From 1987 .... [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIQAkEy7Jj4[/ame] uploaded on youtube by angryfrom
I dont know. I think Bugner in 1986 - '87 was the best he'd been in years. Fighting in his new home Australia, he beat worn versions of Tillis, Bey and Page but looked motivated. Better than the Bugner who fought Marvis Frazier in 1983 for sure.
The Bugner of 1987 was just a shadow of the fighter who contended between 1973 and 1977. During the mid-70s, Bugner was in his prime. That Bugner would have put on a really competitive fight against a prime Bruno. True, in 1986 and 1987 Bugner had his biggest accomplishments in years -- beating Tillis, Page, and Bey -- but Bugner was still physically over-the-hill.
Right. Bugner weighed something like 256 lbs for Bruno, which was nearly 20 lbs more than he had weighed for Tillis and Bey less than a year earlier. I can't believe Bugner was at his best fighting at 256 lbs.
Yeah, I agree Bugner from the 1970s would have been a completely different proposition. And, yes, I always thought Bugner coming in at 256 pounds was crazy, and it showed that he was really taking the fight for the money. He had absolutely no wish to go on and fight Tyson, and he had tried to get a Spinks fight but that had fallen through, so Bruno was the biggest payday out there for him. Mentally he was halfway back in retirement so he trained accordingly. Having said that, he didn't come to lie down. He gave a honest effort in the ring.