What is Lionel Rose birthday?

Lionel Rose was born at 1948-06-21

When was Lionel Rose died?

Lionel Rose was died at 2011-05-08

Where was Lionel Rose died?

Lionel Rose was died in Warragul

Where is Lionel Rose's birth place?

Lionel Rose was born in Warragul

What is Lionel Rose nationalities?

Lionel Rose's nationalities is Australian

How famous is Lionel Rose?

Lionel Rose is famouse as Boxer

Lionel Rose - Boxers, Career and Life

Home › Australian › Lionel RoseJune 21, 1948324 views

Lionel Rose Biography Stories Embed this Biography stories

Table of contents

Personal Details
Photo
Overview
Timeline
FAQ

Australian Sportspersons Boxers Gemini Celebrities

Lionel Rose's Personal Details

Lionel Rose was a professional boxer from Australia who won the world bantamweight boxing championship in 1968

Information	Detail
Birthday	June 21, 1948
Died on	May 8, 2011
Nationality	Australian
Famous	Sportspersons, Boxers
Spouses	Jenny
Known as	Rose, Lionel
Birth Place	Warragul
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Gemini
Born in	Warragul
Famous as	Boxer
Died at Age	62

// Famous Boxers

Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson is a former heavyweight boxing champion, known for his ferocious and intimidating style. Read this biography to know about his life, profile & timeline.

Nikolai Valuev

Nikolai Valuev is a Russian retired professional boxer, actor, politician, and author. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him.

Sugar Ray Leonard, is a legendary boxer, who won world titles in five different weight classes. This biography provides detailed information about his childhood, life, works, achievements and timeline.

Lionel Rose's photo

Last First

Who is Lionel Rose?

Lionel Rose was a professional boxer from Australia who won the world bantamweight boxing championship in 1968. He became the first Aboriginal or Indigenous Australian to win a world boxing title. As a child, he grew up amidst hardships, staying in a single-roomed hut with his large family. To avoid school truancy charges, the family had to change their locality and the children’s school but to no avail; Lionel disliked the strict rules at school and eventually dropped out. In the meantime, he picked up boxing skills from his father who was a skilled fighter. At the age of 15, he fought his first amateur fight. At the age of 19, he won the world bantamweight title with a 15-round decision over Masahiko ‘Fighting’ Harada of Japan. He successfully retained his title thrice before being defeated by Mexican Ruben Olivares in 1969. After a while, he put on a significant amount of weight and moved up several classes to the lightweight division. During this time, he also experimented in a moderately successful singing career. He retired from professional boxing in 1976 with a career record of 42 wins of which 12 were a knockout, and 11 losses. He was the first Aboriginal to be named ‘Australian of the Year’ for his achievement in boxing.

// Famous Sportspersons

Ted Williams

Ted Williams was an American baseball player. Read this biography to learn more about his profile, childhood, life and timeline.

Jürgen Klopp

Jürgen Klopp is a German football manager, and a former professional football player. Check out this biography to know more about his childhood, family, personal life, etc.

Yao Ming

Yao Ming is a retired Chinese basketball player who played for Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him.

Childhood & Early Life

Lionel Rose was born on 21 June 1948, in Victoria, Australia. His father, Roy, was a skilful fighter and his mother’s name was Regina. His was a big family and he had several siblings. The family used to reside in a single room tin cabin in Jackson Track.

At the age of eight, he was registered at the Labertouche State School. The school was three miles away from his home, leading to irregular attendance.

When he turned 10, the Aboriginal Welfare Board helped the family shift into a double roomed house in Drouin, hoping that the children would attend school more regularly. Nevertheless, Rose was a rebellious child and disliked the stringent rules and the crowded bus. He left school at the age of 14.

He learnt boxing from his father at an early age. Soon, he was gifted a pair of gloves by his teacher, Ian Hawkins, who noticed his skills.

He travelled to Melbourne for the first time in 1958. The trip was sponsored by Save the Children. Later in Melbourne, he met Graham Walsh and watched his first professional fight.

During his teen years, he would hang around with his friends at Warragul, an energetic town not very far from Drouin. Eventually, he met Dave Proctor there who arranged his first amateur fight at Sale.

He was just 15 years old at the time of his first fight. He fought against a well-built opponent and got badly injured, leading to a two year sabbatical. He received coaching from Frank Oakes.

Two years later, he travelled to Sale again with his coach Frank. However, they couldn’t find anybody in his weight division to fight with.

Career

Lionel Rose began his career by working at a saw mill near Drouin. The job lasted for nine months only as he did not like the role. Following his father’s death, he had to consider employment more seriously. However, he failed to keep any job for long because of his poor work ethics.

After failing to qualify for the 1964 Olympic selections, he embarked on his professional boxing career in Warragul. He was 16 years old and defeated Mario Magriss over eight rounds.

After Warragul, most of his fights were held in Melbourne. There he stayed with his first professional trainer, Jack and his wife Shirley Rennie. He would train regularly in their backyard gym.

He won five fights in a row, before being re-matched with Singtong Por Tor in July 1965 whom he had earlier defeated in a 12-round decision. Por Tor defeated Rose in six rounds; it was Rose’s first defeat. Later that year, he fought his first international fight at Christchurch, New Zealand. He defeated Laurie Ny by a decision in 10 rounds.

In the following nine matches, he won eight and lost one. The single loss was to Ray Perez. In October 1966, he defeated Noel Kunde in a 15-round decision for the Australian bantamweight title at Melbourne.

In 1967, he won eight belts including a thirteenth round knockout win against Rocky Gattellari to shield his Australian championship.

On 26 February 1968, he won the World Bantamweight title in Tokyo by defeating Masahiko ‘Fighting’ Harada in a 15-round decision. He became the first Indigenous Australian world champion boxer. This win made him a national hero and an icon.

In July 1968, he defended his title in Tokyo with a 15 round decision win over Takao Sakurai. Subsequently, in December same year, he defeated Chucho Castillo in Inglewood, California. This enraged Castillo’s supporters leading to a riot that injured 14 fans and the fight referee Dick Young.

In March 1969, he defended the title with a 15-round decision over Alan Rudkin. However, in August, he lost the world bantamweight title to Rubén Olivares in a fifth-round knockout at Inglewood.

Not to be disheartened easily, he continued boxing. However, when he started losing against unheard of fighters, he lost his popularity as well. Nevertheless in October 1970, he regained his fame again by defeating Itshimatsu Suzuki in a 10-round decision.

After losing to WBC world junior lightweight champion Yoshiaki Numata, in a fifteen round decision in May 1971, he declared his retirement.

During this time off, he began his singing career and delivered hits like ‘Please Remember Me’ and ‘I Thank You’, which went on to become a top five hit in Australia.

In 1975, he tried his hands in boxing again but lost four of his six fights, including one against Rafael Limón. This led him to retire from boxing permanently. Post retirement, he became a successful businessman.

Awards & Achievements

As a professional boxer, he recorded 42 wins and 11 losses, with 12 wins by knockout.

In 1968, he became the first Indigenous Australian to win the world bantamweight boxing championship.

In 2003, he was inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame. Two years later, he was featured on a stamp (2005 edition) and was awarded the title of ‘King of the Ring’.

In 2010, he was featured in Wendy Lewis's book ‘Australia's Greatest People’.

Personal Life & Legacy

Lionel Rose married his childhood darling Jennifer, daughter of his first coach Frank Oakes, at Mernda in December 1970. The couple’s son, Michael, was born in 1974.

In 2007, he suffered a stroke that impaired his speech and movement. He died on 8 May 2011 after suffering from prolonged illness.

Trivia

He was the God-father to model and actress Ruby Rose.

In 1991, a television mini-series and period drama on his life called ‘Rose against the Odds’, was produced. It was later released as a feature film in 1995.

// Famous Gemini Celebrities peoples

Wentworth Miller

Wentworth Miller is an American actor and screenwriter who achieved recognition for his role in the TV series ‘Prison Break’.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer is a Christian author and speaker. This biography provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline

Zoe LaVerne

Zoe LaVerne is an American musical.ly star. Check out this biography to know more about her family, personal life, including her age, birthday, etc.

Lionel Rose biography timelines

// 21st Jun 1948
Lionel Rose was born on 21 June 1948, in Victoria, Australia. His father, Roy, was a skilful fighter and his mother’s name was Regina. His was a big family and he had several siblings. The family used to reside in a single room tin cabin in Jackson Track.
// 1958
He travelled to Melbourne for the first time in 1958. The trip was sponsored by Save the Children. Later in Melbourne, he met Graham Walsh and watched his first professional fight.
// 1964
After failing to qualify for the 1964 Olympic selections, he embarked on his professional boxing career in Warragul. He was 16 years old and defeated Mario Magriss over eight rounds.
// Jul 1965
He won five fights in a row, before being re-matched with Singtong Por Tor in July 1965 whom he had earlier defeated in a 12-round decision. Por Tor defeated Rose in six rounds; it was Rose’s first defeat. Later that year, he fought his first international fight at Christchurch, New Zealand. He defeated Laurie Ny by a decision in 10 rounds.
// Oct 1966
In the following nine matches, he won eight and lost one. The single loss was to Ray Perez. In October 1966, he defeated Noel Kunde in a 15-round decision for the Australian bantamweight title at Melbourne.
// 1967
In 1967, he won eight belts including a thirteenth round knockout win against Rocky Gattellari to shield his Australian championship.
// 1968
In 1968, he became the first Indigenous Australian to win the world bantamweight boxing championship.
// 26th Feb 1968
On 26 February 1968, he won the World Bantamweight title in Tokyo by defeating Masahiko ‘Fighting’ Harada in a 15-round decision. He became the first Indigenous Australian world champion boxer. This win made him a national hero and an icon.
// Jul 1968
In July 1968, he defended his title in Tokyo with a 15 round decision win over Takao Sakurai. Subsequently, in December same year, he defeated Chucho Castillo in Inglewood, California. This enraged Castillo’s supporters leading to a riot that injured 14 fans and the fight referee Dick Young.
// Mar 1969
In March 1969, he defended the title with a 15-round decision over Alan Rudkin. However, in August, he lost the world bantamweight title to Rubén Olivares in a fifth-round knockout at Inglewood.
// Oct 1970
Not to be disheartened easily, he continued boxing. However, when he started losing against unheard of fighters, he lost his popularity as well. Nevertheless in October 1970, he regained his fame again by defeating Itshimatsu Suzuki in a 10-round decision.
// Dec 1970 To 1974
Lionel Rose married his childhood darling Jennifer, daughter of his first coach Frank Oakes, at Mernda in December 1970. The couple’s son, Michael, was born in 1974.
// May 1971
After losing to WBC world junior lightweight champion Yoshiaki Numata, in a fifteen round decision in May 1971, he declared his retirement.
// 1975
In 1975, he tried his hands in boxing again but lost four of his six fights, including one against Rafael Limón. This led him to retire from boxing permanently. Post retirement, he became a successful businessman.
// 1991 To 1995
In 1991, a television mini-series and period drama on his life called ‘Rose against the Odds’, was produced. It was later released as a feature film in 1995.
// 2003 To 2005
In 2003, he was inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame. Two years later, he was featured on a stamp (2005 edition) and was awarded the title of ‘King of the Ring’.
// 2007 To 8th May 2011
In 2007, he suffered a stroke that impaired his speech and movement. He died on 8 May 2011 after suffering from prolonged illness.
// 2010
In 2010, he was featured in Wendy Lewis's book ‘Australia's Greatest People’.

// Famous Australian peoples

Lionel Rose's FAQ

What is Lionel Rose birthday?
Lionel Rose was born at 1948-06-21
When was Lionel Rose died?
Lionel Rose was died at 2011-05-08
Where was Lionel Rose died?
Lionel Rose was died in Warragul
Which age was Lionel Rose died?
Lionel Rose was died at age 62
Where is Lionel Rose's birth place?
Lionel Rose was born in Warragul
What is Lionel Rose nationalities?
Lionel Rose's nationalities is Australian
Who is Lionel Rose spouses?
Lionel Rose's spouses is Jenny
What is Lionel Rose's sun sign?
Lionel Rose is Gemini
How famous is Lionel Rose?
Lionel Rose is famouse as Boxer

Lionel Rose - Boxers, Career and Life