Lionel Rose Biography, Sporting Achievements, Family, Son, Facts

Lionel Rose was a professional boxer from Australia who won the world-bantamweight boxing championship in 1968. Lionel was born on 21 June 1948  and died on8 May 2011 in Warragul, Victoria.

Lionel Rose Biography

Lionel Rose 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

Lionel Rose Sporting 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’.

Lionel Rose Family

Lionel Rose was an indigenous person since he was born in a Gunditjmara family to his father Roy. Gunditjmara people are the aboriginal people of southwestern Victoria. Moving on to his personal family, Rose had a son named Michael with his wife, Jenny.

Lionel Rose Son

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

Lionel Rose Facts

• Lionel Rose was born on 21 June 1948, in Victoria, Australia. His father, Roy, was a skillful 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 learned 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.