Witherspoon/Smith vs Bruno - Does Anyone...

I believe Bruno was winning the fight solidly?

 

With how many seconds to go?

Lukky punch!!!

 

I think Bruno would probably have defeated Bonecrusher more oftehn than not.

 

I am no fan of The Bomber, but both Terrible Tim and Bonecrusher arguably needed career best wins to beat Bruno.

I also believe, if Whitherspoon was actually punished for his failed drugs test against Tubbs, then Frank wins the WBA title in July 1986 against TNT Tubbs.

 

Agreed.

Funny how things always worked out for the King fighters and a guy like Weaver never got a break. It must just be a huge coincidence.

I think Bruno wins a decision over Tubbs as well. It'd have to take place in the UK though, where Frank always put on his best showings. If you subscribe to that gil clancy theory that becoming a champ improves a guy 25%, Bruno would be as good as any of the old established names around. But sooner or later King would've had the WBC champ in there with Tyson and that's always a bad matchup for Bruno.

I would've liked to seen Bruno in there with a Cooney. I wanted to see Mike Spinks take him on as well around 86/87 but I think the Coetzee knockout ruined any chance of that.

Bruno in that 85 timeframe forward was a tough matchup for every other guy around. Holmes had slipped quite a bit by then and I'm not sure he'd win that one either. The big problem was the foreign fighters didn't have the opportunities they have today & not very many guys are taking the american guy oversea's. And Bruno--like Hide--fights lots better with that homecooking.

So maybe Frank gets some wins, but as soon as he's matched up with Tyson, the ballgame would be all over.

 

Bruno stood Smith on his head, but stamina let him down.

 

Yes to a point stamina could be an issue for Frank, but Bruno's real problem was IMO, he was Lawless' monster, Frank was created in a gym....

Bruno was programmed by Terry Lawless and co, and because he was a mighty fine bit of meat, that programming got Frank to world class.

But the problem is to make that step up to being the Champion, you need natural instincts, which sadly as a boxer Frank lacked.

Frank did have a good chin, look at all them clean shots he took against Bonecrusher in the tenth before finally falling, but he did not have ability to realise he was hurt and to tie up Smith and hang on.

In a later model, George Francis put the basic ability to hold in the Bruno programming and Frank used that skill in the final few rounds to edge McCall.

 

Yep, that polishing of Francis helped quite a bit.

I still think his combos and power would've been a tough task for the other guys in that 85-87 or so timeframe. But just playing the numbers game, Frank would lose to someone if he was facing 4 top ranked fighters in a row.

 

Bruno had a helluva win over Gerrie Coetzee. No one thought anyone could do that to Coetzee. In most of his other big fights - Bonecrusher, Witherspoon, Lennox - he gave good technical performances, but basically choked or fell apart somehow. I thought he might even have been on the verge of being stopped in the last round by McCall, but he just managed to hold on there.

 

Bruno was running on empty vs McCall. If McCall pressed it, he would have won via stoppage. Bruno could barley raise his arms after the fight ended.

 

Too many ifs and buts, the fights happened as they happened. Thats what boxing is all about.

 

But a boxing forum can debate the ifs and buts.....

 

Sorry, I agree totally.
What I meant was McCall didn't follow up Bruno, Frank didn't clinch Smith or Terrible Tim, he didn't realise he shook Tyson, Lewis DID eventually figure him out. Sometimes we project too much on a fighter, IF he had done this, BUT he should have done that, etc. that's what fighting/boxing is all about, these guys don't have the luxury of a keyboard.