Frank Bruno vs Tim Witherspoon

Bruno had all the physical tools but he couldn't handle the pressure situations in big fights. He was a good finisher in the sub-big fights but when it came down to the big money on the line fights, he crumpled. This is what separates him from the great champions of all time. A large chunk of what makes a great champion is discipline. Period.

Bruno had Lennox in big trouble but got careless trying to finish him instead of boxing him and staying focused on landing his punches. I can't honestly say the McCall victory stands out for me. He was scared against Tyson both times and the sport never saw him face guys like Ruddock, Bowe, Morrison, Mercer, Dokes, Damiani, Weaver, even Buster Douglas, comeback Foreman or Holyfield. Wonder what he would have done against Larry Holmes too.

Decent champion, very good physique, should have accomplished a lot more.

 

Bruno should have beaten Witherspoon. His nerves always got the best of him when he fought the big boys. You can't have any self-doubt when you fight.

 

Y should any man not b scared of Tyson's elbows ?
Regarding d Witherspoon fight Witherspoon hit him while he was down and Bruno was sitting on d floor waiting 4d judge 2do something , at least give him n extra time if not DQ Witherspoon but it didn't happen .
Bruno was a very dirty fighter himself though and deserved it .
Him vs Ferguson is a great Xample of British Boxing @ its best :yep

 

Remember listening to that all gathered round the radio cos my auntie didnt have a tv. Poor Frank got a beating after starting so well, again.

 

Bruno had many great physical qualities, but he wasn't really a natural. He always looked stiff and somewhat robotic.

I was reading an old Gerrie Coetzee interview the other day, and he said that Frank's right hand was like being hit by a cannonball. Bruno had serious power.

 

Yeah he used to call it " the nuke " if i remember right. Nearly took Tysons head off.

 

I usually m d 1 stating that Bruno's power is very underrated , but don't u think that if he "nearly took Tyson's head off" then he at least would have scored a KD ? now it makes me look like Azzer85 , Tyson's biggest fanboy , but i m not , I guess Bruno didn't land very flush , or else he would have had Tyson at least down (even) if not out .
And if he landed flush I guess i overrated Bruno's power .
I wouldn't consider Tyson's punch resistance a top 5 4 a heavyweight .

 

Ok maybe i exaggerated but Tyson certainly had very very good punch resistence.Re watch the fight he hit him fkin hard. Maybe i shouldve just said that eh

 

Bruno momentarily stunned Tyson. I dont recall whether Mike
was backed up by Bruno, or if Mike was close to the ropes.
I believe Tucker was the first to rock and back up Mike.
Mike had an iron chin I agree top 4 or 3 all time. So
yeah Bruno had serious power, and he mostly got
finished on his feet hard to actually KO rather than TKO.
I believe Bruno gassing late also cost him in some fights.
Great analysis though, he was outclassing Lewis with
a ramrod jab and straight rights, then Frank got a
little playful with Lewis and got tkoed. If Frank stuck
to boxing he may have won. Imo Bruno H2H would
give many fighters problems.

 

watched all of franks fights on TV right from the beginning. He beat my cousin so I followed him all the way. Frank had too much power for the first tier of fighters that a prospect is supposed to learn from and subsequently not enough seasoning to beat live champion level fighters. Frank trained like a champion from day one so only champions could live with him. he had focus but felt the pressure of a nation when the going got tough. Bruno went mainstream from day one during free terrestrial TV’s hey day. it is unimaginable today to work out how Bruno got so big nationally unless you lived through those times in the early 1980s. TV was a very important tool used by the establishment to take some of the focus away from what was a depressing time in the UK. He was launched as a kind of black "our enry" from day one - before he had won a fight. National exposure all the way.


bruno wanted it bad but the pressure drained him like he wanted it too much. A less talented fighter can be totally unfazed by a situation and not get drained of any anxiety but Frank did because he was too aware of the scale of his position within a nation. Frank had a whole country’s hopes on his shoulders and fortunes had been invested in him. He was not arrogant enough to take it for granted as ruthlessly as most champions need to when they get a job done. Frank knew he had the best of everything and the pressure was on to deliver. I think Cooney was simular in that respect but you would have to times it by ten to understand..

 

Thank you very much for this link :good

 

Well said.

That's the thing with the heavyweights with the ko's. They slaughter 2nd tier guys & guys usually with a history of being ko'd as well. But not enough seasoning for top 10 competition year after year.

And pressure changes everything. No different in boxing than it is in life and some folks handle it well and some do not. Not handling pressure in the sport of boxing sure does have a way of subtracting from all the positives, doesn't it?