He was a gentleman. That’s the main reason the Brits took him to heart I’ve always thought. You never heard stories about Frank beating people up outside the ring or being an arrogant arsehole post fight. He’s a genuinely good guy and deserves to be liked and admired.
AND Bruno was no shirking ducker. He had balls. He got his arse off to the MGM grand for his very first and only title defence, and re-match against a reputed baddest man on the planet. We don't see too much of that kinda thing happening these days.
After losing his title, Coetzee made token attempts at a comeback. He beat the former title challenger and at that time mid-level foe James "Quick" Tillis by a decision in ten. Next was a journey to England to fight the big-punching contender Bruno.
AND? That was a positive secondary consequence as he actually held the bloody belt....what else would you expect pay-day wise? Bruno was in it for the glory, sunbeam. If his personal character doesn't tell you that, then you need to pay more attention generally. It's not always just about money with every fighter.
Exactly if Bruno was fed Dereck Chisora 3 times, Charles Martin, Otto Wallin, fighters like that if would've easily had more title defences. Fighting Bonecrusher Smith when you're green and fighting Witherspoon who was top 5 Heavyweight of 80s. Not to mention ATG's like Lewis, Tyson, I think most Heavyweights would end up with a handful of losses.
Lewis wasn`t an ATG great when he knocked Bruno out, he improved drastically with Steward as his trainer.