Step back in Time...........Lennox Lewis versus Frank Bruno

I think Frank was ahead on points before the fight was stopped. Bruno was world class and there is no doubt about that!

 

Bruno gaved Lewis fits for pretty much the whole fight. However, his Bruno's chin & stamina were not his strong points throughout his career & this proved to be his downfall in this one.

Lewis seemed to run out of ideas, couldn't get past the Bruno jab. Frank actually outfought him at times. Lewis was on his way to a comprehensive defeat. Credit must go to Lennox for keeping with it & ending it with the big shots at such an important time.

Lewis was not the figther in this bout he would later become. However, I do feel Lennox was a quicker fighter than he was a few years later.

Lennox was still a work in progress when fighting Bruno. There were some people who were saying Lewis was ready to face a Tyson or Bowe after beating Bruno. Facing Bruno is one thing, facing Tyson or Bowe, especially given Lewis' display against Bruno, would have been a much tougher assignment. Tyson was in prison so that was not going to happen anyway!

Frank simpy didn't finish his opponent when he had the chance. Getting the chances at the highest level are hard enough without letting them slip by.

 

Why do you say Bruno did not have a good chin? Because he got TKO by big punching heavy weights? Is that your criteria?

 

Bruno had a solid chin I have never seen him knocked out cold look at the Tyson fights and the Lewis fight the mans chin is not even questionable. However I also think that Lewis could have been DQ'd in this fight by holding down the back of Brunos head while hitting him.

 

I agree with you. I dont understand why there is this myth that Bruno did not have a great chin.

 

That was not prime Lewis. Lewis was prime around 1999-2001

 

Physically he was prime when he fought Bruno. He was never that mobile and athletic 1999-2001

 

Lewis was quick and raw, and had a terrible trainer at the time.

Bruno fought well, but the real difference between the two is displayed in the last 30 seconds of the fight, and shows why Lewis ended up in a different class to Bruno.

Bruno has Lewis on the ropes, in a little bit of trouble - and is pitty patting away with those soft looking uppercuts.
Lewis doesn't **** around, and throws a huge left hook. When it lands, he finishes him.

Lewis had a killer instinct that Bruno never had. If Lewis hurt you, you were generally done for.

Bruno was a very very good fighter. It's a shame that as fights wore on, he just looked like a machine running out of oil grinding to a slow halt.

 

Bruno didn't have a bad chin.

He just didn't know to survive.

Most fighters would clinch or take a knee, Bruno just drops his hands and lets himself get hit.

 

Well, just watched it in full again, it's been a while.

I'd forgotten how cold it was!

Reasonable fight, very close all the way through to be honest. Lewis was very loose, I'd forgotten how much he changed in style.
Bruno very straight up boxer, Lewis hands at his waist, trusting his reflexes to get out of the way.
Both guys landed and took good shots all the way through, but Lewis looked far more relaxed in there, and like he had another gear to go to, Bruno couldn't really have stepped it up. When he did try, he got stopped himself.

People always say that Bruno outjabbed Lewis in this fight, and he did, but Lewis wasn't really working off the jab like he ended up doing. Plenty of jabs thrown obviously, but also a lot of right hand leads, hooks etc. Didn't really seem all that concerned about Bruno landing either to be honest.

Anyone that watches round 7 and says Bruno had a bad chin, is kidding themselves. Bad survival instincts maybe, but not a bad chin.

Not a bad fight. Far better than some recent heavyweight title fights purely because both guys were in shape, had some talent, some power, and came to win.

 

I remember after that fight Frank Maloney went over to Brunos wife and tried to commiserate with her, said "bad luck he fought a great fight" or something like that and apparently she spat at him and told him to go **** himself :shock::shock::shock:

No wonder Frank went a bit radio rental having to live with that for all those years.

The fight wasn't Lewis's best performance but I think he moved a lot better in those days than he did when he went with Steward. Good, competitive fight but the flaws with that version of Lewis were there for all to see.

Having said that Bruno doesn't get his dues from certain people on here, he always showed up in brilliant shape and always did his best, unlike certain heavies that are around today.

 

No way. He was later much stronger and harder hitter..this version was only kid Lewis. Imagine what young Tyson would done this version lewis?! Same than he did Bruno

 

What is wrong with Bruno's chin? Look at the shots the man took. Including that uppercut at the end, and he's still on his feet. He ain't out cold like a true glass jawed fighter.

He was just hurt, and his recovery skills sucked.

 

Nothing wrong..Lewis was just weak kid in those days vs mature 1999...