As an actor, he is best known for his role in the 1994 action film Street Fighter alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia.

[citation needed] Born in Szőreg, a southeastern suburb of Szeged in southern Hungary, Bugner and his family fled after the 1956 Soviet invasion and settled in Britain.

[2] He was ranked among the world's top ten heavyweights of the 1970s, fighting such opponents as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ron Lyle, Jimmy Ellis, Manuel Ramos, Chuck Wepner, Earnie Shavers, Henry Cooper, Brian London, Mac Foster, Rudie Lubbers, Eduardo Corletti, Jurgen Blin and George Johnson.

He moved to Australia in 1986, adopting the nickname "Aussie Joe," beating fighters such as Greg Page, David Bey, Anders Eklund and James Tillis before retiring again after a TKO loss to Frank Bruno in 1987.

[citation needed] Bugner and his family fled to the United Kingdom in the late 1950s because of the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary in 1956 after the Hungarian Uprising of that year.

Showing gritty determination after his debut, the teenage Bugner went on to win a remarkable 18 consecutive fights in under two years during 1968 and 1969 (including 13 stoppage victories) before narrowly losing to the older and vastly more experienced Dick Hall.

He won nine consecutive bouts that year, including victories over well-known boxers such as Chuck Wepner, Manuel Ramos, Johnny Prescott, Brian London, Eduardo Corletti, Charley Polite, and George Johnson.

Bugner earned a reputation early in his professional years as a tough, durable but often exceptionally defensive and cautious boxer; he retained that image for the rest of his career.

[citation needed] Bugner retained his European title with a decision over tough German heavyweight Jürgen Blin.

[citation needed] However, later in 1971, Bugner surprisingly lost decisions to underdogs Jack Bodell and Larry Middleton; sandwiched between these losses was a victory over Mike Boswell.

[citation needed] In 1972 Bugner won eight consecutive fights, including a knockout over Jürgen Blin for the European championship.

By the end of this, Bugner demonstrated much-improved ring ability and acquired enough experience that his manager began seeking matches against the world's best heavyweights.

[citation needed] Bugner began 1973 by retaining his European belt with a victory over the capable Dutchman Rudie Lubbers.

After the Ali and Frazier fights, Bugner won eight bouts in a row, his most notable victories being over ex-WBA world heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis, and Mac Foster.

Bugner performed fairly well but maintained a strictly defensive posture throughout most of the fight, perhaps due to the blistering tropical heat, and as a result, he was widely scorned by the media and public.

In an interview during an April 2008 reunion with Henry Cooper, Bugner defended his tactics in the Ali fight as having been necessary due to the extreme temperature and humidity of the outside venue.

[citation needed] Early in 1976, Bugner announced his retirement from boxing, stating that he no longer felt motivated to fight professionally.

[citation needed] In 1977, Bugner lost a close twelve-round decision away from home to top contender Ron Lyle.

[citation needed] After a three-year absence from the ring, Bugner returned in May 1980, knocking out fringe contender Gilberto Acuna, before promptly retiring again.

[13] In Australia, Bugner launched a fairly successful comeback, earning good victories over world title contenders James Tillis and David Bey and an impressive victory over former WBA heavyweight champion Greg Page, gaining a world ranking in the process, after which he spoke of challenging reigning heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

The bout took place on 24 October 1987, and Bugner suffered an eighth-round TKO loss to the much younger and fresher world title contender for the Commonwealth championship in front of a huge crowd at White Hart Lane football stadium.

He left the show on day 16 after losing a bushtucker trial called 'Jungle Jail' to fellow celebrity Stuart Manning.