I'm guessing the report is likely referring to the take in a single night event. If the claim was made on that basis, it might well have been the biggest at the time. However, without that context in the excerpt from the AP report, it reads as something plainly daft.
I don't think Bruno was actually the favorite. I think once the Brits realized how out of shape Witherspoon was, they fancied Frank's chances. But the reality was that Witherspoon was too durable - He simply outlasted Bruno, who was doing well until getting hurt and stopped. If Witherspoon had Bruno's work ethic and desire he may have done a lot more,
Revenue estimates for FA Cup finals (single day event) in the few years before Bruno vs Bugner, are 2 to 4 times those of the revenue estimate for that fight card (factoring in gate, broadcast, sponsorship, etc). Attendances c. 95,000 for the cup final vs c.32,000 for Bruno vs Bugner, at the same stadium. Bruno vs Bugner wasn't a huge, relatively speaking, sporting event in the UK. Lewis vs Bruno was far bigger, but still had nothing like the public interest of, say, a world cup. Not even close to being close.
I was 13 at the time and on holiday at my nans house .the press in the UK seemed certain Frank would win by KO .spoon was described as fat chubby out of shape etc . This seemed very good news as a patriotic young lad .My dad however didn't agree with this and stated the Bruno was out of his depth with Tim . This unfortunately was correct . I have never trusted press since
Hi Buddy. How kind, my pleasure Philosopher, with your permission, and hopefully spare your blushes, I find your posts and the manner in which they are written, much to my liking, notwithstanding your undoubted knowledge of the sport, you are a thoughtful and polite member of our forum, much to our gain, keep it up please. stay safe, chat soon. Mike.
I don’t know if Bruno-Witherspoon was Britain’s biggest sporting event (I doubt it), but I do know that Spinal Tap was England’s loudest band.
Apologies, but by "single night event" I meant a one-off event, not merely an event that occurs on a single calendar day. The FA Cup final is an annual event and, more than that, a national institution in the UK's dominant spectator sport, which is also the biggest sport in the world. It does not matter all that much, really. The article does a poor job of providing context in any event. That said, I would probably measure the scale of an event in terms of live/as-live viewership rather than revenue. Bruno v Bugner probably had an audience of around 17–18 million. That may even have been higher than the audience for the 1987 FA Cup final.