Brit Showdown. Henry Cooper vs Frank Bruno

That's a fair comment :deal although to be fair you have to try to look at as many comparisons as you can with common opponents to get some kind of gauge obviously with this match up we admittedly don't have much to go on other than Bugner as a link so yeah circumstances and stages they fought you have to take into account but it is a little bit more than just going oh Bruno's the bigger man so he would flatten Cooper because that ain't necersarily so?

 

Fair enough comments but regards Zora Folley, don't forget Cooper also beat him on points too and at the time was one of the more respected ranked contenders not the ashen guy who was dropped by Ali.

He also won on a DQ against Mildenberger who also was a challenger for Ali's title and beat Foy Harris who challenged Patterson?

Cooper also beat Miteff and Bygraves and at British level he knocked out Brian London, **** Richardson, Joe Erskine, Johnny Prescott, Jack Bodell, Billy Walker etc - and personally I think he got a raw deal on the score cards against Bugner aswell.

Outside of that the two good s****s he gave a prime Ali which were only scuppered by cuts when he was doing so well for me trump any of Bruno's brave efforts - Bruno's best performances for me came against Bonecrusher, Lennox and Witherspoon in that order.

Bruno either flattened bums or lost at the top level - there was little to gauge him on at mid-to-top-level which is where Cooper fits in for me - a lot of people just view Cooper as a good old British tryer who, if it wasn't for cuts who knows? But I think this does him a disservice.

 

Bruno was kind of a unique case in a lot of ways. He had talent but trying to gain experience the traditional way with the unique, phenomenal national exposure and nationwide pressure that was on him could not be replicated again. The situation was you had a national mainstream attraction who was learning on the job but commanding peak viewing figures on TV before he was really anything. His brain trust, the cartel, had a stable of champions. Now they had a heavyweight. Expectation was through the roof. The racial trouble at the time in London meant that the nation was looking for a home grown black sportsman to unite Britians youth. It was like the BBC decided Frank Bruno was it. These were exceptional circumstances. There was too much riding on it. A lot invested. By comparison even Gerry ****ey managed to develop outside the limelight. Frank Bruno started where Gerry was after the Lyle fight.

Bruno could not get learning fights against guys with any desire. The British title was bypassed because they could not afford for a national hero to have too much of a competative fight when he was still learning. When did that happen before?

The guys Bruno got had names but it was as if they only got the call after they decided to retire. He fought the same build up guys a lot of American prospects got on the way up but the difference was the exposure intimidated them by the time they got to London. Stage fright and jetlag got the better of most of them. A lot more research went into Brunos careful matchmaking than most prospects and it was under a huge TV microscope.

Frank would have turned out better had he fought his first ten fights in America away from national TV. He was a national celebrity before he had 15 fights.

 

##London also lasted the distance twice with Cooper, no way does he do that against Bruno.
Also when Cooper stopped London, he was merely a 12 fight novice.
To be honest i don't see Frank having too much trouble with the other names highlighted either.

I also cannot see Cooper matching Bruno's performance against Smith, Witherspoon or Lewis, he was just too small.

Regarding the Cooper - Ali fights, those could have ended a lot quicker had Ali chosen too, imo.
I can also see Bruno lasting at least as long in those two situations.

End of the day, when they both stepped it up to world level, Bruno shows more resilience against bigger and far better opponents.

 

Erskine, Richardson, London were world rated when Cooper fought them so those fights were higher than domestic level. Brian London had as good as many wins as many a top ten rated contender. So did Richardson and Erskine. With a title at steak I think people underestimate the competition of those fights Cooper had. He also beat walker and Prescott and arguably Bugner. Genuine 15 round fights against capable winners who wanted to win.

The difference between Cooper and Bruno is henrys more experienced competative wins versus franks bodybuilding.

 

I think Frank built up into a bigger heavyweight than he was naturally where as Henry cut down a tad smaller than he could have been. They were both the same kind of class and height except the body building made Frank that bit heavier and muscular. So in that sence bodybuilding was the difference because they were both good fighters. Capable at contender level.

Henry won more competative fights because he was defending a domestic title against world rated contenders. Henry was a decent 15 round fighter for ten years without break, against live, competative challengers. On this point experience is a factor and a difference between the two because Frank as not a 15 round figher nor was he facing largly competative opposition within his own level.

 

Coopers best weight was 188lbs, Bruno turned pro at 20 scaling 217.5lbs Bruno was also at least an inch and a half taller than Henry.

 

When Bruno won his first title [European,] Lawless already had the British Heavyweight Champion in Horace Notice [1985,] who was also black .Lawless also had Gary Mason coming along , I saw all Bruno's early fights.I don't think the Nation was consciously looking for a black example to unite anything. Duff& Astaire had the exclusive rights to the big venues after Barrett left them ,that's why the BBBC went with them.

 

Cooper was knocked out by Joe Bygraves who was know great shakes in 9 rounds at that time he was on a losing 4 fight knockout streak his chin wasn't the best.
I don't don't think Henry would have lasted beyond 3 rounds with Frank Bruno.

 

Coopers chin wasn't great but Bygraves stopped him with a body punch
.Who was on a 4 bout losing streak?
Bygraves had won his last fight against Johnny Gardener , lost the one before that to Wayne Bethea, and won his previous 3.
Cooper had lost his previous fight on a cut eye to Peter Bates ,won his previous three , lost by decision to Erskine prior to those ,won the 2 before that and been stopped by Uber Bacilieri, again on a cut eye.He rematched Bacilieri and kod him in 7 rds
Cooper was only kod by punches to the jaw three times , by Patterson,Folley ,and Johannson,his other stoppages were the Bygraves one and by cut eyes.

 

Bruno slices Henry open with a jab, blood gushes everywhere, but just as the ref is about to stop it, Bruno suddenly quits throwing punches and retreats into a ball in the corner letting Henry hammer away at him. The ref is unsure what do do.

 

I stand corrected!
I'd read Henry's biography and I thought i'd remembered that's what he's said himself.
On checking it he was ko'd (The 10 count!) by Bygraves and Johannson,cut eye stoppage by Bates and a points loss to Erskine over those four fights.

 

No worries, we all make errors and as we,[I ] get older our memory is not as reliable as it once was.

 

I agree with all of that.