Big Frank Part Three: Tyson

Frank Bruno 

The journey towards Frank Bruno’s second world title shot against undisputed champion Mike Tyson was a long and complicated process. The terms for the fight was originally agreed in February 1988 and scheduled for 3rd September at Wembley Arena, meaning Bruno had been out of the ring for eleven months. However, Tyson was embroiled in legal proceedings to sever ties with his manager Bill Cayton. The champion wanted six to eight weeks off after settling out of court, pushing the bout back to 8th October.

The fight was pushed back again when Tyson broke his hand in a street fight with ex-opponent Mitch ‘Blood’ Green in August 1988, with a new date of 22nd October. Again that date was rescheduled to 17th December when Tyson was knocked unconscious in September 1988 when he drove his BMW into a tree.

Also, in October 1988, Robin Givens, Tyson’s wife, filed for divorce, with Tyson countersuing her. The champion wanted to be close to his lawyers, and Bruno’s challenge was not only moved to America, a new date of 14th January 1989 was also in place.

“It’s time Mike Tyson got his affairs in order,” said a frustrated Bruno. “He is either breaking his hand, smashing his car or having a divorce and I can tell you it’s getting me down a bit. I know he is the champion, but he’s not God.” 

More legal trouble hit Tyson when Bill Cayton disputed the contract Tyson signed with Don King in October 1988. In November, Tyson sued Cayton to end all managerial ties. Tyson’s problems escalated in December 1988 when he fired long-term trainer Kevin Rooney for publicly commenting on Tyson’s failed marriage, with Tyson-Bruno finally going ahead on 25th February 1989 in Las Vegas.

Tyson burst onto the professional scene in March 1985 as an eighteen-year-old, stopping Hector Mercedes in the opening round. Trouble was never far from Tyson as a youngster. By ten years old he was already an accomplished mugger and by thirteen was marked for trouble by the authorities, frequenting many juvenile correction facilities before being sent to Tyron School For Boys in upstate New York as a last chance, where he could be detained until the age of sixteen.

It was at Tyron where he met the guard Bobby Stewart, an ex-fighter, who showed him the basics of boxing. Tyson showed some natural potential, and Stewart was so impressed he sent him to be seen by trainer Cus D’Amato, who guided world champions Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres.

The rest, as they say, is history, as Tyson flattened most put in front of him, bludgeoning his way to challenge WBC heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick in November 1986. The two round destruction of Berbick crowned Tyson as the youngest ever winner of the heavyweight championship, aged just twenty.

Unfortunately for Tyson, D’Amato never witnessed him becoming champion, dying of pneumonia in November 1985. When Tyson’s co-manager Jim Jacobs died in March 1988, the champion lost a huge influence in his life, and it was around this time when things started to implode. 

However, Tyson was already the undisputed champion, outpointing James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith and Tony ‘TNT’ Tucker respectively, adding their WBA and IBF straps to his WBC crown. He also stopped Michael Spinks in 91-seconds in June 1988, before the madness in Tyson’s life was dragged out in front of the public.

Despite Tyson’s brutish demeanour, his tone softened when it came to Bruno. The two had met several times as youngsters and trained together when Bruno went to the Catskills in 1982. “I think Frank is a really great guy,” said Tyson. “He is so well-mannered and so respectful: whenever we’ve met I’ve never heard him bad-mouth anyone. He is always telling me about his two lovely daughters. There is no way I would want to hurt him or to bust him up. That’s why, for the sake of his family and for himself, I will take him out in the opening round. He knows I always try to get a fight over with as quickly as possible - just as he does. It's the nature of our business. But I have a special reason for getting it over quickly where he is concerned - he’s such a sweet man.” 

In subsequent interviews after the announcement of the fight, Tyson was quick to point out that Bruno’s slow and upright stance was tailor-made for him to secure a quick knockout, though he conceded the challenger had every right to share the ring with him. “Bruno has been beaten only twice - by Bonecrusher Smith and Tim Witherspoon, and they were both world champions. He’s not only got every right to challenge me, but he has as good a chance as any of the leading contenders around (Bruno was number one in the WBC and WBA ratings). It seems to me that if some people had their way they wouldn’t let anyone fight me, which would mean I have to retire tomorrow.

Many boxing experts agreed with the champion’s assessment, and some believed Bruno was putting his health at serious risk, with some boxing writers reviving Bruno’s myopia and the corrective surgery he underwent in Colombia.

The challenger was riding high in the public domain - they loved his dry one liners and his famous catchphrase, “Know What I mean ‘Arry” - and although they feared for him, they hoped for a miraculous victory, with Harry Carpenter, Bruno’s verbal sparring partner, being no exception: “He is a professional and it would be a mistake for anyone to try and protect him from others. He believes he has a chance against Tyson and you would not expect him to say anything else. Tyson is the best in the world, but other heavyweights must be given the opportunity to fight him. The only alternative is for them to curl up and die. I remember other champions being described as invincible. No one gave the young Cassius Clay a chance against Sonny Liston. Clay was the seven-to-one outsider, and look what happened there. It’s a question of how you approach the Tyson power. I don’t understand why people go at him. That is playing his game. He wants them to walk into his punches. The only way to have any chance is to back off, run away for five or six rounds and make him miss. Mike is an immensely strong young man, but if you can avoid his punches who knows what might happen? Bruno can box, he has a height advantage and he can hit hard, too.”

Since his devastating one-round knockout of Spinks, Tyson had not fought for eight months - his longest period of inactivity - and he had a new team of trainers around him. Aaron Snowel and Jay Bright had taken over from the sacked Kevin Rooney, and with many reports that the champion had left his speed and power in the bars and nightclubs with three weeks left to sharpen his tools, Team Tyson was unconcerned. Jay Bright reassured the press that Tyson’s problems were truly behind him.

It had been sixteen months since Bruno had been in the ring, though he was not worried about the inactivity. In his autobiography Frank Fighting Back, he said, “Normally, a fighter would be worried about being rusty after such a long break. But I wasn’t, oddly enough. I had so much energy, I desperately needed an outlet. Knocking Mike Tyson out to win the world title was the perfect way to get rid of my frustrations. I was like a volcano.”

The champion was installed as a seven-and-a-half-to-one betting favourite and those odds looked good when Tyson caught Bruno on the temple in the opening seconds of the contest and clubbed him to the floor for the eight count. The challenger evaded the incoming left hook and did well to tie the advancing Tyson up as he came in looking for an early finish.

The defending champion was wild in his attacks as the challenger held the back of Tyson’s head with his left glove and clubbed away with his right, bringing constant cries of “No holding, from referee Richard Steele.

The challenger then had a stern ticking off and a point deducted for hitting Tyson whilst his back was turned. Then Bruno unleashed one of the best left hooks of his career, catching Tyson on the chin, with British commentator Harry Carpenter famously saying, “Get in there, Frank!” The champion was stunned but the challenger could not find another telling punch and Bruno’s chance of victory had evaporated. “One man down, the other man wobbled,” said HBO’s Larry Merchant, “I’ll take it!”

The speed of hand and foot are troubling for the slower Bruno, he landed a decent left hook in the second, but Tyson was all over him, taking away the challenger’s boxing ability. 

As the rounds went on, the champion was getting stronger and Bruno was visibly slowing and looking to survive. Towards the end of the fifth, Tyson unleashed heavy blows to body and head, forcing Bruno to the ropes. The challenger covered up and took sickening shots to the head as Steele saved him with five seconds of the round remaining, as Terry Lawless was coming through the ropes with the towel.

Although it wasn’t a vintage Mike Tyson performance, he still showed the world why he was unbeaten and still the baddest man on the planet, improving to 36-0 (32 KOs) whilst Bruno dropped to 32-3 (31 KOs).

The challenger was devastated and very self-critical when recounting his performance to the press. “I feel ashamed I lost. I feel so sad. I did what I had to do, but it just wasn’t enough. So many things run through your mind when you’re in the ring waiting for Tyson. Then he just comes swarming all over you. It’s difficult to put that pressure into words. There’s a lot of weight on your back. A lot of people were running me down. I knew if I was beaten in the first round they would all say I bottled it. When I did go down it was a surprise more than anything. I didn’t really get hurt. It’s my pride that hurts the most.”

As the media questioned him on his future, Bruno replied: “I want to forget about boxing for a while. I’m only twenty-seven and I don’t really want to give it up, but I’ve got other plans in my life.”

Bruno returned home to a hero’s welcome and despite suffering his third defeat, seemed more popular than ever. Boxing was put on the back burner for a while as he married his longtime girlfriend - and mother to his two daughters Nicola and Rachel - Laura Mooney in 1990, and starred in Pantomime and various television appearances, whilst picking up an MBE.

Though he was out of the sport, it was boxing he wanted to get back into, and things looked to be taken out of his hands when it was discovered in 1991 that Bruno had a torn retina in his right eye. Surgery in Manchester was a success and Bruno, who split with Terry Lawless after the Tyson fight, kept Mickey Duff as his promoter and returned to the ring on 20th November 1991 - thirty-three months since facing Tyson - to face Dutchman John Emmen at the Royal Albert Hall.

Emmen, a fitness instructor from Tilburg, Netherlands, had a decent record of 16-2 (13 KOs), but had fought nobody of note, except when challenging Francesco Damiani for the European heavyweight title, losing in the third round in April 1988. Against Bruno, he put up little resistance and was stopped by first first-round knockout.

Bruno continued his comeback in April 1992, with the twenty-nine-year-old Cuban Jose Ribalta in the opposite corner. Ribalta was a much better opponent than Emmen despite the fact that he was on a three-fight losing streak to Tim Witherspoon, Bruce Seldon and Pierre Coetzer respectively in his 31-7-1 (23 KOs) resume. He had also taken Tyson into the tenth round in 1986, and was expected to be a stiff test for the Londoner, especially when he said he was going to target Bruno’s right eye and aimed to blind him.

However, Bruno landed a huge right halfway through the second round to render the Cuban unconscious in impressive fashion. The press, initially concerned about Bruno’s health since announcing his comeback, led the chorus of his return to world title contention. The Londoner was also happy with his night’s endeavours. “That final punch felt really good. I am a lot more mature than when I fought Tyson. This guy was an incredible opponent. It is stupid to say it wasn’t a test - when a man says he is going to blind you, you don't waste any time. I was especially delighted because of the things he had been saying before the fight, but now I have to sit down with Mickey Duff and see just how far we can go.”

Bruno’s next outing was a stern one against the highly rated South African Pierre Coetzer on 17th October 1992 at London’s Wembley Arena. Coetzer had a solid 39-3 (27 KOs) record and was unbeaten in seventeen contests before losing to Riddick Bowe three months previously in a WBA final eliminator. The defeat did not stop Mickey Duff from applying to the IBF to recognise the contest as a title eliminator.

Bruno tipped the scales at his heaviest ever at 244 pounds (110.68 Kg), but still kept his muscular physique, as his opponent weighed 220 pounds (99.79 Kg). The extra weight took a toll on Bruno, who was sluggish for the first four rounds, before finally stopping his granite-chinned opponent in the eighth round. The performance saw a different side to the Londoner, who initiated some dirty tricks and roughhousing en route to his victory. 

Despite the dark arts, Team Coetzer had no complaints. “He’s strong and he hit me hard,” said the South African after the fight, “it’s as simple as that.” And his impressed manager, Alan Toweel, said: “If Frank fights like that in America, he could well do it. If you get an American ref he turns a blind eye to those tactics. A performance like this would frighten Americans.”

“I never go in to fight dirty, but I’ve got to protect myself,” said Bruno in defence of his performance. “Believe me, it’s not table tennis in there. You’ve got to do what you can to win - it’s a serious business.”

And business continued on 24th April 1993 when Bruno faced Carl ‘The Truth’ Williams at Birmingham’s BP Pulse LIVE Arena. Williams brought a 26-6 (19 KOs) record, littered with some of the best names the division had to offer. Williams started his paid career in January 1982, going 16-0 (10 KOs) before taking IBF champion Larry Holmes the full fifteen rounds. Although Holmes retained his belt with a unanimous decision, some who saw the fight believed Williams had done enough to secure victory.

Williams gained a stoppage win over the then-unbeaten Jesse Ferguson, before losing to Mike Weaver via a second-round technical knockout. An unbeaten run of five, which included Bert Cooper and Trevor Berbick, lined Williams with a second crack at the world championship against Mike Tyson on 21st July 1989. 

Tyson dispatched the challenger in 93 seconds, as Williams lost three of his next eight contests. His last contest, in January 1993, was an eighth-round stoppage against Tommy Morrison.

Bruno came to the ring a lighter 231¾ (105.12 Kg), and although he shed the pounds, he retained his dirty tactics, as Williams used his skills to make the Brit look cumbersome and an easy target. The fight was not pretty to watch and both fighters suffered damage: Bruno needed five stitches to a cut eye and Williams had a puffy face.

The end came early in the tenth and final round, when Bruno clubbed his opponent with a right and referee Dave Parris called a halt after 29 seconds of the round. It was far from satisfactory, with Bruno saying: “I was trying too hard to knock him out from the first round. I’ve obviously got a lot of things to work on. I need to sharpen up and loosen up, but I know I have got a lot of the rust out of my system. I think I have the power now to beat (Lennox) Lewis.”

Lewis was the new WBC heavyweight champion, and when he successfully defeated Tony Tucker in Las Vegas in his maiden defence, the Battle of Britain was on.

All the best fight fans

Lea

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