Joe Bugner gallantly fought many of the giants in heavyweight boxing’s golden age – Muhammad Ali, twice, and Joe Frazier heading a distinguished list – but is still best remembered here with lingering resentment for breaking the hearts of the old brotherhood of the ring.
It was not Bugner’s fault that he was granted controversial victory by the narrowest of margins over the most beloved of all British boxers.
But he was never forgiven for the verdict in his favour – by the sliver of one quarter of a point in the scoring system of yore – on the night of March 16 1971 at Wembley.
Henry Cooper was a national treasure and a tsunami of protest raged against the referee and sole judge. Harry Gibbs was an esteemed official but his hair-line score-card fuelled speculation that he was harbouring some grudge against Our ‘Enery.
When he raised Bugner’s hand the crowd reaction was not unlike when the old King died. A mixture of stunned disbelief and howling grief.
Short of becoming Britain’s first world heavyweight champion for a century Bugner would never live it down. He tried, how he tried, but he could not add the supreme prize to the British, Commonwealth and European titles of which he had relieved Cooper.
Oh, how he tried. A surge of victories steeled him to brave intimidating back-to-back non-title fights against Ali and Frazier. First against The Greatest in Las Vegas, then Smokin’ Joe in London. He lasted the 12 rounds distance in both. And while Ali won comfortably, the defeat by Frazier was a slugfest classic which earned him grudging admiration for his heart and resilience, even among those who questioned his Britishness.
Another comeback run of victories – eight including a landmark Wembley out-pointing of the formidable Jimmy Ellis to warm the cockles of even the hardest London hearts – earned a second tilt at Ali. This time for the heavyweight crown on July 1 1975 in Kuala Lumpur. Once again when confronted by the ultimate challenge he retreated into his shell as Ali danced him dizzy.
Not that he was done, by any means. Not when he retired a couple of times before returning to continue racking up a very respectable record of 69 wins in 83 fights, 41 of them by knock out. If only this strapping blond Adonia had risked unleashing that punching power, in full, when the biggest nights came.
As he prolonged his career towards his 40s another huge evening took him to Tottenham’s White Hart Lane stadium on a wintry October in 1987 to face the man who had eventually replaced Sir Henry as the nation’s. favourite fighter.
Unlike Cooper, Frank Bruno left nothing to chance with the judges. ‘Broono’ they roared as a trademark right stopped Joe in his tracks and packed him off to Australia, for his second emigration.
The Bugner family, complete with six-year-old Jozsef Kreul, fled the Soviet occupation of Hungary in 1956 to seek refuge in the English shires. Now one naturalisation followed another for three-nations-Joe The United Kingdom. virtualy forgot this citizen as he dropped off the radar down under with his second wife Marlene. After nine years of inaction a flurry of fights under the nickname Aussie Joe. Every one a win until, finally he hung up the gloves for good in his 50th year.
Sadly, the two most important defeats were still to come. The vineyard in which he and Marlene invested most everything went under to the loss of two million Australian dollars(approximately one million pounds.) Now the dementia which confined him to a care home in Brisbane has landed the final blow, with the count only at 75.
If only Hary Gibbs had lived to become a doctor of neurology.
