Former European Heavyweight Champion Joe Bugner Dies at 75 in Australia
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Brisbane, Australia (September 3rd, 2025)- Former British and European Heavyweight champion Joe Bugner, who twice battled Muhammad Ali, and also fought Henry Cooper, Jack Bodell, Ron Lyle, Joe Frazier, Earnie Shavers, and other notables, has passed away in Australia at age 75.
Bugner, a Hungarian-born British fighter, battled between 1967 and 1999, compiling a 69-13-1 record with 42 knockouts. On June 30, 1975, Bugner lost a 15-round decision to Muhammad Ali in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the World Boxing Council World Heavyweight title. Bugner, who later won the Australian Heavyweight title after he immigrated there, won the World Boxing Federation version of the World Heavyweight title in July 1998 by stopping James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith in one round.
Bugner also enjoyed an acting career. In 1989, he opened a vineyard in Australia, but the business failed, costing him and his wife, Melody two million dollars. Bugner, who had three children and was divorced, wrote his autobiography, entitled Joe Bugner-My story, published by New Holland Publishing in November 2013. Bugner spent his final years suffering from boxing related Dementia Pugilistica and died at a care home in Brisbane, Australia, on September 1, 2025, at age 75.
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