Frank Bruno had to endure a number of tough battles on his way to finally becoming world champion.
After coming up short in his first three world title attempts, Bruno got a fourth shot against WBC heavyweight champion Oliver McCall at Wembley Stadium in September 1995.
McCall had won the belt with a shock knockout win over Lennox Lewis, before then making a defence against Larry Holmes, meaning Bruno had his work cut out in the fight.
He managed to achieve a lifetime achieve though when he defeated McCall by unanimous decision, righting the wrongs from his first three world title defeats.
One of those losses came against Mike Tyson, when Bruno challenged ‘Iron Mike’ for his undisputed heavyweight titles in Las Vegas in 1989, with Tyson winning by fifth round stoppage.
The pair then had a rematch in 1996 when Bruno was making the first defence of his newly-won WBC title against Tyson, but the American won by third round TKO.
It saw Bruno lose his title, and he previously revealed to The Guardian that he regrets taking that second fight with Tyson.
“I took a big risk but I’ve got family to provide for and I couldn’t rob a bank. Sometimes in boxing you think if you’ve lost one eye, you’ve still got the other eye. If you damage one hand, you’ve got the other hand. In the ring you go mind over matter.
“When your eye is not right your mind is there 80% but the other 20% is worried about your sight. The reality hits you in your dressing room so I just went out there and winged it. The fight only went three rounds before he stopped me. You could say it’s brave but it’s very stupid. One of the most crazy things I’ve ever done.
“It would have been wise to retire after I won the world title against Oliver McCall [in his previous fight in September 1995] but I’ve got kids who go to private school. Private school for each kid costs £1m. I’ve got four kids and all four have been to private school – one of them is still there.”
The second defeat to Tyson turned out to be Bruno’s final fight, as he retired with a record of 40 wins and 5 defeats, with an impressive 38 of those wins coming by knockout.
