Frank Bruno lost to Lennox Lewis but admits he would still rather face him than one of the other top heavyweights from his division at the time.
Beloved British heavyweight Bruno famously lost in his first three world title shots. However, he got a fourth and final chance against Oliver McCall on 2 September 1995 for the WBC title and won via unanimous decision.
His previous attempts were against Tim Witherspoon who stopped the Brit inside 11 rounds in 1986, then undisputed champion Mike Tyson beat him in five in 1989 and WBC ruler Lewis knocked out Bruno inside seven rounds in 1993 with a left hook after Bruno had secured many of the earlier rounds.
As he was contractually obliged to do, Bruno fought Tyson once more in his final fight after winning the world title and was again stopped without doing much damage to ‘Iron Mike,’ unlike in the first fight when he staggered him early on.
Speaking to ESPN years ago, Bruno admitted that ‘horrible and dangerous’ Tyson – who knocked out all of his first 19 opponents – was a much more fearsome opponent than anyone else he faced.
“I boxed Tyson twice and I boxed Lennox Lewis, and I would rather box Lennox Lewis five days a week than to fight a Mike Tyson. He’s awkward, short, dangerous, and when he’s fit, he’s very dangerous.”
‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ retired in 2005 after back-to-back defeats but made a comeback in November last year aged almost 60. He showed his age and lost every round against the 28-year-old Jake Paul and has vowed never to return to the ring again.
