Frank Bruno shared the ring with some of the heavyweight division’s biggest names throughout his career.
He turned professional back in 1982 and quickly became seen as a serious threat in the banner weight class, winning his first 21 fights by knockout.
A shock stoppage loss to James Smith in his 22nd bout derailed his rise up the ranks, but he recovered from that defeat and earned his first world heavyweight itle shot in his 30th contest.
That fight at Wembley Stadium in 1986 ended in a loss to Tim Witherspoon, while further world title bids saw Bruno come up short against Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.
Bruno finally became world heavyweight champion at the fourth time of asking when he defeated Oliver McCall by unanimous decision in September 1995, before Bruno then faced Tyson for a second time six months later in another losing effort, in what proved to be the Brit’s final fight.
Bruno ended his career with a record of 40 wins and five defeats, with 38 wins coming by knockout, but he has now revealed who he deemed to be the biggest puncher he ever faced.
Despite sharing the ring with the likes of Tyson and Lewis, Bruno told The Business Excellence Channel that it was the man who defeated him in his first world title bid that hit him hardest.
“A guy called Tim Witherspoon that I fought. Yeah, 15 rounds, he was a dangerous man.”
Witherspoon was initially a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali before then becoming a two-time world heavyweight champion, having also taken on fighters such as Larry Holmes and James Smith in his career. From 55 wins, he had 38 knockouts, one of which was Bruno, who he stopped in the eleventh round.
