Joe Bugner (left) during a boxing match against Jack Bodell, 1971.
A memorial plaque was unveiled on Wednesday at the birthplace of Joe Bugner, the Hungarian-born professional world and European boxing champion, who passed away on September 1, 2025, at the age of 75.
The plaque was placed on the house at 150 Szerb Street in the Szőreg district of Szeged (southern Hungary) by István Kovács, President of the Hungarian Boxing Association, Zsolt Erdei, head of the Veteran Boxers’ Foundation, and András Avramov representing the local municipality.
The commemoration was attended by Joe Bugner’s descendants, as well as recently crowned world championship bronze medalist Pylyp Akilov, who resides in Hódmezővásárhely, near Szeged.
Joe Bugner was born on March 13, 1950, in Szőreg (today part of Szeged) as József Kreul. After the 1956 revolution, he and his parents left Hungary, first settling in England and later in Australia.
During his professional boxing career, he stepped into the ring against both Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1973.
He faced Ali again in 1975 for the world championship title but lost both bouts by judge decision. Although he retired in 1976, he made sporadic comebacks over the next two decades. In 1998, he won the World Boxing Federation (WBF) world title by defeating James Smith via technical knockout in the first round. His professional career spanned 32 years, during which he fought 83 matches, winning 69—41 of them by knockout.
In the meantime, he also pursued an acting career, appearing in around thirty films and television series between 1978 and 2004. He was best known for his villainous roles in films starring Bud Spencer, including I’m for the Hippopotamus, Lo chiamavano Bulldozer (They Called Him Bulldozer), The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid, and Buddy Goes West.
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Via MTI, Featured image: Wikimedia Commons / Public domain / Arquivo Nacional Collection
The post Memorial Plaque Unveiled at Birthplace of Boxing Legend Joe Bugner appeared first on Hungary Today.
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