Frank Bruno v Tommy Morrison

And with that, I stand corrected TGA. You're right, having the home crowd could actually be a disadvantage here. In fact, Bruno did often seem kind of tense and wooden fighting on his own turf, and the Witherspoon loss is especially bad, coming in his fourteenth professional appearance before the Wembley faithful.

 

Bruno seemed tense and wooden in most of his fights to me.

 

True, and maybe that was a huge part of his limitations. Maybe he invariably was doomed to that. It does merit mention that he only fought a half dozen times outside the UK, and twice outside Europe. (Unfortunately for him, the location twice was Las Vegas, and the man in the other corner was Tyson.)

 

Japan in 1996, and his last match in 2008 was in Mexico, but there was no financial advantage to fighting outside the US in his prime, any more than there was for a number of American stars while boxing was still a premiere sport there. Typically it made sense to fight where the money was, usually at the gambling meccas, which is why Monte Carlo (particularly for Monzon), Atlantic City and Las Vegas (and Nevada in general) displaced former centers of boxing like MSG (or NYC itself, for that matter). Tommy fought 27 fights in locations where legalized gambling brought an avalanche of cash, and several bouts in Kansas City and Oklahoma, where he enjoyed and bolstered home support. He was well managed and competed in wholly appropriate venues for the selling of himself as a product.

Both Frank and Tommy fought where they were going to find the action most beneficial. I have no issues with the way their careers were guided and managed.

 

I just don't see either guy doing well in the role of road warrior. Bruno sure wasn't and it is not a fluke coincidence the first Tyson bout landed in America. It was postponed like 5x and was originally supposed to happen in Wembley for the big gate. What transpired instead was lots of delays and make Frank take his act on the road and see if he's the same guy. At least in Wembley he lost and puts forth a good effort and hung in there. Good management always forces the hometown fighter to fight on the road and the results sure do differ.

As for Morrison, he never did take his act on the road. So here is a chance to force him to do that. See if he comes in stale or flat and not very many american heavyweights have done well oversea's for the last few decades anyway. Pretty much way under a 500 winning % in those bouts.

I think in a close match like this one in tips the scales in front of the guy with the comfy surroundings. The opponent is in unfamiliar waters and is not accustomed to having crowds cheering for the other guy. Home cooking has big advantages.

Lets say Bruno signs and the bout takes place in Kansas City. Bruno enters the ring first. Big proceedings and a long ring entrance, etc. and maybe it takes 14 or 17 minutes before the bell sounds for the first round. Bruno gets cold standing around in the other corner and is not sweated up. His legs. He was a guy that when he entered the ring he threw combos and stayed in his corner. Nothing with the legs though.

Same thing w/ Morrison in Wembley. He enters first and then 45,000 fans go nuts when Bruno starts to leave the dressing room. It takes a long long time before that first bell rings. I see Morrison being bone dry due to that long delay and pressure and Bruno being nicely sweated up.


I'm saying that factor is what tips the scales for me in the match.Other folks consider where the bout takes place as a non factor and I just do not see it that way.

 

bruno was indeed wooden but he'd still beat morrison easily

 

Your consideration of pageantry delays is well reasoned and described. I do think truly competent visiting professionals make allowances and adaptations for such circumstances.

Zad, I think at this point, we've probably discussed the opposing views to a degree where readers of this thread can develop their own conclusions about whether or not location might be a key factor, and in what respect. Good conversation.

Make the site one of more neutral turf, and I do think Tommy may have an edge. Tillis, Thomas, Williams, Hipp and Foreman were all on neutral territory, and Morrison was getting booed especially when running from Foreman. (Hell, George didn't give him any choice with all that shoving.)

Neither man fought outside their own country much, but the US is so much larger than the UK geographically, and Tommy did compete successfully with some frequency in utterly generic locales like Atlantic City (nearly 1200 miles away from Kansas City) and Las Vegas (nearly 1400 miles away from Kansas City). There's 150 miles between London and Cardiff, where Lennox repelled Frank.

Earlier, I mentioned that Tommy did get up to win against Ruddock and Williams. He also got up twice and won the majority of the rounds in the draw with Purrity. He blew out Tillis in one, while it took Frank five rounds to do it on cuts. Thomas and Tillis are Morrison's best first round scalps, while Coetzee is clearly the best starching for Frank.

 

Both men were shaky but Bruno was the better conditioned so I would lean with him but one could not be so sure

 

There's a saying about the kind of person who would bet on this fight...

A fool and his money are some party.

 

:hat

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Foreman Hooooook! :hat

 

Morrison could get KTFO or Bruno could run out of gas.......tough choice. Whichever one happens first.

 

And its well known that George Foreman came back for his second career for Tysons Benjamins (Because Foreman didnt have any)