How do you rate Frank Bruno as Heavyweight a boxer?

I believe Frank was a Very/Good Boxer in terms of the era he was fighting in but he had stamina problems and most of the fights he lost were due to him gassing more than anything as he was usually up on the cards... and he never really had that mean streak that most top boxers have...

He would often have fighters in trouble but would be lost as how to capitalize on that.. classic example being the first Tyson fight, after rocking Tyson he didnt know what to do.... imagine if he did have that mean streak we could of been talking about that era in a whole different way:scaredas: :deal

Transplant him into today era's He would be an elite fighter as I dont see many of todays current heavyweights giving him trouble let alone beating him:good

 

Vitaly I'd have to favour over Bruno. He's got the resiliance to cope with whatever was thrown at him by Frank.
Doubt if I could say the same for Wlad!

 

Brunos stamina problem was that he couldn't box in a "relaxed" style, so as he fatigued big gaps opened up in his technique, much moreso than with most boxers. His other problem was that, while his chin wasn't as bad as some people think, he would get hurt, just freeze and then get hit again and again. His chin as OK, it was his response (or lack of) to getting hurt that was the issue.

 

A Good Heavyweight,was outboxing Lewis before he got tagged.

 

Mate, Sam Peter would have knocked out Bruno. I wasn't a starry eyed kid watching Bruno.

 

I love your avatar, dont go spoiling t now by telling me she's a bloke or something

 

scaredas: Now you got me worried:nut

 

Brunos stamina problems, are qiute simple He had no confidence. But had an abundance of Bravery.

 

Can someone remind me...was Frank ever counted out on his arse?

 

think he was against smith

 

I don't believe so. By the time he got round to going down, he was worn out and finished.
Except against Tyson, when he got beat before he tired badly and just ended up just standing there absorbing it all.

 

Bruno had poor stamina but could take a lot of punishment. He was very good at a distance but his torso was too stiff to get the power in at close range. As seen again Lewis when he had LL in trouble but stepped in to finish him and was only hitting with arm punches. This gave Lewis the chance to recover and load up that hook.

 

A couple of things spring to mind about Bruno......

1. Winning every round against Bonecrusher Smith yet got KO'd in the last
2. Allowing Tyson to recover from that booming left hook
3. Setting the blueprint to beating Lennox Lewis

Why I say No.3 is because he had a lot of success with the overhand right - the punch which lead to his downfall against both McCall and Rahman.

IMO if he had realised Lennox had a good lead left hook and planned accordingly, he may have won either that round or the next.

 

He had a superb jab, as evidenced in his fight with Lewis. Apart from great jab he had overall superb punching power and as some of you pointed out he had a decent chin, but his problem was that he never really learnt to hold on when in trouble.
I think that his stamina suffered because as his career went on he seemingly got ever more heavy and muscle bound.
He certainly wasn't a great fighter, but he was no doubt competent.
I vaguely remember in the early days as a young contender when he had a fight with a really bad dude called Floyd Jumbo Cummings. Cummings nearly knocked him out but Terry Lawless whipped him into shape in his corner and he then went on to win the fight. Anybody else remember this?

 

Yep, the Cummings fight was the first signs that Bruno wasn't the best at "fighting hurt", Bonecrusher would go on to prove the point?

BTW Cummings has a draw with Joe Frazier on his record.