He really did fight the greats but never got the credit he deserved, I think that may have been part of him not seeming to have the necessary desire to win.

Fiveo waf Did he kill a boxer in the ring earlier in his career and after that bout he was never the same fighter again or was that just a story?

I think that cooper was so popular with the british public that when bugner beat him, he was not liked for it.

He defeated Ulric Regis early in his career. Regis died later of brain injuries. Bugner later said it had not affected his boxing.

Bugner is still the only man to go the distance with both Ali and Frazier.

It's the best! Lyle and Bonavena, too.👍

Absolutely! 70s was the best era for the heavyweight division. So many great fighters, and the division was deeper than it ever been before or after. The next closest decade for best heavyweights was the 90s, but 70s was better

Lol, Britain didn't produce Bugner. He was born in Hungary.

@@ravenaussie3760 Yes Bunger was born in Szoreg, Hungary, and after the Soviet invasion, he immigrated to the UK and in terms of boxing was the product of Britain.

@@ravenaussie3760 He may not have been born in Britain, but he grew up there and trained there, so Britain was home for him.

@@TheEnlightened77 I suppose that's fair. Also, replying 11 years later is legendary.

@@GreatMewtwo I guess that's fair enough.

yea, Lord, not a good choice in Shavers. The general public wont rate Bruno beating big Joe, but that was actually a great performance by Bruno, as Joe said "You had to be good to stop me!" he was right

His fight against Smith was the lesser WBF title, but still impressive he won a minor world title at near 50. And yeah during his 80s comeback Joe was lackluster, Shavers was a terrible choice to come back to. And foreshadowed his disappointing fights to come.

Didn't realise that. Charlie was a great player and a legend of the swing era.

Who said?

He put up a game performance against Frank Bruno, which was widely acknowledged at the time, even though he was past his prime.

Don't disrespect A Train …. I remember Audley once saying 'you'd better get on board now because soon the train will be moving too fast'". LOL.

Ordinary Harrison.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler got it right when commentating on a Harrison fight ... he kept referring to him as 'Audrey'! (Ps the incorrect spelling of 'marvellous' is part of Hagler's legal name).

Audley Harrison was loaded with talent, a big man who had speed and boxing skill. His career was a disappointment. He lost fights that he should have won, to Dominic Guinn and then to Michael Sprott. He was 39 years old when he was stopped by David Haye. To his credit, he knocked out Sprott in their rematch 3 years after their first fight.

@@pukulu He never showed it!!! You can make claims about anything, he was no more than average with that amazing platform to start from.

I'll comment however I fükken please, junior.

Apparently a guy died after fighting him ( think it was a punch) when coming up though the amateurs, always reminded me of that film with John Wayne ( the quite man) l remember reading about It and it never left him. He was Hungarian, and escape though bared wire with his family as a boy from Eastern Europe, whilst under Soviet control Hope lm wrong but pretty sure lm right, that's why he seamed to always hold back, great boxer , better than copper, but treated disgraceful by some of my countrymen, he stood toe to toe with the best one of the greatest heavyweights of all time vastly uderrated Australia gain was our lost

I noticed that about him too. He got away with it all the time. I quit him as a fan after I realized his nasty tactics.

Chava 😢😢😢

Jarvis Young that was The Nelson fight which was a fantastic bout

Yeah, that was a tragedy, what happened to Salvador Sanchez. He was shaping up to be truly great.

More low blows than you see on an entire card! The knockdown was a classic hit-and-hold job!

I never saw Bugner as a contender to be honest.

Watch this! Shavers v Quarry. Ali messing with both Frazier AND foreman at the start is classic! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q8CnZKqpupunj30.html

fjbutch He sparred with his wife, old Aussie Joe, I don't like wife beaters, pure cowardice!

@@bobbythompson3544 STFU.... you idiot... dont know what you are talking about

based on?

Based on my opinion :-)

Leon 84 opinion worth less than....2 pennies

Leon 84 well said. Bugner is a legend

Maybe you meant to say :Sir H.Cooper was a legend ..

Aussie Joe, via Hungary and the UK.

in the best era foe overall heavyweights ever

Bugner was truly great. He had almost no amateur fights, he was simply a natural.

Yep

Yes And Ron Lyle-

@@jamesinwood4170 He certainly ranks right up there.

I remember watching him whip Ali's a$$ for 14 rounds, and then saw the bout handed to the champ on the basis of a final round flurry...I guess to become the champ, you really do have to BEAT the champ.

@@chokkan7 In the mid-70s, Ali had won several rather controversial fights. IMO, Ali lost against Jimmy Young, Ken Norton (in their second fight) and Ernie Shavers. Ali's last fight of any real quality was the second Spinks fight. He should have retired after that one.

I agree that Joe was well and truly in this fight at the time of the stoppage. Had the fight continued my money would have been on Bugner for the reasons you mention.

Spot on. Its quite baffling. The UK customarily attracted american heavyweights over in the 80's.Joe shouldve eased his way back in. What he did in Australia beating tillis,bey and page was exceptional....Foremanesque....but baffling again that he signs to fight bruno and comes in 25lbs overweight....up there with the decision to fight shavers when he did

@@Anthony-Testicali I agree that Bugner's 1982 UK comeback should have been handled in the same manner as Foreman's 1987 return. By this I mean Bugner should have been given, maybe, ten or 11 easy fights before facing a world ranked contender. For whatever reason, in 1983 Joe was rushed into action against Marvis Frazier. Given Bugner's style (overly defensive, low punch output rate, and inconsistent punching power), the swarming Frazier was not a good choice of opponent, and Joe dropped a decision. I guess Bugner's UK promoter at the time didn't want to invest too much money in his comeback. That may explain why the promoter and Bugner settled for the first contender offered to them (Marvis Frazier). That's a shame, because had Bugner been able to fight several of the other lower top-ten heavyweights of 1983, such as Tex Cobb, James Tillis, Reynaldo Snipes, and Trevor Berbick, he probably would have won, and then cashed out with a title fight against one of the champions.

@@Anthony-Testicali Something else about Bugner's 1982-83 UK comeback that must be considered is his lack of popularity with the English public. That may explain why Bugner's promoter was hesitant to give Joe a carefully orchestrated, long-term build-up of the sort that Foreman got in the late 1980s. That's just my guess.

Bugner was unpopular with British fans because he was not really British and retired Henry Cooper, who was very popular in what many thought was an unfair decision by a referee with an agenda. You did not have to be told that by the media of be a sheep for that to be the case. I am also not quite sure how the British media had anything to do with the money Bugner made in big fights against the likes of Ali twice and Frazier, who in his case came to London to fight.

Joe B was born Hungarian, then became "British", then became "Australian" (where he called himself "Aussie Joe"). It's difficult to tell what his "own country", as you put it, was.

Joe was a very game bloke and fought the best, losing against them but he didn't dodge anyone that's for sure. He just wasn't British, he was Hungarian. I don't know why the British in general never took to him as an outsider, but he wasn't at all popular.

sunny liston was hardest ever !

@@NycStray_animals uhh..no lol shavers was way harder of a puncher lol..sry but no one had the right hand like shavers..lol study ur boxing foo..even Ali said that himself when asked who was the strongest puncher he faced..so i take Ali's word on it.

@@coryanthony5134 Keep in mind Liston never hit Ali, so he can't comment on Shavers being harder...

​@@TheOneAndOnlyZelenkaGuruHe did hit Ali, they actually fought twice, it's not only the famous fight of the knockout, first time went 15 rounds and Ali smashed Liston and of course sonny punched him

@@lusianojwkwknan6640 The first fight was a RD 7 TKO, not 15 RDs.

I'm glad others see these illegal moves!

Klitchko's are not skilled. They rule because of the weakness of the division.

***** Shavers would certainly have a puncher's chance against Vlad (especially younger Vlad) but older, smarter Vlad would jab-and-hold him all night until he ran out of steam, and then kill him with 1-2s. Bugner would get wiped out.

Calm down, slugger. I wasn't referring to Vitali at all-- I was talking about the younger version of Vlad (you know, the one that got knocked out by guys like Corrie Sanders and Lamont Brewster) in contrast to "older" Vlad (the one who hasn't been down in nearly a decade).Sorry if I was unclear.

***** No worries at all-- I've seen those guys too! The ones who would bet their lives that some of the slow 200-lb boxers of yesteryear would "destroy" the Klitschkos...

mrkoolkevin Bugner went the distance with an in form Ali, I hardly think he would get " wiped out"

he also ended Henry Coopers career which didn't go down very well.

I thought Bugner was Australian?

Monster puncher. He was only right over the heavyweight weight limit though correct? I want to say I seen him listed at 202lbs for a fight. I Could be wrong.

I remember playing that game! I think I got to the last boxer once. Not an easy game.

@@dustylover100 I played it in a pub in Kent in the 90’s! It was called mike Tyson’s punch out. I got to Tyson a few times but he was literally impossible to beat!

12

+Cedericoco Santorini That was Shaver's go-to trick.

James Rozoff Lewis had a tendency to do the same.

Website guy Yes, I agree, they all had their weird if not cheating tactics and behaviours... Although I sincerely doubt Holyfield's headbutts were on purpose. Some are the result of two heads clashing, the other guy getting the worst of it: see the first Tyson fight. After the first butt, resulting in the opening of the main cut on Tyson's eyebrow, comes the second butt (more visible on screen), causing Tyson to crouch in pain. That time, it's claimed Holy butted him. But instead, it's Tyson's head litterally smashing into Holy's head. My point of view.

Website guy Interesting. Are you saying the gash on Tyson's eyebrow came from an elbow?

Oh you noticed it? Boxing is dirty, very very very few clean fighters.

Frankie brunoey knocked him down

Oh yes I remembered that neck swing when he leaned on him

Phil Anderson smokin joe

Wow

He's a big dude!

@Simon P i think foreman would have won, foreman did have a better chin, only Ali stopped him through his boxing skills and game plan. Foreman fault boxers like Frazier, Norton who had the same build and style similar to shavers, he was brilliant with them type of boxers. Even in his come back when he was in his forties against Evander Hollyfield Morrison and Moorer they only wobbled foreman. I personally would say Foreman would win

Yes and never broke a sweat .

Ali.owned Bugner

Larry Merchant, he was always an a@shole. Go back and listen to him talk with Julio Cesar Chávez or Floyd Mayweather after one of their fights. Also notice that when he spoke of the cut on Joe's head, he mentioned that it was balding. He was always antagonistic and rude.

@@davidgrunstra3680 merchant is one of the best in the business. He calls em like he sees em.bugner was a no talent bum

A lot of Shavers knockouts came that way. Left hand behind the opponents head and a right uppercut.

Always think stamina is really misunderstood. We have only so much energy and when it is spent it is spent. Every punch you throw makes you weaker. Shavers simply spent his early.

Vladimir Yemelyanov 4 fighters that fought both of them disagree

Hardest puncher of all time, based on what? Shavers was barely a small cruiser by modern's standards, fought under 200lbs and was barely over it in his career... Had a padded record full of light, small cans, with laughable losing records and already stopped before, and he never knocked out anyone good... I'm sure certain light-heavies from today hits harder than him, let alone cruisers and super-heavyweights... In my opinion he wasn't even the best puncher from his era, Foreman certainly was, and i know what Ali and few others said, i prefer to look at facts...

Watch this! Shavers v Quarry. Ali messing with Frazier and foreman at the start is classic Ali! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q8CnZKqpupunj30.html

Some would disagree violently

The commentator said Bugner was 32. Should be in his prime.

Shavers was 38 ffs. Bugner was 32. Shavers was approaching his 40s.

Sk Ks - thanks for the reply. I actually forgot that I made a post re this clip. I appreciate the quoting of Norton's comments re Shavers - given the broader scope of Norton's opinions on all things boxing, the man came across as genuinely expressed and wholly rational/intellectual. .Norton was one of the few to pick Ali against Foreman, noting that he saw openings against George but was simply too "tight" to fully capitalise. Norton did not believe that Ali would be as afflicted (with nerves) as Norton was. In the early going, Norton was performing very well against Foreman but the first truly solid connection seemed to bring Norton undone (exacerbated by Norton's own lack of belief in himself). Sure, the testimonials of Shaver's opp. should not be dismissed out of hand but I still have my reservations as per the reasons I outlined. Certainly it's not to say that Shavers wasn't a devastating puncher who belongs among the truly elite hitters - in my opinion, he sure does. Just back on to Norton for a moment - some may bang on Ken's chin butt he was, after all, knocked by guys who might be ranked in the top 5 punchers of all time (excluding the Garcia KO earlier in Norton's career). Norton was interesting in that he could take a decent shot very well....up to a certain level of power. Let's say that Norton could take a shot that rated 8/10 on the punch Richter Scale quite well but anything beyond that, Kenny fell apart somewhat and it was slippery slope thereafter. That extra turn of the power notch made all the difference and guys like Foreman, Shavers and Cooney could push the needle that bit further. Otherwise, Ken could bang along quite nicely with guys like Ali and Holmes without too much disturbance if any. I've been studying clips of Louis, Liston, Foreman, Tyson etc. working out on the heavy bag to get the feel of their primary punch power. All major hitters and the ridiculous impact force of their punches is palpable. For dramatic effect, Foreman's work on the bag (Dick Saddler holding same) is awe inspiring. Slow, persistent mono punching (right or left) but unbelievably powerful all the same. The dent made in the bag by Foreman is uniformly noted by commentators - but George was hitting the same spot with the same punch over and over and over again and I wouldn't say that Saddler's recoiling reactions weren't perhaps a tad contrived to enhance the impression of Foreman's power. Again, not saying Foreman didn't hit like a Mack Truck - I wouldn't be fussed holding the heavy bag while Foreman was blasting away at it. I know Ali deliberately stayed away from Foreman's heavy bag workouts - the Greatest had plenty of self belief but the vision of Foreman modifying the shape of heavy bag would be enough to bring the most confident of fighters undone. Liston's demonstrated power in the ring and on the heavy bag are highly impressive. Unlike Foreman, Sonny's absolute sheer power is not unleashed with each and every shot - rather, it is tempered by Liston's deference to and execution of considerable boxing skills. Liston hits the bag with an ease that appears disproportional to the apparent end point force yielded. If Liston swung for the fences from opening bell as Foreman often did, Liston might've had even more KOs in faster time than he did but, in balance, we might've seen Liston eventually gas and expire as quickly as the young Foreman did. Certainly, against the likes of the elusive Eddie Machen, without securing an earlier rd KO, Foreman might've floundered in the later rounds as he did against Jimmy Young. Not so with Liston, who metered himself very well over 12 rounds against Machen while still landing heavy artillery throughout. No right, wrong, definitive opinions or answers here. Quite simply, the process of simply chewing these things over is interesting enough in itself. PS - Alas, with all that, I forgot to say that I can't find ANY clips of Shavers seriously working the heavy bag. Too bad but I will optimistically hold that something must be out there.. Thanks

John Smith"No right, wrong, definitive opinions or answers here. Quite simply, the process of simply chewing these things over is interesting enough in itself. " 100% agree, and thanks for the info.

QuIgYx Me or Joe Bugner?

Not looking it up and from memory, Ali x 2, Ernie Shavers and joe Frazier in the 70s and Frank Bruno in his last fight in the 80s when he was pretty old. Dont know the other 3 maybe richard dunn for the british championship was one.

Looked it up, he beat Richard Dunn, but he lost 13 fights in his pretty much 3 careers including his first fight. But fought some names on the way, took Ali the distance in the early 70s twice and Joe Frazier, lost on a cut to Ernie Shavers but beat "jack" London and Henry Cooper, came back again then moved to Australia eventually winning the WBF championship which wasnt thought much of, he had earlier lost to Frank Bruno on a TKO, but beat Anders Ekland, James quick Tillis and James Bonecrusher Smith to win the said title so no slouch. Retired in 99 after starting his career in 67. Makes Deontay Wilders resume look pretty pathetic. London, Henry Cooper, Dunn, Ali, Ron Lyle, Frazier, Ali, Shavers, Bruno, Ekland, Tillis, Smith. Lost many of them but not the first and last 3, at least he fought someone.

@@tonytye8963 He beat up Richard Dunn and I mean beat up .

69-13-1 Of his 69 wins 41 were by KO. Not bad for a fighter some derided as too passive.