A very good HW - Not quite elite in his era, but good nonetheless. If at his peak in today's era, he'd probably sit at #3 behind the Klitschko's right now. He'd have probably a half-decent chance at beating Wlad due to his punch power (albeit as a pretty big underdog). Unfortunately for Bruno, he happened to straddle the Tyson 80s and Lewis/Holyfield/Bowe/Tyson 90s. In-ring, apart from his awful stamina his big problem was that he simply didn't know what to do when hit. He literally just froze. If you watch his fights, you can see that he could actually take some huge shots and stay upright - If Bruno understood how to clinch effectively or back peddle or even just take a knee as soon as he was hurt maybe he'd have landed more than the single heavyweight he managed to win.
damn you guys throw aall time great around like a Frisbee. he was a pretty good heavyweight......theres about 10 better than him just in the 90s so ATG is a joke
Bruno was a very good heavyweight and i think if he had either better stamina or better survival instincts he would have had a much better career, you look at his losses to Witherspoon and Bonecrusher Smith they were due to fatigue which was caused because he was too muscular, and if i remember rightly he was winning in both fights aswell, he could have been a two time champion if it wasnt for those weaknesses. Unfortunatley he was in a tough era with Lewis, Tyson, Bowe and Holyfield, he had a very good jab and was a big puncher, had he been around today he would be around number 3 possibley even number 2, but he wouldnt win Vitali although he'd put up a good fight until being stopped late on in my opinion. As far as his legacy top 60 at a push, on achievement he isnt very high up, but head to head he could give many fighters a tough time.
He was still only 25 when he lost to Witherspoon too - as I remember it he was well ahead on the cards when he got stopped, ran out of gas as per usual. I read somewhere that King ripped off Witherspoon so badly he only ended up getting about £20,000 for that fight :shock: Sounds daft when you look at him (Bruno) as a physical specimen but I think he was poorly advised/trained for his whole career. He'd won every round against Bonecrusher before getting stopped in the 10th and last round too. In fact apart from the Tyson fights I don't think I ever saw Bruno actually get ********* in a fight. He'd own the division if he was fighting now, that's for sure :yep
On the official scorecards Bruno was level on two cards 57-57 and winning by 4 pts 59-55 on the other !
Bruno entered into the immediate pre-tyson period. he was a decent fighter, but had average skills, and a british chin. he never had the heart of a great fighter.
Learned good basic skills but wasn't a natural. Following Lewis straight into a corner chin high throwing that pitty pat **** only to be knocked silly by a huge wide counter is still one of the dumbest things I've seen a fighter do.
I think Bruno was a very good fighter. Obviously a huge puncher, with underrated skills - and was outjabbing Lennox Lewis for six rounds. Big heart, and contrary to popular belief, he had a great chin despite losing by stoppage five times. His main issues were stamina, for obvious reasons - and his lack of survival instinct. Instead of getting on the bike or holding, he would just stand there asking to be knocked out. Shame.
He was competative with the best (except Tyson II but that's another story) and knocked out virtually everyone else. He wasn't elite but he was a good solid contender, the kind every division needs. If he could've got some American training under his belt he couldn't developed into a better fighter though...specifically upper body and head movement, and encouraging that left hook.