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Eric will remember this.
Frank Bruno beats Oliver McCall to win the WBC heavyweight title in 1995 was unforgettable.
On This Day: Frank Bruno beats Oliver McCall to win the WBC heavyweight title in 1995 - | Boxing News - boxing news, results, rankings, schedules since 1909
I was there!
Bruno did well to finally grab that strap. I remember quite a bit of mauling by both, as well as Benn across the ring going absolutely ballistic in the front row ;D
Frank Bruno - Rabbit punching, bear hugging bitch!
Frank Bruno - lb4lb the greatest hw of all time
Frank Bruno may have been limited but he would have eaten then likes of - Fury , Chisora , etc for breakfast.
I watched the fight again last night.
Great achievement for Bruno, but McCall didn't start throwing punches with any conviction until the 10th round and Frank barely survived.
McCall was a dreadful champion, but Bruno really gave it his all that night.
I remember the final round - the whole pub yelling "Hold him Frank, hold him !"
Somehow he survived.
We all knew he was limited but the nation will never take to a fighter like that again - fact
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKO
Same as that, we were in the pub, whole place going crazy screaming at the tv's
I remember they played "Land of Hope and Glory" right after he won.
Everyone in the entire Country loved Frank Bruno all through the 1980's and still to this day, i don't think i've heard anyone ever say a bad word against him.
He was born through terrestrial tv and was always on Sportsnight with Harry Carpenter commentating so had the whole country watching regularly.
The fact he had serious KO power was what people loved and also the fact that by the championship rounds he just seemed to run out of gas and was always vulnerable.
The Witherspoon and Bonecrusher Smith fights were classic examples.
Bruno had the muscular body and the menacing look that screamed: HW champ
He was too muscle bound and most people knew he would tire down the stretch.Quote:
Originally Posted by SlimTrae
by all accounts, a lovely bloke. I feel really sorry for him and his family for the hardship they will have faced during his struggle with mental illness.
He would have likely picked up an alphabet title nowadays, I think a fight with Wilder would be a shoutout, with whoever lands first spectacularly kayoing the other. I suspect Frank had better technique and grounding in the sport to be the favourite to land first.
I can't see him having the better of either Klitschko, though.
I think wilder would try and outboxing him.Quote:
Originally Posted by X
If Bruno landed on Wlads chin, it would be over for the Klit.
I think Frank beats Wlad within 6
Jab jab jab jab jab from Wlad, boom from Frank and it's over
Bruno is probably cursing his luck that he isn't a few years younger and able to fight now. As limited as he was, he could have beaten Wlad no problem.
He did ok. The only person who ever totally blitzed him was Tyson and there's no shame in that.
It was a travesty Bruno wasn't disqualified for that foul festival. Be it the terrible holding, the holding behind the head or the 200 rabbit punches.
But in the end he had that one title fight victory for 1-4 in title fights.
Im not sure you have your numbers totally right but let's have a look who he fought in title fights, quoting the numbers doesn't tell the whole storyQuote:
Originally Posted by Ron Swanson
And if Bruno should have been DQd in that fight then wlad should have been retired for years
All the champions that beat Bruno would beat or pose significant problems for Wlad.
Bruno had the power to seriously hurt Wlad, his major problem was stamina because he was musclebound and mentally fragile in the big fights.
Someone (won't name them) who's a well connected guy in boxing circles once posted that Bruno was threatened before the first fight by Tysons people that if he knocked Tyson out he wouldn't be leaving the US.
Wonder if theres any truth in that story?
Why won't you name them if it's something you read? Old Bruno clearly didn't get the news as he was trying to take Tyson's head off.Quote:
Originally Posted by smashup
He definitely tried to pull his head off!Quote:
Originally Posted by FensterWhy won't you name them if it's something you read? Old Bruno clearly didn't get the news as he was trying to take Tyson's head off.Quote:
Originally Posted by smashup
Bruno was always seen in and around Canning Town (where I'm from) in 80's and early 90's. Was constantly signing autographs in Rathbone market. He used to train at a Gym run by Terry Lawless above the Royal Oak pub which was no more than 200m from my house were I grew up. Everyone down my road had one or two signed pictures of him. It's the only time I've actually SEEN the genuine popularity of a boxer. Strange though because when I was aware of who he was, he was doing pantomime and I swear he turned up at my primary school as father Christmas one year, I'm bloody sure of it haha.
Also, I remember being about 6 years old causing a panic in Rathbone market cause I'd left me mum and gone missing only to be found talking to Frank Bruno lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by erics44
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark Lord Al
Immediately after an unabashed, ridiculous exaggeration..... a much more sensible post on the matter.
;D
When I started reading this post I was expecting some negativity, but it turned out quite positive, well doneQuote:
Originally Posted by TitoFanQuote:
Originally Posted by erics44
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark Lord Al
Immediately after an unabashed, ridiculous exaggeration..... a much more sensible post on the matter.
;D
Quote:
Originally Posted by erics44When I started reading this post I was expecting some negativity, but it turned out quite positive, well doneQuote:
Originally Posted by TitoFanQuote:
Originally Posted by erics44
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark Lord Al
Immediately after an unabashed, ridiculous exaggeration..... a much more sensible post on the matter.
;D
I'm fair but I'm firm. ;D
McCall was one of those fighters you never knew what was gonna happen. Bruno was decent, I wanted him to beat Tyson(I always rooted against Tyson). I also wanted Razor Ruddock to beat Tyson...lol. Wonder how McCall vs Tyson would have went.
Quote:
Originally Posted by No Contest
Remember how McCall started crying against Lewis?
Well.... substitute Tyson for Lewis and imagine the rest.
J/K..... nothing against McCall... but he was such a basket case.
McCall once chinned Tyson is sparring so it stands to reason he would have beaten him in a proper fight. That's how it works isn't it?
I re-watched Bruno Tyson 2 last night. Scrap has mentioned before about the intimidation tactics Tyson's mob used prior to the fight. The gist being that one way or another Frank wasn't leaving Vegas with his belt.
Like Fenster said though Frank was pretty aggressive from the off. In the opening round he threw a 5 or 6 punch combination that was like nothing I've ever seen him throw before. I think it confused Frank too because he immediately stopped and grabbed hold of Tyson around the neck. He did a lot of that in the fight. It's funny, when Bruno did it it's disgraceful, when Wlad does it it's defence.
Miles Lane is a favourite of many people. His handling of the fight though was questionable. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to go all Ricky Hatton fan and suggest he might have won if not for that pesky ref. But Lane did take 'hands on' to a whole new level in that fight. He made a bad IMO habit of wrenching fighters arms apart when they clinched. No need for a referee to do that unless they repeatedly ignore the break command, even then wrestling away their grip, or hitting their hands out of the way isn't in his job description.
McCall Bruno was an epic occasion, the last two rounds were probably the most intense six minutes in British boxing history. Bruno paid his dues in boxing, he had his flaws as we all know but he gave it everything, was always in amazing shape, still is no doubt. No one deserves to get handed a title on a silver platter, but if you could pick a guy who you wanted to have a little helping hand along the way it'd be Frank. No one cares who he won his title from, or how, or what shape they were in. All that matters is he got over the line by the skin of his teeth. You only have to look at the likes of Benn and Hamed jumping about like lunatics to see what it meant.
Bruno was crying at the interview and saying he was no uncle tom, probably in reference to Lennox saying that about him years earlier.