Two very similar fighters but Tate slightly more skilled so i'll go with Tate by late stoppage. Thoughts?
I second your thoughts on this hypothetical match as long as Big John Tate does not get caught by a right hand of the stationary Frank Bruno, like he did against Mike Hercules Weaver in 1980 in round 15. Too much mobility as Tate wins TKO 12.
Tate didn't really have the power to make Frank panic. I think Frank might take it to Tate and stop him early. The longer it goes, the more the pendulum swings towards Tate based on his (slightly) better boxing skills.
I've got Tate, good mover and better skilled than Bruno. John's right hand was also pretty underrated... He wasn't as strong as Frank, but he rocked/stopped most guys he got in the ring with. Berbick looked to be on shaky feet ahead of the stoppage in Trevor's favor, and Tate hurt other guys with great chins like Weaver and Coetzee. Late stoppage for Big John. Probability for the knockout starts to get high starting around 9, and gets more dangerous for Bruno with each subsequent round.
The Bruno from the Lewis fight could take Tate’s jab away with his own offensive jab which did have great timing and it was hard as well, then work the body etc as he did against Lewis. The only worry with Bruno is that he could gas to the point where he’s literally finished and it doesn’t take much for him to get to that point.
I saw Tate fight in person several times on his way up and he had a better chin than given credit for. Remember it was the second punch by Weaver that knocked Tate completely out. Kallie Knoetzee hit harder than Bruno & Tate took him out and Coetzee went 15 rounds with Tate and never hurt him once. I would go with Tate in a late round KO
