Frank Bruno

Frank Bruno
Data
Birth Name	Franklin Roy Bruno
Weight class	Heavyweight
nationality	British
birthday	November 16, 1961
place of birth	Hammersmith
style	Left delivery
size	1.91 m
Range	2.08 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	45
Victories	40
Knockout victories	38
Defeats	5
No value	0
Profile in the BoxRec database

Frank Roy Bruno MBE (born November 16, 1961 in Hammersmith , London , England ) is a former British professional boxer and WBC heavyweight champion.

Professional career

The very muscular and extremely powerful Bruno made his debut in professional boxing in 1982. In 1983 he defeated Floyd Cummings by technical knockout in round 7 at the Royal Albert Hall , London . He suffered his first defeat in 1984 against the later WBA title holder James Smith . Clearly in the lead, Bruno lost in the tenth and final round by knockout. In the same year, he beat Philipp Brown (22-1-2) over 10 rounds on points. Brown was also the first boxer to defeat Bruno on points. In 1985 he was European champion in the heavyweight division when he the 1.99-meter and 117-kilogram Anders Eklund struck in the 4th round ko.

In 1986 he achieved a knockout success in the first round against the 30-year-old world-class heavyweight and former WBA world champion Gerrie Coetzee , who had beaten James “Quick” Tillis 6 months earlier .

His first world championship fight on July 19, 1986 Bruno lost against WBA title holder Tim Witherspoon prematurely in round 11. In 1987 he defeated James Tillis and Joe Bugner, among others .

The next World Cup chance came on February 25, 1989 against Mike Tyson . Bruno lost the fight for the three titles of the associations WBC , WBA and IBF by knockout in the fifth round, after he had been able to bring the previously dominant defending champion in the first round with hard hits in serious trouble.

In 1993 he knocked out Carl Williams in the 10th and final round. Six months later he was given the opportunity to box again for a world championship, and he lost the fight for the WBC title against Lennox Lewis in October 1993 prematurely in round 7 Six rounds Bruno was on a score sheet with 59:55 in the lead, the two other judges thought the fight until then with 57:57 was balanced.)

In his fourth attempt on September 2, 1995, Frank Bruno was finally able to achieve a world championship title. In London he defeated Oliver McCall , who had previously surprisingly won against Lewis, on points. Prior to that, he ended his collaboration with his long-time promoter Mickey Duff (1929-2014) and was signed by Don King's then European partner Frank Warren .

His next and last fight Bruno denied in March 1996 in Las Vegas against Mike Tyson, to whom he lost his title after a TKo in the third round. In the run-up to the fight there were some arguments because Lennox Lewis would have been the mandatory challenger. Bruno accepted the fight against Tyson, as requested by the WBC, as he expected more money from this duel and, after Tyson's weak performance against Buster Mathis , better chances of victory. After this clear defeat in his first title defense, Frank Bruno announced his retirement from boxing.

Worth mentioning

Bruno was built very sturdy and had enormous punching power, which is indicated by his high knockout rate (84%). With a height of 1.91 m and a range of 2.08 m, he had everything a heavyweight boxer needs. Of his 40 fights he won, he won 38 by knockout, only two of which he won on points. Bruno never lost against an opponent who was not among the best in the world. He suffered five defeats in total, two of these defeats come from Mike Tyson and the other three from Lennox Lewis , James Smith and Tim Witherspoon .

Web links

• Frank Bruno in the BoxRec database

predecessor	Office	successor
Oliver McCall	Heavyweight Boxing Champion ( WBC ) September 2, 1995–16. March 1996	Mike Tyson