Muhammad Ali’s Lifelong Boxer Friend Who Fought Him Twice Passes Away at 75

The boxing world has lost another legend, a boxer who went toe-to-toe not once but twice against arguably the greatest boxer ever, Muhammad Ali. The legend in question is Joe Bugner, who had over eighty professional fights to his name. Known as ‘Aussie Joe’, Bugner was born in Hungary, but grew up in the United Kingdom and then moved to Australia, and that’s where Ali’s former rival took his last breath, according to reports.

Joe Bugner is a multiple-time champion who held the British, European, and Commonwealth heavyweight belts. He may not have made the kind of impact Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman did in the sport of boxing, but Bugner’s passing did not go unnoticed. In fact, the news was broken by the British Boxing Board of Control. Let’s take a look.

The BBBC issued a statement on Muhammad Ali’s rival’s passing

Joe Bugner was 75 years old when he reportedly passed away in a care home in Brisbane, Queensland. The BBBC wrote, “It is with great sadness that the former British, European, Commonwealth heavyweight champion and world championship contender Joe Bugner has passed away at his care home in Brisbane, Australia.” Empathizing with Bugner’s family, the board added, “The British Boxing Board of Control passes on its condolences to Joe’s family.”

Joe Bugner, who was a citizen of three nations, had already been in a serious battle with dementia. Moreover, his medical condition resulted in him losing memory of his illustrious boxing career. The details regarding Bugner’s condition came to the fore in 2023, which revealed the serious effect dementia has had on the legend’s health.

Joe Bugner’s career has often gone under the radar as he competed at a time when the heavyweight scene was stacked with top boxers. He not only fought Muhammad Ali, against whom he lost on both occasions, ‘Aussie Joe’ also fought the likes of Henry Cooper, Brian London, and Chuck Wepner, whom he defeated. While Bugner and Ali were rivals, they turned out to be great friends as well. He even shared a hilarious story about the first time he met Ali.

Joe Bugner once shared a hilarious story about Ali

Muhammad Ali was pretty vocal about the Vietnam War, as he refused to join the army to serve the United States. As a result, ‘Th People’s Champion’ saw himself getting stripped of all his titles, a decision by the government which was later overturned. Ali returned to boxing in 1971, and that’s when he heard that Joe Bugner wanted to train with him. And guess what? The icon, after learning about that, decided to give Bugner a surprise visit while the latter was in a restaurant, calling him out.

“I went to New York to have a workout with him because he was making a comeback after being stripped of all the titles from the American government,” Joe Bugner said almost a decade ago. “I was there, and cut long story short, he walks into the restaurant. We were having lunch, and he just wanted to know where the hell was this white boy.”

When Joe Bugner responded to Muhammad Ali and introduced himself, the boxing icon decided to take a rip at ‘Aussie Joe’. He targeted Bugner’s appearance, claiming that he was not impressed with the way he looked. This came as massive surprise and shock to Ali’s former rival, but he did not take it as an insult, and instead, hilariously replied that his ‘ugliness’ was nothing compared to his sister. This response amused ‘The People’s Champion’.

“I stood up and I waited him. I said, ‘Look, I’m here.’ And he said, ‘So you’re the white boy that wants to spar with me.’ I said, ‘Yes.’ [Ali said], ‘Well, let me tell you something right now. You’re the ugliest white thing I think I’ve ever seen in my life. Your mother must have cried when she had you,'” Bugner added. “I thought, ‘Whoa! Hang on!… Put a lid on it, mate.’ So, at the end of the day, you know what I did? God, I feel embarrassed. I said, ‘You haven’t met my sister. Now that is ugly.’ And with that, he enjoyed it.”

Although they went on to fight each other, their relationship never soured. Joe Bugner and Muhammad Ali remained friends, which is the beauty of sports. Let us know your favorite moment from Bugner’s boxing career in the comments section below.