Could Frank Bruno have held on to the WBC title if he hadn't faced Tyson?

How long could Bruno have held the WBC title if he never faced Tyson in 1996? Lewis was No.1 contender for that title and had already beat Frank for the same title three years previously, so what would have happened?

 

He might have been able to make a title defense or two, and I can see him defeating opposition like Ruddock, Cooper, Morrison, Stewart, etc.. On the other hand, fights with the big names like Bowe, Mercer, Foreman, Moorer, and perhaps rematches with Lewis and McCall would
be inevitable, and therefore, I see any one of them knocking out Frank.

 

Some of those might have been good fights though. Michael Moorer, George Forman and Mercer would have been close and perhaps even slightly winnable for Bruno. And McCall really took a turn off the deep end in his personal life so who knows

 

I totally agree Goo. He might be able to catch Moorer w/ a bomb, and he might be able to outbox Old George and Mercer. I do think most of those fights would have been pier-sixers.

 

He might have actually been able to beat Lewis in a rematch.
He wasn't at all intimidated against Lewis (as he was against Tyson) and knew how to box him.
I'm not saying he would beat him, but he'd stand a very good chance.

 

Can`t see Frank avoiding Ruddock`s smash punch and he took Mike`s shots better and lasted longer than Frank did in either of his bouts v Tyson.

 

Lewis improved vastly under the guidance of Steward and I feel Mercer would have beaten Bruno.

 

He had a detached retina, so I can't see him holding it for very long.

It was only a matter of time before he failed his medical, so he cashed out against Tyson.

 

I could see him beating Moorer and Foreman

 

Moorer was more skilled than Bruno and came through a brawl with Cooper, if he could stop Cooper then he could stop Bruno who had a tendency to gas in the later rounds of title fights.

 

True, but Ruddock had an awful chin.

 

it's a possibility

 

It's also worth mentioning that he won the Stewart brawl and took his Holyfield licking like a man. That' why I favor Moorer. He has a few fights where he he proved he could survive hell. Bruno only did that once, against Floyd Cummings.

 

Is there an archive of the wbc ratings anywhere? In pretty sure Ruddock was not there when Bruno was champion.

 

If Bruno carefully picked out his opponents he could’ve held onto the title for a little while, but I think Bruno made the best choice in fighting Tyson considering he made $6 Million.