Lionel Rose

Australian boxer (1948–2011)

ライオネル・ローズ · 라이어널 로즈

Born

21 June 1948, Warragul

Died

8 May 2011, Warragul

Citizenship

Australia

Sport

boxing

Discipline

bantamweight

Occupation

boxer, singer

Height

166 cm (5 ft 5 in)

Lionel Edmund Rose MBE (21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian professional boxer who competed from 1964 to 1976. He held the undisputed WBA, WBC, and The Ring bantamweight titles from 1968 to 1969, becoming the first Indigenous Australian to win a world title. He later became the first Indigenous Australian to be named Australian of the Year.

Rose was the 2003 inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame "moderns" category and was the second person to be elevated to "legend" status in 2010.

Awards and honours

• Australian of the Year 1968
• Member of the Order of the British Empire 1968
• The Ring World Bantamweight Champion
• WBA World Bantamweight Champion
• WBC World Bantamweight Champion

External links

• Wikipedia
• BoxRec
• Wikidata

Facts from Wikidata Q1377504 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.