Franklin Roy "Frank" Bruno MBE is an English former professional boxer who was known for
his good punch power and whose career highlight was winning the WBC heavyweight championship
in 1995 against Oliver McCall at Wembley Stadium. Frank Bruno won 40 of his 45 bouts, and out
of the 40 fights Bruno won he had 38 knockouts, giving Frank Bruno a 95% knockout rate of
the fights he won. Frank Bruno's overall knockout percentage is 84.44%. Like Henry Cooper before
him, Bruno has remained a popular celebrity with the British public since his ring career
ended.
Boxing career Bruno became a professional boxer in 1982,
quickly racking up a streak of 21 consecutive wins by knockout. This streak caught the attention
of international boxing magazines, such as The Ring, KO Magazine, Boxing Illustrated
and Ring En Español. During this period Bruno defeated former world title contender Scott
LeDoux, the dangerous fringe contender Floyd Cummings, Belgian champion Rudy Gauwe, British
contenders Tony Moore and Eddie Nielson, and well known trial horses such as Bill Sharkey,
Walter Santemore and Ken Lakusta. However, in May 1984 the up-and-coming future world
heavyweight champion, American James "Bonecrusher" Smith, halted that streak when he defeated
Bruno by knockout in the tenth and final round of their bout, with Bruno leading clearly
on all three judges' cards. As a general view, Bruno was carefully managed, whereby he developed
well to later give a strong account of himself in the big matches.
Bruno won his next six bouts against respected opposition. He won the European heavyweight
title with a KO over Sweden's Anders Eklund, KO'd former European champion and world title
contender Lucien Rodriguez in one round, was taken the distance for the first time by the
useful world rated Phil Brown, and beat fringe fighters Larry Frazier and Jeff Jordan.
Bruno got back into title contention with an impressive one round KO win over former
WBA champion Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa, and, in July 1986, he challenged Tim Witherspoon
for the WBA heavyweight title. After once again leading on the cards for most of the
fight, he ran out of steam and was defeated by knockout in round eleven.
Bruno once again got himself back into title contention with wins over former contender
James Tillis and journeymen Reggie Gross and Chuck Gardner. In October 1987 Bruno faced
the veteran Joe Bugner in an all British match up. Bugner although long past his peak, was
coming off impressive wins over Greg Page, James Tillis and David Bey. Bruno won by TKO
in the 8th round, the referee stopping the bout, although it appeared the protesting
Bugner could have continued. In 1989, Bruno challenged Mike Tyson for the
undisputed world heavyweight title. In the opening moments, the fighters came together
with huge punches. Bruno's legs buckled, and he took a big step back, inadvertently stepping
off the ring apron. Most agree that he would have gone down, at least to a knee in any
event, and this was called a knockdown. Bruno did not complain, and instead gathered himself
to continue, ultimately rocking Tyson with a left hook toward the end of the round. However,
Tyson recovered and eventually beat Bruno when the referee stopped the contest in round
five with Bruno taking heavy punishment, lying helpless on the ropes.
Bruno kept winning fights, helping him to retain his spot as one of the world's leading
heavyweights. He defeated contender Carl Williams, and then journeymen such as Jose Ribalta,
Pierre Coetzer, and Dutchman Jan Emmen. In 1993 he had a third world title chance
against young Lennox Lewis, who was making the second defence of the belt. The Lennox
Lewis vs. Frank Bruno fight was the first time that two British boxers had fought for
the world heavyweight title. Lewis beat Bruno on a stoppage in round seven, Bruno again
failing to take his title chance after leading the contest on points up until what proved
the final round. Bruno again regrouped, dispatching trialhorse
Jesse Ferguson in one round, and the fringe contenders Rodolfo Marin and Mike Evans equally
easily. On 24 September 1994, Oliver McCall beat Lewis
with a surprising and somewhat controversial second round knockout victory at Wembley Arena,
and, after outpointing Larry Holmes, he came to England to defend the WBC title against
Bruno. On 2 September 1995, Bruno finally became world champion by outpointing McCall
over twelve rounds. Bruno did not last long as champion – the contract he signed to
get McCall meant he had to face Mike Tyson in his first defence. Tyson beat Bruno on
a stoppage in round three, Bruno performing unusually poorly in what turned out to be
his last bout as a professional, due to a severe eye injury caused by Tyson. Bruno was
advised not to fight again to avoid running the risk of causing any more damage to it,
which could result in permanent blindness. Bruno retired soon after the fight.
Bruno's publicist throughout most of his career was sports historian Norman Giller, who wrote
three books in harness with Frank: Know What I mean, Eye of the Tiger and From Zero to
Hero. His manager for all but his last five fights was Terry Lawless, who signed him as
a professional shortly after he had become ABA heavyweight champion at the age of eighteen.
Personal life Bruno grew up with five siblings in a terraced
house in Wandsworth, South London, where his parents had settled after moving to England
from the Caribbean. In 1990, he married his partner Laura at a small church in Hornchurch,
an area of Greater London near the border with Essex. They had two daughters: Nicola
and Rachel, and a son, Franklyn. However, their relationship deteriorated, and they
divorced in 2001. On 22 September 2003, Bruno was taken from
his home near Brentwood in Essex by medical staff assisted by police officers, under the
provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983. He was taken to Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford,
where he underwent psychological and psychiatric tests. He had been suffering from depression
for several months beforehand. He was later diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. On 9
October 2005 he admitted that his cocaine use, which began in 2000, contributed to his
mental health problems. Media coverage of Bruno's problems raised controversy, the principal
accusations were gross intrusion and insensitivity. Particular criticism was aimed at The Sun,
whose headline in the first editions the next day read "Bonkers Bruno Locked Up". Second
editions retracted the headline and attempted to portray a more sympathetic attitude towards
Bruno and mental health in general. As an attempt at atonement, the paper established
a charity fund for people suffering from mental illness, although some mental health charities
condemned The Sun '​s latter action that day as being grossly cynical in the light
of the former. On 24 February 2008, Bruno offered his support to former footballer Paul
Gascoigne, who on 21 February had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Bruno also spoke
on his own personal experiences in the mental health system at a conference run by Hari
Sewell, on 22 June 2009. In December 2013, Bruno spoke to the Daily Mirror in support
of their mental health campaign, stating: "Mental illness is a terrible thing to have
to cope with but I’ve learnt it’s a fight you can win if you live your life the right
way". In December 2005, Bruno announced that he
was to become a father for the fourth time since finding new romance with old friend
Yvonne Clydesdale. The pair, who first met five years previously at a health resort,
began dating months after bumping into each other at a wine bar near his home. Yvonne
gave birth to baby Freya on 10 May 2006. On 10 October 2006, Bruno and his partner Yvonne
Clydesdale were jointly awarded £50,000 damages for libel against The People newspaper and
publishers MGN in respect of false claims made about the pair's relationship.
In 2006, Bruno published an autobiography Frank: Fighting Back. It won the Best Autobiography
category of the British Sports Book Awards. Media appearances and non-boxing interests
Bruno's image was enhanced by his relationship with the BBC boxing commentator Harry Carpenter,
his appearances on the early Comic Relief programmes in the 1980s and his frequent appearances
thereafter on television and on stage. In 1991, he opened "The Ultimate" at Lightwater
Valley which was, at the time, the longest roller coaster in the world. He described
the ride "scarier than Mike Tyson". In 1995, the year of his world championship,
he released a cover version of "Eye of the Tiger", the theme song of the movie Rocky
III. It reached No. 28 in the UK charts. In 1999, he featured on the celebrity special
in the second season of Fort Boyard. In January 2001, Bruno announced that he wanted
to stand as the Conservative candidate in the traditionally safe Tory seat of Brentwood
and Ongar against the independent Member of Parliament, Martin Bell. His proposed slogan
was "Don't be a plank, vote for Frank!" However, this idea was quickly dismissed by Conservative
Central Office. But in an interview with BBC Sport at the time Bruno laughed at the story
and denied he had any intention of standing. In 2006, he was one of a number of celebrities
who were recorded on the World Cup song, "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann?".
On 15 August 2009 he appeared on The Weakest Link beating Duke McKenzie in the final for
£12,800. He had a small role in the 2008 British crime drama Cass. Bruno made a brief
guest appearances in episodes of the ITV comedy show, Harry Hill's TV Burp in February and
October 2011. On 21 April 2011, Bruno appeared on the ITV1 chatshow The Alan Titchmarsh Show,
where he was candid about his previous health issues. In 2011, he made a guest appearance
in Sooty. On 20 April 2012, Bruno was featured in the ITV series Piers Morgan's Life Stories.
He supports West Ham whilst also having an affinity for Aberdeen.
Bruno completed the 2011 London Marathon which is the third marathon he has run successfully.
He has also run numerous half marathons. He is also a patron for The Shannon Bradshaw
Trust, a children's charity. Bruno regularly makes personal appearances and also sells
autographed items of memorabilia. On 23 July 2013, Bruno was featured in the
BBC Three documentary Rachel Bruno: My Dad and Me.
See also List of heavyweight boxing champions
List of European Boxing Union heavyweight champions
References
External links Official website
Professional boxing record for Frank Bruno from BoxRec
Frank Bruno in the 21st century – Tribute on britishboxing.net
Profile: Frank Bruno – BBC News profile 22 September 2003
How Bruno's troubles began – BBC Sport article 23 September 2003