{"id":113290,"date":"2025-09-02T03:21:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T03:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/113290\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T03:21:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T03:21:12","slug":"revealed-why-boxing-legend-aussie-joe-bugner-called-russell-crowe-a-gutless-worm-in-epic-clash-over-famous-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/113290\/","title":{"rendered":"Revealed: Why boxing legend ‘Aussie’ Joe Bugner ‘called Russell Crowe a gutless worm’ in epic clash over famous movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aussie Joe Bugner went toe-to-toe with some of boxing’s biggest names without hitting the canvas, so it was no surprise he refused to back down when confronted by Hollywood tough guy Russell Crowe<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bugner’s brave tale ended this week, when he succumbed to dementia<\/a> and died in Brisbane<\/a>, aged 75.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, Bugner\u00a0\u2013 who was born in Hungary<\/a> and raised in Britain\u00a0\u2013 will be remembered as Australia’s only heavyweight champion after leaving the UK.<\/p>\n

He twice went the distance with Muhammad Ali<\/a> and fought Joe Frazier in a gruelling twelve-round contest, earning respect even as British fans often jeered him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the 1980s he moved to Australia, where he was reborn as ‘Aussie Joe,’ winning national titles and later the WBF heavyweight belt aged 48.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also became a television and media personality, working as a commentator for Channel Seven<\/a> and appearing on shows like I’m a I’m A Celebrity<\/a>…Get Me Out Of Here!<\/p>\n

\"Bugner, <\/p>\n

Bugner, pictured with his wife Marlene, became a sporting hero Down Under after moving to Australia and continuing his winning ways in the ring<\/p>\n

\"Bugner <\/p>\n

Bugner twice went the distance against the legendary\u00a0Muhammad Ali (pictured), and also lasted until the final bell against ‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier<\/p>\n

\"Crowe <\/p>\n

Crowe (right) is pictured promoting the film Cinderella Man. He hired Bugner as a consultant to help get him ready to portray a legendary boxer in the movie<\/p>\n

It was a perfect blend of boxing experience and media savvy that prompted Crowe to call Bugner when he was planning to make his next Hollywood blockbuster in the early 2000s, Cinderella Man.<\/p>\n

Cinderella Man tells the true story of James J. Braddock, a Depression-era boxer who made an unlikely comeback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once thought finished, he rose from poverty to become heavyweight champion, inspiring hope during America’s darkest years.<\/p>\n

Crowe wanted to do the story justice, so he decided to enlist Bugner \u2013 who was still fighting at the time \u2013 as a consultant to whip him into shape.<\/p>\n

It all started very amicably.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I told Russell straight off that pro boxing is a very dangerous business,’ Bugner said at the time.<\/p>\n

‘And even in the sparring sessions that we’ll be doing when we’re all padded up, he’ll still have to concentrate hard on what’s going on or he can get hurt.<\/p>\n

‘But Russell assured me that he fully realises the seriousness of the fight game and that he has a lot of hard work ahead of him.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The relationship between Crowe and Bugner quickly soured as the movie star (pictured left, with co-star Paul Giamatti) launched a tirade on the boxing legend<\/p>\n

\"Cinderella <\/p>\n

Cinderella Man was a true story about\u00a0James J. Braddock (pictured), a Depression-era boxer who made an incredible comeback to become champion<\/p>\n

‘He also added that once he’s committed to any role he becomes very determined and very motivated.<\/p>\n

‘Both physically and mentally, Russell made an excellent first impression on me as someone who could convincingly play a world heavyweight champion.<\/p>\n

‘After six weeks in the ring with me, he will come out knowing a lot more about how to handle himself in a fight.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the relationship soured just days into the six-week contract, with Crowe and his infamous, explosive temper coming to the fore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘He started at me, calling me an idiot and saying that I didn’t know anything about boxing,’ Bugner said.<\/p>\n

It was an insult the former world champion was not going to take lightly, opening up with both barrels and reportedly calling Crowe a ‘gutless worm’, among other things.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I said to him, “I’m not a phony, whereas all you do is read scripts.” I said, “Russell, go and shove your head up your [expletive]”,’ Bugner recalled.<\/p>\n

‘And I hung up. … I don’t think we would have got on well. I was never going to put up with his silly tantrums. And he behaves like a [expletive] girl.’<\/p>\n

\"Bugner <\/p>\n

Bugner (pictured with Muhammad Ali) held onto his resentment over the treatment he copped from Russell Crowe for many, many years<\/p>\n

\"While <\/p>\n

While there were plenty of speed bumps along the way, Crowe’s Cinderella Man was a critical and commercial hit<\/p>\n

Bugner held a long grudge with the Hollywood star, and opened up about the old wounds in an interview with Channel 10 years later.<\/p>\n

‘Russell Crowe is a silly sod. He’s a New Zealander who came here and tried to take over our beautiful country,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘It doesn’t work that way, not when I’m here.’<\/p>\n

Then, appearing on Ten’s Studio 10 program, he revealed that he was four days into his six-week training camp with Crowe when he discovered that American boxing manager, promoter, trainer and cornerman Angelo Dundee had been called in to take his place.<\/p>\n

‘I was very upset,’ Bugner said.<\/p>\n

‘So I rang Russell and I said to him … I can’t say it because it is on television.<\/p>\n

‘Where are you Russell? I will still take you on.’<\/p>\n

The making of the movie turned out to be anything but a Cinderella story.<\/p>\n

Before filming had even begun, Crowe dislocated his shoulder while training.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The injury delayed production for several weeks as he underwent surgery and rehabilitation before returning to the set.<\/p>\n

Then original director, William Nicholson, departed the project early in development after creative differences stalled progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ron Howard was later brought in, shaping the project into the critically acclaimed film that reached cinemas in 2005.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aussie Joe Bugner went toe-to-toe with some of boxing’s biggest names without hitting the canvas, so it was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[2840,703,19608,49,48,2093,46854,457,82],"class_list":["post-113290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-brisbane","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-dailymail","tag-russell-crowe","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}