Big Frank Part Two: Top Contender
Frank Bruno Frank Bruno was not just recognisable to the boxing fan, he was becoming a huge British celebrity in his own right. Obviously, fighting on the BBC made him accessible to millions, but his infectious personality with his booming voice and laugh made him a hugely popular figure, appearing on all the usual talk and game shows. Plus, the Christmas before his biggest win against Gerrie Cortzee, he played Juliet to British comedian Lenny Henry’s Romeo at the Shaftesbury Theatre for Comic Relief - a charity founded by Lenny Henry and Richard Curtis in response to the Ethiopian famine in 1983 to 1985. The first round demolition of Coetzee ensured Bruno was the top contender to WBA heavyweight champion ‘Terrible’ Tim Witherspoon. Great Britain had not had a world heavyweight champion since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897, with the nation’s hopes securely mounted on Bruno’s broad shoulders. More pressure was put on the challenger when it was announced his world title chance would ...