Ipswich fighter in hall of fame

Ipswich boxer Noel Kunde.

A PLACE in the Queensland boxing hall of fame is an honour reserved for champions, and Ipswich fighter Noel Kunde fits the bill.

In an illustrious sporting career that spanned 13 years in the 1950s and 60s, Mr Kunde claimed national titles in flyweight and bantamweight divisions.

He fought against up-and-coming boxers Lionel Rose and Johnny Famechon, who went on to win world titles.

At one stage, Mr Kunde was ranked eighth in the world in the bantamweight division.

On Sunday, the Boxing Supporters’ Association Queensland will induct Mr Kunde into its hall of fame.

Treasurer John Garde said most of the boxers on the honour board had been Australian champions.

“They’ve got to be a pretty good boxer to get in,” he said.

As a 12-year-old, Mr Kunde was a reluctant fighter – his first love was rugby league.

His father Gordon coaxed him into his first bout at the old Ipswich Town Hall.

“It was amateur boxing. If you won, you got a prize,” Mr Kunde said.

“I got beaten. We put on such a good fight, the crowd threw in coins.

“Local trainer Edgar Fowler said to me, ‘I like your style’.”

When Mr Kunde turned professional in 1962, he’d been married for two years and was still working as an apprentice fitter at the North Ipswich railway workshops.

He’d won the Australian flyweight title in Perth in 1961.

Under the guidance of trainer Reg Layton, he claimed the national bantamweight title in 1964 at Brisbane’s Festival Hall.

“I was probably the fittest ever, and buoyed by the elation of winning the title,” he said.

“I got enough money to buy myself a house.

“Lionel Rose took the title off me in 15 rounds in October 1966.”

Mr Kunde retired from boxing the following year, after 33 fights as a professional.

Mr Kunde described the pending hall of fame honour as “just fantastic”.