What Were Your Thoughts On Bruno, Fighting Tyson, For The first time?

I really wish Frank had retired after this fight. He would have been a UK legend forever. The second Tyson fight destroyed all the kudos of the first match. Better to remember Bruno as a solid worthy contender than a paper champion folding like cardboard in the second match. No disrespect to Bruno at all, it's just how I feel.

 

Bruno has an hour long interview w James English but a clip of him talking about the first fight is also on YouTube. There's a documentary on the fight as well. If I find the time to watch all of the boxing stuff I save to watch later I will be the baddest man on the planet.



It was a few years til I would b born so I can't add anything past this lol.

 

The difference in Bruno’s attitude to both fights is marked.
The first fight he was really up for it and fancied his chances.
The second fight he looked like a man ready to face an execution.

 

The fact it took Tyson five rounds to put Bruno away made me think that something was up.
There were already reports in the buildup of Tyson going off the rails.

The other thing I remember was Bruno's tactic of holding Tyson round the back of the neck while hitting him with the right hand.

How he or anyone in his camp thought that this would be permitted is a mystery and Richard Steele was right to deduct a point from Bruno in the first round.

 

I checked Tyson's record and forgot Bruno was his next fight after the Spinks win when Tyson looked unbeatable. It's amazing how close Spinks win was to Douglas loss. As you said the Bruno fight showed signs of Tyson slipping, although he still had his speed, which Bruno said was the thing that troubled him the most, more even than Mike's power.

 

This was most Bruno fights. Whether it was Tyson or John Emmen, "Bugs" Bruno would hit them rabbit punches.

 

Something people forget about this fight, is that when Bruno went down in the first 10 seconds. Tyson clearly hits him when he was down. Now I'm just playing devils advocate here, just say Bruno would of made a meal of it. Do you think Tyson could of been DQed ? Or did Tyson have too much star power for at this time for this to happen.

 

Bruno took it to another level against Tyson.

A lot of fighters might try a few underhand tactics but Bruno never had the speed or guile to pull it off.

 

With respect, I disagree Bruno would have been rated more highly had he retired after Tyson 1.

I think the 2 fights that contribute most to Bruno's legacy were - 1) Being equal/just up after 6 rounds vs Lewis, at times outjabbing him and briefly rocking him; and 2) Winning a strap vs McCall and finally managing to find a way to survive vs a big puncher when gassed late on.

Tyson just had Bruno's number. Those huge broad shoulders, long arms and heavily muscled upper body meant his long, heavy jab was tough to get past for outboxers like Lewis and Witherspoon, and even moreso for a durable, powerful, plodder like McCall. They also meant he was fodder for a guy like Tyson once he had stepped into punching range. It was like he was designed bespoke for Tyson.

 

Prime (from a profile perspective) unbeaten Tyson in the US? Given what he got away with versus Lou Savarese in the UK, when he was borderline shot? Too much star power is my guess as an answer to your question.

 

How so?

 

A minor footnote to their first fight is IIRC, Cayton already had Bruno lined up as Tyson’s next opponent after Spinks and at a much higher price than the $7M Tyson ended up getting paid for it as the bout was originally scheduled for Wembley Stadium and ended up taking place in Las Vegas.

I thought Frank fought scared in the first fight but definitely fought. The second fight it looked like he was resigned to his fate.

Going into it, I thought Bruno was just a big, stiff (albeit heavy-handed) Brit and had no chance vs. Tyson (who after several delays was coming off of his obliteration of Michael Spinks). Frank gave a good account but was severely out of his depth.

As for the rematch, me and probably everyone else except Bruno’s accountant were shaking our heads at the point in having these two fight again.

 

Probably should have retired after beating McCall.

 

That Frank was in for a good hiding.