Frank Bruno

 ( Official Website ) 

Franklin Roy Bruno (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996. At regional level, he held the European heavyweight title from 1985 to 1986. As an Amateur boxing, he won the England Boxing heavyweight title in 1980.

Bruno scored 38 in 40 wins, giving him a 95% knockout-to-win ratio; his overall knockout percentage was 84.44%. Bruno was ranked among BoxRec's 10 best heavyweights in the world twelve times, reaching his career-high ranking of world no. 3 at the conclusion of 1984.

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Professional career

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Early career Bruno became a professional boxer in 1981, achieving 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 stopped former world title contender Scott LeDoux, the fringe contender Floyd Cummings, Belgian champion Rudy Gauwe, British contenders Tony Moore and Eddie Nielson, and some strong journeymen 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.

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European champion 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.

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First heavyweight title challenge

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Bruno vs. Witherspoon Bruno got back into title contention with a quick 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 good wins over Greg Page, James Tillis and David Bey. Bruno won by TKO in the 8th round, the referee stopping the bout.

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Second heavyweight title challenge

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Bruno vs. Tyson In February 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. Bruno did not complain and continued, ultimately rocking Tyson (for the first time in Tyson's career) 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 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.

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Third heavyweight title challenge

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Bruno vs. Lewis In 1993 he had a third world title chance against Lennox Lewis, who was making the second defence of the belt (his first of three championship reigns). 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 Jesse Ferguson in one round and fringe contenders Rodolfo Marin and Mike Evans equally easily.

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WBC heavyweight champion

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Bruno vs. McCall On 2 September 1995, Bruno finally became world champion by outpointing WBC Champion Oliver McCall over twelve rounds. After an even start, Bruno built up a strong lead in the middle rounds before appearing to run somewhat out of steam in the last couple. However, unlike Bonecrusher Smith and Tim Witherspoon earlier in Bruno's career, McCall was unable to find a way through Bruno's defences to force the late stoppage he needed. Bruno won unanimously on points, only the second time he had taken an opponent to the judges.

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Bruno vs. Tyson II Bruno's reign as champion was brief: 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 performed unusually poorly in what turned out to be his last bout as a professional due to the recurrence of an eye injury, originally caused during his first fight with Tyson, which had already necessitated experimental surgery to allow him to fight again after that defeat.

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Retirement After the second Tyson fight 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 that bout. In 2024, Bruno admitted on Four Kings mini documentary that the injury was retinal detachment.

Bruno's publicist throughout most of his career was sports historian Norman Giller, who wrote three books with Bruno: 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.

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Personal life 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, Bruno admitted that cocaine use, which began in 2000, had contributed to his mental health problems. Media coverage of Bruno's problems raised controversy, the principal accusations being 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 latter action that day as being grossly hypocritical 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. Bruno was sectioned again in 2012 and taken to St Andrew's Hospital in Northampton for five weeks. 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 couple, 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 Clydesdale were jointly awarded £50,000 damages for libel against The People newspaper and publishers Trinity Mirror in respect of false claims made about their relationship. In 2006, Bruno published an autobiography Frank: Fighting Back. It won the Best Autobiography category of the British Sports Book Awards. As of May 2012, Bruno was living in Glasgow with his new hairdresser girlfriend, Nina Coletta in the Gorbals area of the city.

Bruno has joined the Get Close and Personal Platform to raise funds to support The Frank Bruno Foundation, dedicated to improving the mental health of men around the world. Bruno offers one-to-one video calls with anybody wanting to discuss issues related to mental health and Bruno's own journey.

In 2025, his daughter Rachel appeared as a contender in the second series of Gladiators, citing her father's sporting success as being the inspiration for her participating.

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Media appearances and non-boxing interests Bruno's image was enhanced by his relationship with the BBC boxing commentator Harry Carpenter, which, in their many interviews, his most-quoted phrase "Know what I mean, Harry?" originated. He appeared on Comic Relief programmes in the early-1980s and made frequent appearances thereafter on television and on stage (in pantomime).

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 1993, Bruno briefly appeared as a guest on CITV's Finders Keepers hosted by Neil Buchanan. The episode aired on Tuesday 30 March that year. He was the subject of a This is Your Life programme in 1993, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel. 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, prior to that year's general election, Bruno announced that he wanted to stand as the Conservative candidate in the traditionally safe seat Conservative 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. 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 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 chat show 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 United F.C. whilst also having an affinity for the Scottish team, Aberdeen F.C.

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. Sporting Dinner with Frank Bruno MBE On 23 July 2013, Bruno was featured in the BBC Three documentary with his daughter Rachel in Rachel Bruno: My Dad and Me.

In 2020 amid the COVID-19 crisis, Frank Bruno joined a group of celebrities called The Celebs which included Kellie Shirley and X Factor winner Sam Bailey to raise money for both Alzheimer's Society and Action for Children. They recorded a new rendition of "Merry Christmas Everyone" by Shakin' Stevens and it was released digitally on 11 December 2020, on independent record label Saga Entertainment. The music video debuted on Good Morning Britain the day before release. The song peaked at number two on the iTunes pop chart.Archived at Ghostarchive and the target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Wayback Machine:

In 2024, Bruno joined fellow London boxers – Lennox Lewis, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank for Four Kings mini documentary.

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Professional boxing record Mike Tyson

TKO	3 (12),	16 Mar 1996
44	Win	40–4	Oliver McCall	UD	12	2 Sep 1995
43	Win	39–4	Mike Evans	KO	2 (10),	13 May 1995
42	Win	38–4	Rodolfo Marin	KO	1 (10),	18 Feb 1995
41	Win	37–4	Jesse Ferguson	TKO	1 (10),	16 Mar 1994
40	Loss	36–4	Lennox Lewis	TKO	7 (12),	1 Oct 1993
39	Win	36–3	Carl Williams	TKO	10 (10),	24 Apr 1993
38	Win	35–3	Pierre Coetzer	TKO	8 (10)	17 Oct 1992
37	Win	34–3	Jose Ribalta	KO	2 (10),	22 Apr 1992
36	Win	33–3	John Emmen	TKO	1 (10),	20 Nov 1991
35	Loss	32–3	Mike Tyson	TKO	5 (12),	25 Feb 1989
34	Win	32–2	Joe Bugner	TKO	8 (10),	24 Oct 1987
33	Win	31–2	Reggie Gross	TKO	8 (10)	30 Aug 1987
32	Win	30–2	Chuck Gardner	TKO	1 (10),	27 Jun 1987
31	Win	29–2	James Tillis	TKO	5 (10),	24 Mar 1987
30	Loss	28–2	Tim Witherspoon	TKO	11 (12),	19 Jul 1986
29	Win	28–1	Gerrie Coetzee	KO	1 (10),	4 Mar 1986
28	Win	27–1	Larry Frazier	KO	2 (10),	4 Dec 1985
27	Win	26–1	Anders Eklund	KO	4 (12),	1 Oct 1985
26	Win	25–1	Lucien Rodriguez	TKO	1 (10),	26 Mar 1985
25	Win	24–1	Phillip Brown		10	27 Nov 1984
24	Win	23–1	Jeff Jordan	TKO	3 (10),	6 Nov 1984
23	Win	22–1	Ken Lakusta	KO	2 (10)	25 Sep 1984
22	Loss	21–1	James Smith	KO	10 (10)	13 May 1984
21	Win	21–0	Juan Antonio Figueroa	TKO	1 (10),	13 Mar 1984
20	Win	20–0	Walter Santemore	KO	4 (10),	6 Dec 1983
19	Win	19–0	Floyd Cummings	TKO	7 (10),	11 Oct 1983
18	Win	18–0	Bill Sharkey	KO	1 (10),	27 Sep 1983
17	Win	17–0	Mike Jameson	KO	2 (10),	9 Jul 1983
16	Win	16–0	Barry Funches	TKO	5 (10),	31 May 1983
15	Win	15–0	Scott LeDoux	TKO	3 (10),	3 May 1983
14	Win	14–0	Eddie Neilson	TKO	3 (10),	5 Apr 1983
13	Win	13–0	Winston Allen	TKO	2 (10),	1 Mar 1983
12	Win	12–0	Peter Mulindwa Kozza	KO	3 (10),	8 Feb 1983
11	Win	11–0	Stewart Lithgo		4 (8),	18 Jan 1983
10	Win	10–0	Gilberto Acuna	TKO	1 (10),	7 Dec 1982
9	Win	9–0	George Butzbach	TKO	1 (8),	23 Nov 1982
8	Win	8–0	Rudy Gauwe	KO	2 (8),	9 Nov 1982
7	Win	7–0	Ali Lukasa	TKO	2 (8)	23 Oct 1982
6	Win	6–0	George Scott	TKO	1 (8),	14 Sep 1982
5	Win	5–0	Tony Moore	TKO	2 (8)	1 Jun 1982
4	Win	4–0	Ronald Gibbs	TKO	4 (8)	4 May 1982
3	Win	3–0	Abdul Muhaymin	KO	1 (8),	20 Apr 1982
2	Win	2–0	Harvey Steichen		2 (8),	30 Mar 1982
1	Win	1–0	Lupe Guerra		1 (8)	17 Mar 1982

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External links

• Profile: Frank Bruno at BBC News
• How Bruno's troubles began at BBC Sport

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