The life of Joe Bugner (Hungary, 1950 – Australia, 2025) was eventful in his 75 years. The death of the man who was twice British heavyweight champion, twice Commonwealth champion and three times European champion has been announced. His face became known in the world of boxing when he faced several great fighters and in the cinema he achieved popularity appearing in films starring the lovable Bud Spencer. The latter part is forgotten by the British press today in their obituaries.
Bugner (69-13-1, 41 KOs) faced Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in back-to-back fights in 1973, before meeting ‘The Greatest’ again (for the world title) in 1975. He also fought other titans such as Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle, Henry Cooper, Chuck Wepner and Frank Bruno. Bugner was a heavyweight stalwart in the 1970s, a time when he was always in the top 10 of the rankings, although he left boxing without a world title. Against Ali and Frazier he finished on his feet, although only the second duel with the former was fought over 15 rounds. He was very complete and stood out for his technical ability, toughness and endurance.
Born as Jozsef Kreul Bugner in Szoreg, Hungary, he and his family fled the country after the 1956 Soviet invasion and eventually settled in the United Kingdom. Bugner took up boxing as a teenager and quickly rose through the amateur ranks. His big professional win came over Henry Cooper at Wembley in 1971. Ali once opined that he could become champion. He retired (in 1977 for the first time) and returned several times.
During those moments without getting into the ring, he appeared in cult films for many such as ‘They Called Him Bulldozer’ (1978), ‘The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid’ (1979), ‘I’m with the Hippopotamuses’ (1979), ‘A Friend is a Treasure’ (1981). In all of them he starred alongside the great Bud Spencer; he coincided with Terence Hill in ‘I’m with the Hippopotamuses’, playing the villain of the show Jack ‘Hammer’ Ormond. Because of his corpulence, he was Spencer’s ‘natural rival’ in the films in which they coincided. Bugner also acted in the version of ‘Street Fighter’ (1994) starring Jean Claude Van Damme and worked as a boxing advisor in Russell Crowe’s film, ‘Cinderella Man’.
Where did your love for cinema come from?
After the Soviet Union bloodily suppressed the Hungarian uprisings in 1956 and occupied the country, Joe’s mother decided to flee Hungary with her children. They escaped on a bus that dropped them off near the Yugoslav border and then walked through the countryside all night until they were picked up by Yugoslav soldiers the next morning. They were moved from one refugee camp to another. In one of these camps, Joe discovered the 1958 film Hercules. The family’s destination was Argentina, but when one of the brothers was found to be very weak, the authorities decided that they should go to a closer place such as England.
Once he finished boxing in 1977, he spoke to Franco Nero about a possible career as an actor. He advised him to forget about Hollywood and introduced him to an Italian agent who managed to get him to work with Bud Spencer, who was very popular at the time. The two colossi had a good relationship, although their collaboration ended after several films. Years later he was offered the role of Ivan Drago in the fourth installment of the Rocky saga. However, due to artistic differences with Sylvester Stallone, he did not participate. He had been living in the United States and eventually settled in Australia many years ago, where he bought a vineyard and tried his hand as a winemaker while continuing to act.
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