It wouldn't surprise me if Bruno decked Joe with a powerful right hand, but Joe would surely not stay down. Frazier makes this an inside fight and wears Bruno down before the final bell.
Yeah, even if Bruno did knock him down, Frazier's ability to get off the mat was ridiculous. Foreman bounced him off it how many times and couldn't KO him?
This is one of those standard scenarios where you have to say the underdog has a puncher's chance, but the favorite is favored.
Frazier was not as strong as Mike Tyson. He would get bullied a little from time to time, before taking control of the fight. Frazier by ko around round 9.
What many people don't seem to realise is that Bruno had a great chin!!! He was never KO'd just TKO'd His problem was that when he was tagged, he didn't take a knee or hold on till he recovered. He just stood and watched as he was battered into a TKO. Once Frazier caught him Bruno would be TKO'd Would be very similer to Tyson Bruno I
Bruno did NOT have a great chin. The reason he didn't hold or fight back or take a knee when tagged hard was probably because he was effectively out of his feet, seeing stars and tweety birds and unable to recover and think straight. Bruno had a certain body structure and physical make-up that unfortunately kept him upright and rigid when punched out of his senses . I dont think "staying on your feet" and "great chin" are the same thing. A great chin soaks up the hardest shots without the brain and senses being outwardly effected, or soaks them up and minimizes the effects enough so you are capable of retaliating or carrying on as normal almost immediately. Staying on your feet is useless if the shock waves through your chin have just turned you into a helpless rigid punching bag. In my opinion.
This is how I see it. I like Frazier here. Bruno had stamina, durability, and sometimes confidence problems. All three are no-no's vs Frazier. Frazier did not do well vs bigger fighters who could box at all. He was down on points until round 7 vs Buster Mathis, and had a relatively close fight that went the distance with a defensive minded Joe Bunger, who rocked Frazier late in the fight. Bruno is a solid boxer bigger puncher than either Mathis or Bugner. He could land an ealry bomb and end it. The longer the fight goes, the better Fraziers chances of winning it become.
You may be right, but each time Bruno was tagged he didn't seem that out of it, he would [sort of] try to trade, whereas a more savvy fighter would hold on or take a knee. Bruno for whatever reason, pride, ring savvy, plain stupidity, would just be a target. During The punishment Bruno took at the end of tyson I, he never looked that hurt, a bit stunned with a rudimentary defence. Whereas someone a bit more savvy would either take a knee [which would have got him to the next round] or at least held on. Look what these same Tyson shots did to Berbick/Holmes etc.
Yes, your right there, Bruno could take a decent shot, his chin was good, as he proved against Tyson in 1989, and in other fights. The thing is, when hurt badly he was unable to recover, and the fact that he stayed on his feet in such a state does not indicate his chin was any better than if he went down off the shot that started it. I'm thinking of the Jumbo Cummings, Bonecrushet Smith, and Lennox Lewis fights, where Bruno was paralysed from single shots (the only way he survived Cummings was the bell saving him, his cornerman had to collect his rigid groping body from mid-ring). So, I'd say he had a decent chin but not a truly great one, and his recuperation was poor for whatever reason, so his chances against great puncher/finishers are not very good at all.
Frazier would not have an easy time with Bruno. Frank would have more than an outside "puncher's" chance, as he had other elements to his game besides a sledgehammer of a punch. Joe Frazier was not the same beast as Tyson, so Frank may have had a bit more of a chance to get into the fight. However, all the top drawer guys that beat Bruno had that extra bit of class, and this is why Frazier would prevail. TKO 9. I disagree with the poster that said Frazier may have to take a count on the way, if a Bruno opponent ever went down, the fight was over.
i think bruno's chin while not great was pretty sound,i think stamina was his problem.he took big shots early in all of his fights against tyson,lewis and witherspoon(he outboxed smith)but he just seemed to eventually blow up.remember the 1st tyson fight he suffered a flash knockdown in the 1st few seconds but while he was still strong was able to gather his faculties and fight back to hurt tyson.even in the 5th when tyson was laying a terrible beating on him against the ropes he still wasn't off his feet when it was stopped.as for fighting frazier stylewise i think bruno gives frazier problems.a big strong fighter with a stiff jab and a big right hand waiting for joe when he tries to get inside.however you would still have to pick the relentless smokin' joe to wear down bruno and expose his stamina issues for a stoppage in the last third.