Edwin Flack, who won gold medals for the 800m and 1500m at the 1986 Olympics was representing Australasia, which is what Australia and New Zealand are referred to by some geographers. At the time of Federation there was talk of making them into one country. Ruby Bob is usually regarded in this part of the World as a New Zealander. When he came to prominence some people may have called him Australasian.

As far as I'm aware, Bob Fitzsimmons was brought to Australia by the great Maori heavyweight Herbert Slade (who fought John L Sullivan) but was brought up and learnt to box in NZ.

He was born in England and brought up in NZ when NZ was a British colony. He's British!

Fitzsimmons' professional career started in Sydney, but he was Kiwi. Larry Foley taught him the ropes in his George Street gym.

If we bar Fitzsimmons as being really a New Zealander, then that leaves Peter Jackson, Joe Goddard and Frank Slavin. Peter Jackson spoke of himself as an Australian, but he was born in another colony, so that leaves Goddard and Slavin. Who was better? Both men fought Peter Jackson when he was in his prime. Slavin got knocked out in 10 rounds and Goddard got a draw over eight. Too bad they didn't fight each other. Hard to believe these two weren't matched somewhere!

Cap

Solomon Haumono!!!!!

joe bugner would flick homono away like a piece of snot..

May be, squire, but last time I checked Bugner is, at best, a transplanted Hungarian with a Pommie passport. Might as well throw Ali and Lorenzo Zanon in there too.

Brute wrote:Fitzsimmons was a Kiwi. He learned to fight from Larry Foley in Sydney, but he was a Kiwi. Ambrose Palmer fought at middleweight and light heavyweight. He became Australian Heavyweight champion due to lack of heavies in the thirties. Nobody could get enough to eat.

Hi Brute. Actually, Fitzsimmons was a Cornishman from England, and then a Kiwi and then from Down Under.

Jimmy

cassius craig peterson may well have gone on to be our best oz born heavyweight. but he didnt....

got tortured and murdered in south america by some drug dealers. he was world class at a time when there was a bit of activity in the HW ranks.

did les darcy win the heavy title? i know he knocked out a bloke named fulton, an american heavyweight contender, who was recently voted one of the best in history never to get a shot. darcy ko'd him in 2 in a spar in the states, just before he died.

R.I.P les. what a fighter he was.

Les Darcy never did get a real fight in the USA as he was branded a slacker before he even set foot on American soil. Several bouts were arranged only to fall through when this governor or that mayor started hollering. Never heard the story about Fulton. It would've been quite a feat for the 5' 6" Darcy to clobber the 6' 5" Fulton.

Cap

pawpaw wrote:joe bugner would flick homono away like a piece of snot..

Bugner's greatest claim to fame was taking the Empire title off Henry Cooper when 'Enery was about to get his pipe and slippers.

That and being the only man to lose to both Joe and Marvis Frazier.

Cap wrote:Les Darcy never did get a real fight in the USA as he was branded a slacker before he even set foot on American soil. Several bouts were arranged only to fall through when this governor or that mayor started hollering. Never heard the story about Fulton. It would've been quite a feat for the 5' 6" Darcy to clobber the 6' 5" Fulton.

Cap

thats a fact. it is well documented and is mentioned in at least one of the recent biographys of darcy.

re: fighter biographies. According to Jack Cavanaugh's "Tunney", Larry Gains was an American. Everyone can make a mistake.

So if Ali became an Australian citizen tomorrow that would make him the greatest Aussie heavyweight of all time.

Bugner retired in 1977, fought 9 times over the next what, 7 years, before emigrating to OZ in '86. Takes up boxing again at 36, fighting three times before losing to Frank Bruno back in Blighty in '87. Retires again and reinvents himself EIGHT years later as "Aussie Joe" a carnival attraction. Looks to me like you Brits are trying to distance yourselves from poor old Joe Bugner.

Cap