Let us assume Big Frank moves and stays away or holds on for dear life like he did at the end vs McCall and wins his fight vs Bonecrusher Smith. Smith got the Holmes fight after beating Bruno. Im not certain Frank would've gotten Larry even had he won but let us assume he does. Holmes was still very crafty older champion at this point but was no longer in his prime. After beating Smith he got tagged plenty early in his next fight vs David Bey but still finished Bey. So let us swap out The Bonecrusher for Bruno in '84 Frank Bruno (had he beat Smith would've been 22-0) Vs Larry Holmes who was 45-0 going in vs Smith Who you got?
I'll take Larry. Bruno would have put up a good s****, but he peaked later and wasn't as dynamic. Seemed to hold himself in reserve a lot. (Plus, Larry leans over during ref's instructions and whispers, "I'm American, and this is a BIG fight" in Bruno's ear. He didn't respond well to those conditions.)
Larry stops Frank on an 11th round tko,...no contest. Bruno pleases his Brit fan base by losing gallantly again.
Bruno wins early rounds and possibly even floors Larry but after the initial onslaught LH takes control gets the jab working and stops Bruno on his feet late.
Even that version of Holmes beat Bruno, heck, even a early ninties version of Holmes beats Bruno. Just less convincing. But a win nevertheless.
This scenario fits best. I actually think Bruno gives Holmes some really bad scares, like Witherspoon did (against Holmes), before rallying late to win it, like Witherspoon did (against Bruno).
Holmes by decision. It generally took a hard hitter to break down frank and one who was imposing. Larry didn't have the fire power anymore by 1984 to make Bruno fold and frank wasn't David bey. He was also very well conditioned and a big guy with huge power and a good jab himself.. Holmes' experience and stubborn resilience sees him to hard fought points win, but it's no walk in the park by this point in his career.
You'd have to go with Holmes. But it'd be a tough physical bout and that would not have done him any good for his subsequent title bouts. Lots of wear and tear but Larry is going to dig deep in there and find a way to win. But it sure is hard imaging Frank Bruno being the guy with his arm raised at the end of the night. I just can't picture that. And Frank would have put in a good enough effort to have kept him in the loop with all the other hot and cold heavies in that timeframe.
Bruno couldn't do 15, never stopped a class or rated heavy, he does well early wobbles Larry who ties him up smothers and survives early scares.. Usual scenes of the ref jumping in to save Bruno.. 9 to 11 rounds for me
Holmes would have outclassed Bruno in '84. Bruno would not have believed he could beat Larry - seriously. Bruno had major self confidence issues and his vaunted power generally only resulted in victory against guys who couldn't move. He wouldn't know whether to stick or twist against Holmes - he wouldn't have the confidence to go for the quick kayo and wouldn't have the confidence that he could do the 15 rounds. Holmes was waaaay too savvy to lose to a guy like Frank, Bruno would have been far too raw, and too slow of thought and foot to have beaten Holmes. Holmes by a stoppage, likely in the early part of the championship rounds of 11-15, but mmaybe earlier. At the time in 1984, this was not even considered as a viable match-up.