Have Jimmy Ellis and Joe Bugner ever fought each other?

Yes. Jimmy Ellis and Joe Bugner met once on November 12, 1974, and Joe Bugner won by PTS.

Who has the better record, Ellis or Bugner?

Jimmy Ellis is 40-12-1 and Joe Bugner is 69-13-1. Joe Bugner has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Ellis or Bugner?

Jimmy Ellis has 24 knockout wins and Joe Bugner has 41. Joe Bugner has more.

Do Ellis and Bugner have any common opponents?

Jimmy Ellis and Joe Bugner share 7 common opponents: Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle and Muhammad Ali (and 4 others). Jimmy Ellis fared better against 2 of them.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Ellis and Bugner?

This comparison is drawn from 55 bouts tracked for Jimmy Ellis and 84 bouts tracked for Joe Bugner. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Jimmy Ellis vs Joe Bugner — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

Joe Bugner

Jimmy Ellis (40-12-1) and Joe Bugner (69-13-1) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 7 common opponents.

Ellis

Wins24 KO · 60%

Losses

Draw55 tracked bouts

Bugner

Wins41 KO · 59%

Losses

Draw84 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Bugner leads 1–0

Jimmy Ellis and Joe Bugner have met 1 time; Bugner leads 1–0.
Met	1974Nov 12	Series
Jimmy EllisFighter A	LLost	0–1W–L
Joe BugnerFighter B	WWon	1–0W–L
Result	PTSBugner vs Ellis	1Meeting

Bugner vs Ellis · Nov 12, 1974

The Numbers

Ellis 3 · Bugner 5 of 8 measurable rows

EllisEdge = longer wingBugner

Record: 40-12-169-13-1 (edge)
Win %0–100%: 76.4%
83.7% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 41: 24
41 (edge)
KO rate0–100%: 60% (edge)
59.42%
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 60% (edge)
59%
Times stopped^†max 5: 5
4 (edge)
Title reignsmax 1: 1 (edge)
0
Bouts per year^‡max 2.7: 2.1
2.7 (edge)
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 84: 55
84

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Heightnot held: Jimmy Ellis: 6′1″; Joe Bugner: No height on file
Reach+6″: Jimmy Ellis: 76″; Joe Bugner: 82″ (edge)
Agenot comparable: Jimmy Ellis: Died aged 74; Joe Bugner: Died aged 75
Stance: Jimmy Ellis: Orthodox; Joe Bugner: Orthodox

Jimmy Ellis left, Joe Bugner right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Jimmy Ellis40 wins · from 55 tracked bouts

24 by KO/TKO 60%16 on the cards 40%

Joe Bugner70 wins · from 84 tracked bouts

41 by KO/TKO 59%27 on the cards 39%2 by another method or unrecorded 3%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Jimmy Ellis 55, Joe Bugner 84 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

7 shared

7 shared · Ellis better on 2 · Bugner better on 1 · even on 47 shared · Jimmy Ellis better on 2 · Joe Bugner better on 1 · even on 4

EllisJimmy Ellis

Opponent

BugnerJoe Bugner

Jimmy Ellis
Loss, KO 1
1973Jun 1973
ShaversEarnie ShaversUnited States 76–14–1 · HeavyweightEvenEven — 0–1 both
Joe Bugner
Loss, TKO
1982May 1982
Jimmy Ellis
Loss, UD
1974Jul 1974
LyleRon LyleUnited States 43–7–1 · HeavyweightEvenEven — 0–1 both
Joe Bugner
Loss, SD
1977Mar 1977
Jimmy Ellis
Loss, TKO
1971Jul 1971
AliMuhammad AliUnited Kingdom 56–5Ellis betterJimmy Ellis better — 0–1 to 0–2
Joe Bugner
0–2 against
Loss, UD
1975Jul 1975
Loss, UD
1973Feb 1973
Jimmy Ellis
0–2 against
Loss, TKO 9
1975Mar 1975
Loss, RTD 4
1970Feb 1970
FrazierJoe FrazierUnited States 32–4–1 · HeavyweightBugner betterJoe Bugner better — 0–1 to 0–2
Joe Bugner
Loss, PTS
1973Jul 1973
Jimmy Ellis
Draw, SD
1974Mar 1974
MiddletonLarry MiddletonEllis betterJimmy Ellis better — 0–0–1 to 0–1
Joe Bugner
Loss, PTS
1971Nov 1971
Jimmy Ellis
Win, KO
1971Mar 1971
DoyleTony DoyleEvenEven — 1–0 both
Joe Bugner
Win, TKO
1972Nov 1972
Jimmy Ellis
Win, TKO 7
1970Nov 1970
DavilaRoberto DavilaEvenEven — 1–0 both
Joe Bugner
Win, TKO
1970Feb 1970

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Jimmy Ellis has lost two straight, after one straight win. Ellis last boxed on Aug 3, 1987.LLWLL

Bugner Nov 1974Frazier Mar 1975Baker May 1975Magee Oct 1986Magee Aug 19872.1 tracked bouts per year

Joe Bugner has won six straight, the most recent against Levi Billups. Bugner last boxed on Jun 13, 1999.WWWWW

Ligaloa Jun 1997Wilson Jan 1998Mirovic Apr 1998Smith Jul 1998Billups Jun 19992.7 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Jimmy Ellis and Joe Bugner ever fought each other?: Yes. Jimmy Ellis and Joe Bugner met once on November 12, 1974, and Joe Bugner won by PTS.
Who has the better record, Ellis or Bugner?: Jimmy Ellis is 40-12-1 and Joe Bugner is 69-13-1. Joe Bugner has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Ellis or Bugner?: Jimmy Ellis has 24 knockout wins and Joe Bugner has 41. Joe Bugner has more.
Do Ellis and Bugner have any common opponents?: Jimmy Ellis and Joe Bugner share 7 common opponents: Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle and Muhammad Ali (and 4 others). Jimmy Ellis fared better against 2 of them.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Ellis and Bugner?: This comparison is drawn from 55 bouts tracked for Jimmy Ellis and 84 bouts tracked for Joe Bugner. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Compare someone else

6 suggested matchups

Compare Ellis with…

Compare Bugner with…

Someone else?

Release either fighter to put someone new in that slot — the other one stays put.

Jimmy Ellis vs Joe Bugner — record, stats and common opponents compared

Jimmy Ellis

Joe Bugner