Lionel Rose
Encyclopedia
Lionel Edmund Rose MBE
(21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian bantamweight
boxer
, the first Indigenous Australian to win a world title.
. According to boxing historian Grantlee Kieza, Rose "sparred with rags on his hands in a ring made from fencing wire stretched between trees".
At 10, Rose struck up a friendship with his teacher Ian Hawkins (who observed him shadow boxing in the school yard)encouraged him and bought him his first pair of gloves. Aged about 15, he went under the tutelage of Frank Oakes, a Warragul
trainer (whose daughter Jenny he later married). He won the Australian amateur flyweight title at 15.
in Tokyo
, Rose began his professional boxing career on 9 September 1964, outpointing Mario Magriss over eight rounds. This fight was in Warragul
, but the majority of Rose's fights were held in Melbourne. Along the way he was helped by Jack and Shirley Rennie, in whose Melbourne home he stayed, training every day in their backyard gym.
After five wins in a row, on 23 July 1965, Rose was rematched with Singtong Por Tor, whom he had beaten in a 12-round decision. Por Tor inflicted Rose's first defeat, beating him on points in six rounds. On 14 October of the same year, he had his first fight abroad, beating Laurie Ny by a decision in 10 rounds at Christchurch
, New Zealand.
Over his next nine fights, Rose had a record of eight wins and one loss, with one knockout
. The lone loss in those nine fights was to Ray Perez, against whom Rose split a pair of bouts. Then, on 28 October 1966, he met Noel Kunde at Melbourne for the Australian bantamweight
title. He won the title by defeating Kunde in a 15-round decision.
Rose won one more belt in 1966 and eight in 1967 (including a thirteenth round knockout win against Rocky Gattellari
to defend his Australian championship) before challenging Fighting Harada
for the world bantamweight title on 26 February 1968 in Tokyo. Rose made history by becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to be a world champion boxer when he defeated Harada in a 15-round decision. This win made Rose an instant national hero in Australia and an icon among Aboriginal Australians. A public reception at Melbourne Town Hall was witnessed by a crowd of more than 100,000. On 2 July of that year, he returned to Tokyo to retain his title with a 15 round decision win over Takao Sakurai
. Then, on 6 December, he met Chucho Castillo
at the Inglewood Forum
in Inglewood, California
. Rose beat Castillo by decision, but the points verdict in favour of him infuriated many in the pro-Castillo crowd and a riot began: 14 fans and fight referee Dick Young were hospitalised for injuries received.
On 8 March 1969, Rose retained the title with a 15-round decision over Alan Rudkin
, but five months later he returned to Inglewood, where he faced Rubén Olivares
on 22 August. Rose lost the world bantamweight title to Olivares via a fifth-round knockout.
Rose continued boxing after his defeat against Olivares, but, after defeats against practically unknown fighters, many believed he was done as a prime fighter. However, he was far from finished: he upset future world lightweight champion Itshimatsu Suzuki on 10 October 1970 in a 10-round decision, and once again, he positioned himself as a world title challenger, albeit in the lightweight division, 17 pounds over the division where he crowned himself world champion.
Despite having lost to Jeff White for the Australian lightweight title, Rose got another world title try when he faced WBC
world junior lightweight champion Yoshiaki Numata
, on 30 May 1971 at Hiroshima
. Numata beat Rose by a fifteen round decision, and Rose announced his retirement soon after.
In 1975, he came back, but after losing four of his next six bouts, including one against Rafael Limón
, Rose decided to retire for good. Rose compiled a record of 42 wins and 11 losses as a professional boxer, with 12 wins by knockout.
and engineered by John L Sayers
; it was played as a substitute to the Australian National Anthem during radio broadcasts of Rugby League State of Origin
, and other sporting events by the comedic sports commentators, Roy Slaven and H.G. Nelson
.
Rose sang "Jackson Track" and "I Thank You", in both the SBS
documentary and accompanying cd, Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music.
Singles
section 'Where are they now?'.
In 1996, Rose presented young burns-attack victim Tjandamurra O'Shane
with his world-title belt, hoping to speed the youngster's recovery. O'Shane, also an Aboriginal Australian, had been the victim of an horrific attack in Cairns the previous year.
In 2007, Rose suffered a stroke
that left him with speech and movement difficulties.
Rose died on 8 May 2011 after an illness which lasted for several months.
in 1968, the first Aboriginal Australian to be awarded the honour. The same year he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire
(MBE).
In 2003 he was an inaugural inductee in the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
.
Rose's boxing gloves featured in a 2005 Australia Post stamp issue.
In 2005 Rose was awarded the Ella Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sport.
. After a brief theatrical run, a shorter version of the film premiered on SBS television on 28 November 2008.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, the first Indigenous Australian to win a world title.
Early life
Born and raised at Jacksons Track near the Victorian town of Warragul. Rose grew up in hardship, learning to box from his father, Roy, a useful fighter on the tent-show circuitTent boxing
Tent boxing, an amusement commonly seen at agricultural shows throughout Australia between the 1920s and the 1960s is an old Australian tradition that is barely kept alive today...
. According to boxing historian Grantlee Kieza, Rose "sparred with rags on his hands in a ring made from fencing wire stretched between trees".
At 10, Rose struck up a friendship with his teacher Ian Hawkins (who observed him shadow boxing in the school yard)encouraged him and bought him his first pair of gloves. Aged about 15, he went under the tutelage of Frank Oakes, a Warragul
Warragul, Victoria
Warragul is a rural centre with a population of 12,943 people east-southeast of Melbourne in Victoria. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north...
trainer (whose daughter Jenny he later married). He won the Australian amateur flyweight title at 15.
Boxing career
After missing selection for the 1964 Olympic Games1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Rose began his professional boxing career on 9 September 1964, outpointing Mario Magriss over eight rounds. This fight was in Warragul
Warragul, Victoria
Warragul is a rural centre with a population of 12,943 people east-southeast of Melbourne in Victoria. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north...
, but the majority of Rose's fights were held in Melbourne. Along the way he was helped by Jack and Shirley Rennie, in whose Melbourne home he stayed, training every day in their backyard gym.
After five wins in a row, on 23 July 1965, Rose was rematched with Singtong Por Tor, whom he had beaten in a 12-round decision. Por Tor inflicted Rose's first defeat, beating him on points in six rounds. On 14 October of the same year, he had his first fight abroad, beating Laurie Ny by a decision in 10 rounds at Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand.
Over his next nine fights, Rose had a record of eight wins and one loss, with one knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
. The lone loss in those nine fights was to Ray Perez, against whom Rose split a pair of bouts. Then, on 28 October 1966, he met Noel Kunde at Melbourne for the Australian bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
title. He won the title by defeating Kunde in a 15-round decision.
Rose won one more belt in 1966 and eight in 1967 (including a thirteenth round knockout win against Rocky Gattellari
Rocky Gattellari
Rocco "Rocky" Gattellari is an Australian former boxer, Olympian, political candidate and businessman.-Olympic Games:Gattellari was selected in the Australian team for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy...
to defend his Australian championship) before challenging Fighting Harada
Fighting Harada
Masahiko Harada , better known as Fighting Harada, is a former world boxing champion. He is currently the president of the Japanese boxing commission....
for the world bantamweight title on 26 February 1968 in Tokyo. Rose made history by becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to be a world champion boxer when he defeated Harada in a 15-round decision. This win made Rose an instant national hero in Australia and an icon among Aboriginal Australians. A public reception at Melbourne Town Hall was witnessed by a crowd of more than 100,000. On 2 July of that year, he returned to Tokyo to retain his title with a 15 round decision win over Takao Sakurai
Takao Sakurai
was a former professional boxer who won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
. Then, on 6 December, he met Chucho Castillo
Chucho Castillo
Jesus Castillo Aguillera is a former Mexican boxer. Better known as Chucho Castillo, he was WBA and WBC Bantamweight champion in 1970....
at the Inglewood Forum
The Forum (Inglewood, California)
The Forum is an indoor arena, in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. From 2000 to 2010, it was owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which occasionally used it for church services, while also leasing the building for sporting events, concerts and other events.Along with Madison...
in Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
. Rose beat Castillo by decision, but the points verdict in favour of him infuriated many in the pro-Castillo crowd and a riot began: 14 fans and fight referee Dick Young were hospitalised for injuries received.
On 8 March 1969, Rose retained the title with a 15-round decision over Alan Rudkin
Alan Rudkin
Alan Rudkin MBE was a British, Commonwealth, and European bantamweight boxing champion . He was born in St Asaph As his pregnant mother was evacuated from Liverpool during the second world war...
, but five months later he returned to Inglewood, where he faced Rubén Olivares
Rubén Olivares
Rubén Olivares is a former Mexican boxer and current member of the Boxing Hall of Fame. A native of Mexico City, Olivares was a world champion multiple times, and considered by many as the greatest bantamweight champion of all time. He was very popular among Mexicans, many of whom considered him...
on 22 August. Rose lost the world bantamweight title to Olivares via a fifth-round knockout.
Rose continued boxing after his defeat against Olivares, but, after defeats against practically unknown fighters, many believed he was done as a prime fighter. However, he was far from finished: he upset future world lightweight champion Itshimatsu Suzuki on 10 October 1970 in a 10-round decision, and once again, he positioned himself as a world title challenger, albeit in the lightweight division, 17 pounds over the division where he crowned himself world champion.
Despite having lost to Jeff White for the Australian lightweight title, Rose got another world title try when he faced WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
world junior lightweight champion Yoshiaki Numata
Yoshiaki Numata
Yoshiaki Numata is a former world Junior Lightweight boxing champion.Numata turned professional in 1962 and won the WBC and WBA super featherweight world titles by defeating Flash Elorde by decision in 1967, although Numata was knocked down in the 3rd round. He lost the title in his first...
, on 30 May 1971 at Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
. Numata beat Rose by a fifteen round decision, and Rose announced his retirement soon after.
In 1975, he came back, but after losing four of his next six bouts, including one against Rafael Limón
Rafael Limon
Rafael Limón is a Mexican former boxer who was a world champion in the Super Featherweight /Jr. Lightweight division twice.He is better known as Bazooka Limón. Limón shares his nickname, Bazooka, with at least two other known world boxing champions: Puerto Rico's Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gómez and...
, Rose decided to retire for good. Rose compiled a record of 42 wins and 11 losses as a professional boxer, with 12 wins by knockout.
Singing career
During his time off from boxing in the 1970s, Rose embarked on a modest singing career in Australia having hits with "I Thank You" and "Please Remember Me" in 1970. The song "I Thank You" was a nationwide hit, produced and written by Johnny YoungJohnny Young
Johnny Young is an Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. Originally from Netherlands, his family settled in Perth, Western Australia in the early 1950s...
and engineered by John L Sayers
John L Sayers
John L Sayers is an Australian recording engineer, producer and studio designer who engineered and/or produced many classic Australian rock and pop albums and singles from 1969 to the present...
; it was played as a substitute to the Australian National Anthem during radio broadcasts of Rugby League State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
, and other sporting events by the comedic sports commentators, Roy Slaven and H.G. Nelson
Greig Pickhaver
alt=Greig Pickhaver|thumb|In May 2010Greig Pickhaver AM is an actor, comedian and writer, who forms one half of the Australian sports comedy duo Roy and HG...
.
Rose sang "Jackson Track" and "I Thank You", in both the SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
documentary and accompanying cd, Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music.
Discography
Albums- I Thank You - Summit (SRA 250 033) (1970)
Singles
- "I Thank You"/"Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" - Festival (FK-3425) (1969)
- "Please Remember Me"/"Good Old Country Song" - Festival (FK-3575) (March 1970)
Retirement
In retirement, Rose became a successful businessman, and he enjoyed the monetary benefits his career brought him. Rose was showcased in 2002 in the The RingThe Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
section 'Where are they now?'.
In 1996, Rose presented young burns-attack victim Tjandamurra O'Shane
Tjandamurra O'Shane
Tjandamurra "Janda" O'Shane is a Murri Indigenous Australian who at age six was the victim of a fire attack whilst playing at a schoolyard in Cairns, Queensland on 10 October 1996. He is the nephew of New South Wales magistrate Pat O'Shane, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner...
with his world-title belt, hoping to speed the youngster's recovery. O'Shane, also an Aboriginal Australian, had been the victim of an horrific attack in Cairns the previous year.
In 2007, Rose suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
that left him with speech and movement difficulties.
Rose died on 8 May 2011 after an illness which lasted for several months.
Awards
Rose was Australian of the YearAustralian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
in 1968, the first Aboriginal Australian to be awarded the honour. The same year he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(MBE).
In 2003 he was an inaugural inductee in the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held....
.
Rose's boxing gloves featured in a 2005 Australia Post stamp issue.
In 2005 Rose was awarded the Ella Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sport.
Documentary film
In 2008, after nearly three years of conducting interviews with Rose, his family and friends, Melbourne filmmaker Eddie Martin premiered his feature-length documentary Lionel at the Melbourne International Film FestivalMelbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
. After a brief theatrical run, a shorter version of the film premiered on SBS television on 28 November 2008.
External links
- Recording of Lionel Rose winning the World Title in 1968 on australianscreen online. Commentary by Ron Casey.
- IMDd: Rose against the odds - TV movie
- Bill Long presents Lionel Rose in his first featherweight bout against Vicente Garcia featherweight champion of Mexico (1969)
- Aboriginal boxer Lionel Rose dies, aged 62. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/may2011/rose-m27.shtml World Socialist Web Site (2011)