Rose was named Australian of the year in 1968 following his world title and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire?
Lionel Rose embodied the hopes and dreams of a nation when he won the world bantamweight title in 1968. A young Aboriginal kid from a poverty-stricken settlement, Rose would inspire not only his people but a nation that had only just given the Aboriginal people the right to vote. His rise to the top couldn?t have been better timed and his positive affect on Aboriginal relations will never be forgotten.
Rose was born and raised in the Aboriginal settlement of Jacksons Track in Victoria, Australia in a time when Aboriginal people suffered from poverty, discrimination and were treated as second-class citizens. His father was a tent boxer who earned money fighting on the tent show circuit and he was the first one to show Lionel how to throw a punch and defend himself when he was all but seven years of age.
Rose was a talented young boxer who would become Australian amateur flyweight champion by the age of fifteen and after being overlooked for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964 he turned professional.
He racked up five quick wins to start his professional career before dropping a six-round decision to Singtong Por Tor, whom he had beaten over 12 rounds just weeks before.
The loss wasn?t to affect his confidence as he would go on to win twelve of his next thirteen fights before facing Noel Kunde for the Australian bantamweight title.
The Canberra Times left little doubt as to who was the superior boxer.
?Rose dropped Kunde with a right to the head within 30 seconds of the first round and dropped him again with hard punches to the head in the last. In between, Rose took nearly every round from Kunde, hitting him with every kind of punch in an attack to his opponent?s head.?
Rose had won the Australian title at just 18 years of age. He would fight another eight bouts, including a win over the French bantamweight champion, without loss, before defending the title against fellow Australian and former Australian flyweight champion, Rocky Gattellari.
Gattellari was highly touted, the more experienced fighter and had , just two years prior, fought for the WBC flyweight world title against the legendary Salvatore Burruni, which he lost via a 13th round KO.
The fight turned out to be a classic with Rose retaining the title with a knockout. Gattellari would fall into a coma after the bout but thankfully, fully recovered from the injuries he sustained.
The world was now calling. Rose?s trainer and manager, Jack Rennie received a phone call from world champion Fighting Harada?s team and they were officially offered a title shot. Many thought the young, nineteen-year-old Rose wasn?t prepared for a tough, experienced fighter in Harada, not to mention travelling to Harada?s hometown in Japan to fight him but Rennie thought otherwise and they agreed to the fight.
He was seen as an easy mark for the champion Harada, who had been in his fair share of tough fights. It was meant to be a routine defense for the hall of famer but Rose?s exceptional boxing skills would say otherwise.
Rose won the fight, becoming the youngest ever world champion, in a unanimous decision in what was an entertaining and competitive fight. Rose used his longer reach and superior footwork to outbox the champion but it wasn?t until late in the fight that he felt confident in winning the fight.
?Harada is a tough game fighter. I didn?t feel I had him until the 13th or 14th round ? that?s when I thought he started to tire.?
The arrival back home in Australia was something much unexpected for Rose and those around him. Five thousand people were there to greet him at the airport when he arrived from Japan; in a parade organized in his honor, more than 100,000 people lined the streets singing ?For He?s a Jolly Good Fellow? which Rose was more than surprised about. When asked what he thought of the reception he replied, ?I didn?t think so many cared.?
Rose was never a brash, big talker but he always wanted what was best for his people, the Aboriginal people, and though he wasn?t accustomed to speaking in front of so many, his love for his people showed in his speech at the civic reception when he simply said, ?I won the title for my family, my race and Australia.?
So few words have been uttered and meant so much. Both Aboriginal and white Australians took note of those words and both could find something to take out of them. It was the first time an Aboriginal person had gained such a foothold on the mainstream and it was a real step forward for the Aboriginal cause.
Rose was named Australian of the year in 1968 following his world title and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
His first defense was back in Japan against the unbeaten challenger Takao Sakurai which he won via majority decision.
This was followed by a bout with Mexican Chucho Castillo in a fight that Rose won by split decision, a decision that was to see the pro-Mexican crowd riot afterwards. The fight was a close affair and many observers thought Rose done enough to earn the victory despite the crowd?s reaction.
Next up was the Commonwealth bantamweight champion Alan Rudkin and yet another split decision win for Rose.
The constant media attention, money, fame and struggles with weight were taking their toll on a twenty-year-old-kid who grew up in an environment with little in the way of material wealth. All Lionel wanted was to get back to the peace and quiet of his hometown and to be with his people but the constant media commitments meant little time to do just that.
Rose would lose his title in his next fight against one of the best bantamweights to ever step foot in a ring in Ruben Olivares. Olivares murderous punching power was too much for Rose and he was knocked out in the fifth round.
Rose went up in weight following the loss to Olivares and fought on with varied success, winning five of nine bouts including a WBC super featherweight title fight, which he lost by decision to Yoshiaki Numata.
In 1970 he became one of the first athletes to boycott South Africa by turning down a very lucrative fight in protest of the Apartheid regime.
Rose was a pioneer for Aboriginal people and an Australian boxing hero but his quick rise to fame and fortune would see him squander his money, like so many fighters before and after him.
A comeback was to follow in 1975 but it wasn?t to be a success, he won two of his final six fights.
Lionel Rose retired with a record of 42 wins and 11 losses but more than that he inspired a nation when they most needed it and was a man who transcended boxing; he was an Aboriginal star in a time when the Aboriginal people so desperately needed one. He showed just how much his people could achieve and he paved the way for future indigenous generations to dream big.
