Interview with Joe Bugner

We caught up with famous boxer Aussie Joe Bugner to talk about his boxing career and fighting Muhammad Ali! He also shares with us his biggest regrets and secrets in life and his own words of wisdom...

[@jp3923]

Joe Bugner is a class act and was a tremendous fighter in his day. He fought the best and appears to have retained his health and senses throughout. Congratulations, Joe, on a great career!

[@oncall21]

Joe you look awesome to this day. You fought them all in the toughest heavy weight period. So much respect for you man.

[@lampini]

unbelievable this guy boxed from 17 to 49 and he's showed no affects. Unbelievable!!

[@mauricedaniel2500]

His defense was underrated

[@boxingjos]

its different now..... dementia now

[@jamiejosh96]

Unfortunately now suffering with dementia, same as many fighters

[@Seanryan2001]

Sadly he now has severe dementia and can't remember anything about his boxing career. He resides in a Brisbane Care Home. His wife Marlene died over a year ago and he still thinks she is alive. Just so tragic.

[@pooooornopigeon]

@@Seanryan2001 That`s sad to hear.

[@mountainmanmackenzie]

What a nice man Joe is, he was one of the toughest boxers I watched growing up in the 70’s, brilliant!

[@sg3596]

I had the pleasure of meeting this man a few years back at a charity event. A pure gentleman and a top athlete. Thank you Joe.

[@Scotty70]

I was a big Bugner fan but for some reason can't find anything public about him for the last few years?

[@patrickomaracou7268]

I met Joe in Jersey channel island a very nice fella (and those green eyes would make any man shite scared )just before his fight with Henry cooper ,for me Henry boxed his ears off BUT they wanted a new British and Euopean hevyweight champ because Henry held it for years.

[@hungfao]

Ali always said Joe had the skills to be World Champ. Many believe that he didn't commit his punches 100% after an opponent died from brain injuries.

[@peteraddison8323]

Joe Bugner is such a great man shame the British public did not know the back in the 70s 80s s, we were feed a load of nonsense back in the day. I watch Joe now and thank God for him. A real class act and he looks great may God continue to bless this global treasure

[@loganriki2625]

Joe Bugner, a real warrior.

[@rideon77]

He looks and sounds great!!!!

[@preteristlab-endtimes5683]

What a charming man. With so much history and ability he speaks to us just like an ordinary bloke - but he was never ordinary. His charm is his sense of humour and real modesty. Someone once said; 'aging is also a test of character.' I think 'old Joe' is doing very well. Thanks 'Aussie Joe' for all your great moments. Mozz from Oz.

[@Jim17735]

Classy guy Joe and a hugely underrated fighter, looks and sounds great as well in his later years

[@robharding1957]

Always liked Joe Bugner, followed his career since he beat our Enery. he sounds great, and he's still got his sense of humour, Didn't know he held a record for the discus, Steve Reeves, in deed, used to watch him too. well done Joe, great interview,

[@Min-xm8tp]

What a lovely Guy, good good fighter, glad he's still around and looks like he's doing well!

[@joelbibleminorprophet3411]

First knew of him as a kid in the movie “I’m for the hippopotamus” with Bud Spencer and Terrance Hill. He was Mr Ormond the wild animal smuggler. Only years later did I realise he went the distance twice with Ali as a real Boxer. Now I just learnt he is Australia’s first World Heavy Weight Champion. Amazing Aussie Joe Bugner.

[@deeelumba6479]

This man deserves his credit from mainstream media! Class act...BEAST!!

[@vincentfisher1603]

Steve Reeves was my hero back when I was a kid! Also, Bugner shows no sign of brain damage because he a very good defensive boxer.

[@nickmolloy6832]

Was lucky enough to meet Joe in Perth about 10 years ago. He was my childhood sporting idol and didn't disappoint. He was happy to talk to me and share some memories of his fights. Great guy!!

[@crabb9966]

Underrated boxer

[@ElephantRage]

great to see in good shape, all faculties intact. pretty miraculous.

[@JohnSmith-le5oe]

My family all fighters, all loved Joe. Was sad that the guy from Norway died fighting Joe. Bugner was always a decent civilised human being and like many fighters before him, including Max Baer, his subconscious never allowed him to unleash his tremendous punching power. God bless you Joe and I pray you have a long and happy life.

[@AlienPsyTing1]

Brilliant guy, respect, great human being

[@pvonberg]

What a great gentleman. A credit to his sport.

[@Ai-he1dp]

Lovely tribute to Ali from a great fighter and humble man Bugner.

[@balazskiralydr.8394]

Nagyon büszkék vagyunk a " Szőregire" akit még Muhammad Ali sem tudott kiütni. Isten éltesse sokáig!!

[@johnboyce1916]

What an absolutely brilliant man Total respect

[@kevphillips02]

Fantastic Joe, respect to you. I just watched your fight with Smoking Joe Frazier.

[@coryanthony5134]

That hook frazier landed in the 10th..damn lol..bugner still cept coming

[@TheJay1471]

Respect where it's due , class bloke and a class fighter !!

[@guspo1]

Hi Joe from Australia mate. WOW Joe. Your such a humble and classy bloke, love the interview. It really shows the real side of you. Thank you mate.

[@kai_johnsonn]

It's great to see fighters such as Bugner, Chuvalo and Brian London all able to speak as well as they did when they were younger. No brain damage evident

[@richardweiler6931]

Unfortunately, London has passed away. And both Bugner and Chuvalo now have advanced dementia and are living out their days in care facilities.

[@kai_johnsonn]

@@richardweiler6931 oh damn, didn't know that. Are there any interviews with them now?

[@richardweiler6931]

@@kai_johnsonn well obviously Bugner and Chuvalo are in no condition any longer to do interviews. It's possible that they're in the final year of their lives. I got the info from internet news stories. Chuvalo has had dementia for several years now. With Bugner it seems to be fairly recent, but his son said that he no longer remembers his boxing career and doesn't know him. Unaware that his wife has passed away. Bugner's in an Australian care facility. Very sad final days for these boxing veterans.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

I really like Joe Bugner. His interviews are always interesting. I wish he was on social media. It would be great to know how he's getting on.

[@Ali-Makki]

pure class i always loved bugner

[@bfgtech48]

Joe Bugner was teak tough and fought the best, in the best era of heavyweight boxing.

[@filippomarchini8757]

This guy have true hungarian blood, the blood of Arpad and King István. Was a very good fighter and simple guy, very funny actor in several Bud Spencer Movies, there I saw him for the first time when I was child.

[@filippomarchini8757]

@@jshaw4757 I know something about hungarian history.

[@filippomarchini8757]

@@jshaw4757 I have no worries, I just only mean that I know something about hungarians, not so much about slavic culture and history.Obiouvsly I can't ignore the relations and the conflicts that took place in such a long time. I wrote about old Joe here ungherianews.com/2018/11/19/1956-joszef-il-bambino-in-fuga-che-affronto-ali/ Glad we have common interests!

[@filippomarchini8757]

@@jshaw4757 thank you, I have to refresh my english, no worries sounds like the hungarian "semmi gond", or "ne haragudj" and "cool" when whe say "kiraly" ( king) when somebody is very cool ( like only the king can be). I am italian born, I live in Hungary now.

[@eamonnsheehan7787]

What an absolute Legend, should be a boxing Commentator , living Legend.

[@soulvaccination8679]

Much respect for you Joe.Fought em all with dignity

[@mautoban66]

I just saw his fight against Ali from 1975. Never heard of him before. What a great guy...real english gentleman. Best greetings from germany.

[@thaifightLondon]

Actually he is a real British- Australian & Hungarian

[@rowdyyates4273]

Joe Bugner has become somewhat of a legend, he faught the best and hardest, and stood toe to toe with them!!----he belongs in the golden era of heavyweights, and would give the latest lot a hard time for sure--well done amigo!!!

[@peterjansen8262]

Proud of you Aussie Joe, you were a very good boxer and remain a true gentleman.

[@grahamcrighton8113]

What a star!

[@kc1973able]

Good old Joe Bugner 🥊 super underrated and undervalued by us Brit’s I can’t say I blame him for moving Down Inder to Australia 🇦🇺 he’s been living there since the mid 1980’s. I enjoyed his boxing 🥊 comeback in 1985/86 under Johnny Lewis and Jeff Fenech. Joe was a real Peter Pan of boxing 🥊 👍🥊🇦🇺

[@thomasknopf7194]

Classy Human. May God Bless You.

[@tonyalways7174]

Joe never really got the respect he deserved. A beautiful boxer and a lovely man.

[@nitramnagev7997]

17 minutes ago Joe's a very good bloke and a gent. A great boxer. I've always liked him.

[@michaelgeraldhong5894]

13 Nov 2021 Jumping Jupiters! How on planet Pluto did I miss this video all these years? Good grief! Probably lost in reverie while excavating some subterranean tunnel out in the cosmic wilderness. Anyway, we must all be mighty grateful to Uploader Trade Tools for the generosity of this gem of a piece of documentation. And it can only acquire even greater worth with time to come, for the generations after us, I say. Having read through all 116 comments as listed here in this section this very minute, with the exception of but a few naysayers, everyone's on the same page as far as bouquets for this one great Aussie go. And I fully concur. What a blessing it is that an ex-professional heavyweight boxing champion should turn out to be such a down-to-earth, nothing pretentious or double-talking human being. Clearly he's well past the post-spotlight hankering phase and is fully reconciled to life beyond the ring. And Joe's quick wit, clarity of mind and sharpness of thought! And his articulacy and youthful demeanour! This after all those punches absorbed all those years yet with not a discernible trace of cognitive dissonance. This is nothing short of a happy career coda. A complementary companion to this most uplifting true-life inspiration story must surely be George Foreman's transformed New Man from his erstwhile sullen brute persona. And while Joe won his world championship at age 48, George similarly achieved it, second time around, at age 45! Stuff of fanciful fiction, you say? Joe's recounting that some "moron" had threatened his life should he beat Muhammad Ali in their 1975 Kuala Lumpur fight was a revelation for me. What I do recollect most vividly is the fight was on a weekday morning and I was most anxious to find out the result of the bout from my Chinese Language teacher during recess break (he was not in the know though). The New Nation afternoon tabloid (Singapore) had, naturally, given wide coverage to the event in the build-up, what with Ali's visit to Singapore's newly completed National Stadium just the year before. Disappointingly for a wide-eyed boy then, I read the paper's delayed publication that day, a round-by-round blow of the 15-rounder fight of Joe's loss by unanimous decision (again) to Ali. In fact, the reporter claimed that the morning's equatorial heat likely contributed to Joe's less-than-stellar performance. Held back his reserves. But, rather disparagingly in tone, he mentioned also that Joe sought refuge from the heat with a 12(?) / 20(?)-lap swim in the hotel's pool, after the fight. Joe's candour in turning down the invite to Ali's funeral, having to traverse half the globe from Australia to America, was pure spoken-from-the-heart honesty. I assume that they had not been in communication for years. In any case the occasion was an "overkill" in Joe's opinion, and that "Ali may not have approved of it". Boxing fans will have their own sentiments about this, sure. Thank you Mr Joe Bugner for just being the decent human being that you are. Stay in fighting shape won't ya?

[@robertcaswell3914]

Top man Joe love from the uk

[@RE-qy8he]

Joe Bugner is natures gentleman. I ran into Joe a few years ago and living on the beautiful Queensland Gold Coast.

[@LoveLife-wy8gt]

God Bless you Joe Bugner !

[@theoilandgasresourceportal2132]

Hope your health is good, stay safe Joe. From a UK fan.

[@cedricfarquharson5842]

Great fighter and great human being.

[@runthomas]

he is a top quality guy.... and in bloody great condition....you would never know he had even boxed, he is sharp as a razor

[@sidboy332]

what a respect for Mohammad Ali d #Greatest

[@chrisbennett606]

Amazing interview

[@boggybigpants9462]

What a lovely bloke, well interesting....love to hang out with him for the day 👍🇬🇧

[@drfeelgood9814]

Great stories too!🙏

[@allosaurusfragilis7782]

Amazing to see joe. He looks great. Smart guy

[@roberthayes9842]

One of the greats and a very likeable guy

[@johnjames661]

classy guy! damn fine boxer!

[@benhurley8063]

Top man Joe , all the best to ya

[@kevin48800]

i loved bugner uk fan

[@untissify]

Excellent 👍🏻

[@davidclayton3831]

A VERY UNDERRATED HEAVYWEIGHT. JOE HAD A GREAT CHIN!!!

[@pattywickson9046]

Very underrated. He stopped fighters that Ali had trouble with. Fought the best. Should be spoke about with the best .

[@dennishenry3319]

So glad 2 see Joe looking well..marvellous marvellous man..good luck Joe.. p/s could have sworn he was British..who knew

[@joeygonzo]

GREAT INTERVIEW!

[@texashistorian7966]

He is the great white hope! Bugner was the toughest and best white boxer of the 70s who went the distance with Lyle, Frazier and many others that none of the other white boxers who challenged them could accomplish this much punishment, skill and technique with these opponents as he never got the credit he deserved.

[@MarkJones-zh3ho]

Yet, Ali beat him twice and Frazier and Lyle beat him once,the most you can give him credit for, Is going the distance, with these three fighters, and after the second Ali fight, Bugner had enough energy left,to go for a swim?

[@murrayshekelberg9754]

I have always quite liked the Aussies and Joe seems to be a good example.

[@robharding4028]

I grew to love this guy, so funny too,

[@jonathanpardoe8722]

What a great charming man !

[@badsolja1]

I was very disappointed when they didn’t include Joe Bugner in facing Ali documentary

[@malarki5]

What a great guy!

[@paulwhybrow7407]

Joe was a seriously class act, a damn good fighter/boxer, respect 🙏 🫡

[@petyrkowalski9887]

What a gent and great athlete

[@Allan-et5ig]

What a great guy.

[@loveadog1387]

A true gentleman...

[@rickylmoe4018]

I always like Joe he was good for boxing as you see he was comical as soon as his boxing ability he hung around for years saved his money and did well for himself. ❤

[@Helio144]

It's the eye of the Bugner, it's the thrill of the fight 👊🥊

[@seanboland3560]

Hope you doing ok Joe, look great, a very underrated a boxer a great fighter

[@chrisbennett606]

Great insight on Ali from bugler from someone who actually knew him

[@MultiCockey]

He is Hungarian! He's original name is József Kreul. He left the country with his family in 1956.

[@TigraxPlays]

Always loved watching the Bud Spencer Movie as a kid where he was the antagonist😁👍🏼

[@yalcinhussein9258]

Your a gentle man joe and a champ

[@shimmaryshimmary3567]

Joe is the best boxer great character

[@danielcaprani5637]

Joe your class 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🔥

[@Wally-H]

Nice to see Joe looking so well. During his comeback he was overweight and clearly out of shape - it would appear he's been looking after himself much better in recent times.

[@richardwood1575]

What a decent sounding guy, who went in with the very best and beat many of them.

[@kevintrace5396]

Bugner great fighter clean fighter he fought some top guys in his time strong guy

[@truthhitman7473]

Muhammad Ali stuck up for Bugner on the Parkinson's show

[@chrisbennett606]

Truth Hitman great point I saw that too

[@richardhughes2988]

Just watched joe v Ali in 1973 when you got a cut eye joe was a very game tough man fighting in the 70s when the heavyweight division had top fighters well done joe rip the great Ali 👍🇬🇧

[@mikeyoung7660]

Good to see Joe alive and kicking

[@fasthracing]

Still looking good Joe

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

Bugner is the only fighter who went the distance with both Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. He deserves a lot more credit than he gets.

[@kevinjenkins2468]

very nice like able guy and a great boxer

[@AM-ni3sz]

He is a good man.

[@massimiliano68]

Very nice guy.

[@tonyleslie3358]

I like Joe, I Great true nice person

[@glynmountjoy998]

very very under rated

[@yourroyalhighness7662]

This guy seems to nice to be a fighter and I mean that as a compliment.

[@noname-fx6qf]

Top bloke seen Joe win against Bob Mirovic in 98.

[@Ididntaskforahandleyoutube]

What a time for HW boxing. I love this guy. He had incredible heart. If you want to see what he had in his heart, watch how badly he tried to get up after George Foreman hit him with a world class atomic right and we all knew how fucking hard Big George hit. Joe didn't stay down when 99.99% of HW's would or did. He gave every ounce of resolve to climb up those ropes even though his brain was basically on the mat. He was counted out and went and cried in his corner. George went over and consoled him out of pure respect. George never did that in his first career. Cheers.

[@nikolailic431]

He never fought Foreman what are you talking about??

[@Ididntaskforahandleyoutube]

@@nikolailic431, my bad. I was thinking of Scott LeDeoux.

[@imadeyoureadthis1500]

This guy has not 1 symptom of brain damage from boxing even with his crazy career, crazy