British people, explain to me how big of a star Frank Bruno was

Yes, as you’ve accurately described, in terms of garnering the Brits love, Joe was the antithesis of both Cooper and Bruno.

Carpenter’s acutely negative reaction to Bugner beating Cooper was definitely OTT and uncalled for.

I’ve read that Bugner’s first and truest love was weight lifting - and, based on physical appearances, you could see the legacy of his early life weight lifting when he began as a pro boxer.

 

This is a great little thread with some really lovely and considered commentary. It’s a refreshing change given the amount of muckraking and trash talking you see on this site.

As to Frank, as an Aussie (sorry for the intrusion) he was loved by the boxing fans in my country too. I think it is because Aussies and Brits share the same self-deprecating sense of humour and Frank was the sort of personality we could get behind.

I wish boxing (and life generally) had more Frank Bruno’s and less Floyd Mayweather Jr’s. It would be a much happier place.

 

I was talking in general terms from an Aussie perspective. We tend to get behind sportspeople and celebrities who are willing to laugh at themselves or at the very least stop short of bigging themselves up.

So in that sense we love guys like Bruno and I suppose you could say we like guys like Cooper. I can tell you that neither Aussies or Brits are especially fond of people who talk themselves up, especially if that person lacks the ability to laugh at their own expense.

 

Ouch. Poor Rubens…I was a fan. Good guy. Won quite a lot of races which is hard to do in F1.

 

I'm not sure about self deprecating sense of humour specifically, but Cooper came across as self-effacing and humble.

Eubank was the pantomime villain, more than he was loved. The guy the British public loved to hate, so much so that he actually became genuinely popular at the end of his career.

Watson, again a humble man, was much more liked by the UK public as a person than Eubank, and Benn as a fighter, because he was such an exciting puncher.

 

Yes, Conteh and McGuigan fit this too (John very charismatic and gladly took the p*ss out of himself at every opportunity and Barry was the humble, quiet type- who you couldn't help but like- both very popular back in the day. Eubank was no idol, he had his fans but Benn and Watson were far more popular. I quite liked Eubank at the time, always good too have an eccentric, oddball among the mix- but some of his fights made Johnny Nelson vs Carlos DeLeon look like Hagler - Hearns and I quickly went off him.

Frank was known and liked by everyone, even the very worst people....

Moment Jimmy Savile introduced serial killer Peter Sutcliffe to Frank Bruno in vile trick - YorkshireLive (examinerlive.co.uk)

 

I can't believe we're talking about British boxers and the public and no one has posted this yet....

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Hi Buddy.
You are right about Conteh, met him more than once at a boxing function over the years, he was always good company, as compare he would trot out the old Graziano line about only stealing things that started with A , so a car, a watch, a bike, etc, he had the hands of a piano player, long slender fingers, and very protruding knuckles. hence all the trouble with them over the years, he praised many of his opponents, but had a fond spot for Finnegan, and said that in their second fight, Chris was performing better than the 1st, and he was thankful of the cut that ended the contest, probably just being humble such that he was.
anyway, stay safe buddy, chat soon.

 

Anybody who was around at the time will remember this advert.

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Big Frank was & probably still is a national treasure.
He was always very humble, almost had an innocence about him & was pretty impossible not to like.

Boxing wise, he was limited to a degree. Frank had a fantastic jab & great power in both hands.
His ring IQ wasn't great.....as in he would get hurt & stay upright, therefore taking more punishment. He also started to tire in later rounds ( Bonecrusher Smith fight comes to mind ).
Unfortunately he has struggled with mental health problems.
We still love you Frank.