Joe Bugner vs Richard Dunn for the British, Commonwealth and European middleweight titles
Date: October 12, 1976
Venue: Wembley, London
Bugner stance: orthodox
Dunn stance: southpaw
Joe Bugner first fought for the British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight titles a few days after his 21st birthday, when he beat Henry Cooper on points by the narrowest of margins. After a points win over Jürgen Blin, Bugner lost all his belts to Jack Bodell on points. Two fights later, Bugner lost again to unfancied journeyman Larry Middleton. After five consecutive wins inside the distance, Bugner regained the European title with an eighth round knock out of Jürgen Blin. Bugner had competitive points losses to Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in non-title bouts. A run of eight wins against journeymen and fringe contenders earned him a world title shot against Ali, which Bugner lost on points.
Richard Dunn won the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles in 1975 when he beat Bunny Johnson on points, avenging a stoppage loss two years earlier. In his first defence, he knocked out Danny McAlinden in the second round, after losing to the same opponent in the first round of his pro debut. Two fights later, Dunn won the European title with a third round stoppage of Bernd August. This win enabled Dunn to challenge Muhammad Ali for the undisputed world heavyweight title, and he was stopped in five one-sided rounds.
For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:
Joe Bugner - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/000924
Richard Dunn - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/9391
