Former heavyweight boxer Joe Bugner has died at the age of 75.
Bugner twice held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles and was a three-time European heavyweight champion.
He faced Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in back-to-back bouts in 1973, before facing Ali again in 1975.
“It is with great sadness that the former British, European and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, and world championship contender Joe Bugner has passed away at his care home in Brisbane, Australia,” said the British Boxing Board of Control.
“The British Boxing Board of Control passes on its condolences to Joe’s family.”
Bugner was consistently ranked among the world’s top 10 heavyweights throughout the 1970s and was known for technical ability, toughness, durability and willingness to take on the best.
During his 83-fight career, he also shared the ring with other notable heavyweights such as Earnie Shavers, Henry Cooper and Frank Bruno.
Bruno called it a “sad day for boxing”, while Queensberry promoter Frank Warren also paid tribute to Bugner.
“He participated in the first fight I did on ITV – a great man who will be missed. I’m sending my regards to his family. May he rest in peace,” said Warren.
The tough heavyweight who mixed it with the best
Born Jozsef Kreul Bugner in Szoreg, Hungary, in 1950, he and his family fled the country after the 1956 Soviet invasion and eventually settled in the United Kingdom.
Bugner began boxing as a teenager and quickly rose through the amateur ranks, winning the ABA light heavyweight title at just 17.
As a professional, Bugner claimed a notable victory over Cooper at Wembley in 1971 to win both the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles.
His fights against Ali and Frazier further cemented his reputation for toughness.
In their first bout, Ali controlled the fight with superior speed and accuracy, but Bugner went the distance, earning praise for his resilience.
Later that year, he faced Joe Frazier in a gruelling match, ultimately being stopped in the 12th round after another courageous performance. Bugner lost again on points to Ali in 1975.
Bugner retired a number of times throughout his career. After first hanging up the gloves in 1976, he made several comebacks.
He moved to Australia in the mid-1980s and continued to take on top-level competition, including a defeat by Bruno, who stopped him in the eighth round in 1987.
Bugner retired again but returned nearly eight years later to capture the Australian heavyweight title in 1995.
In 1998, at the age of 48, he won the World Boxing Federation’s version of the heavyweight championship by defeating James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith, before bowing out of boxing for good in 1999 after a win by disqualification against Levi Billups.
Outside of boxing, Bugner appeared in films including the 1994 action movie Street Fighter and worked as a boxing adviser for the Russell Crowe film Cinderella Man. He was also a contestant on ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity’ in 2009.