Frank Bruno vs. Mike Tyson II
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Frank Bruno vs.
Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
II, billed as ''The Championship: Part I'', was a professional boxing match contested on March 16, 1996 for the
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
heavyweight championship.


Background

Frank Bruno, at that time, had been a professional boxer for over thirteen years. He was a former European heavyweight champion and had received several shots at the world heavyweight title over the course of his career. The first came in 1986, when he was knocked out by
Tim Witherspoon Tim Witherspoon (born December 27, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2003. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title in 1984, and the WBA title in 1986. Witherspoon also wor ...
in a bout for his WBA title. He fought
Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
in 1989 for his undisputed world championship but was knocked out in the fifth round. After fighting
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
for his
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
title in Cardiff Arms Park in 1993 and losing, Bruno would have to wait two years for another title shot. He fought
Oliver McCall Oliver McCall (born April 21, 1965) is an American former professional boxer. A veteran of the sport for over three decades, he is best known for winning the WBC heavyweight title in 1994 by scoring an upset knockout victory over Lennox Lewis. T ...
, who defeated Lewis in an upset in 1994 for the WBC title, on September 2, 1995, in London. McCall had claimed he was going to get revenge on the English through Bruno after
Gerald McClellan Gerald Allen McClellan (born October 23, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1995. He is a two-time middleweight world champion, having held the WBO title from 1991 to 1992, and the WBC title from 1993 to ...
suffered permanent brain damage in a title fight against Nigel Benn in February that year, but Bruno outboxed McCall to win his first world championship. Tyson was released from prison on parole in 1995 after he was convicted of raping Desiree Washington in 1991. He had fought two fights since his release, beating Peter McNeeley by disqualification in his pay-per-view return and knocking out
Buster Mathis, Jr. Buster Mathis Jr. (born March 25, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. Early life Mathis Jr. was the son of Buster Mathis, a heavyweight boxer from the 1960s. The senior Mathis had been inv ...
in a nationally televised bout on
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
. After the victory against Mathis, Tyson was placed ahead of Lewis in the line of contenders for the WBC title and his promoter Don King, who also promoted Oliver McCall, drew up a contract where McCall would defend his title against Bruno and the winner of the fight would be forced to defend the belt against Tyson in their first defense.


The fight

Mike Tyson was the aggressor for the entire fight. In round 1, Tyson continuously attacked Bruno with right overhand punches, forcing Bruno to grapple with Tyson several times in the round in order to weather the storm. In the final 30 seconds of the round, the two men would go toe-to-toe with Tyson connecting with a power right hand that staggered Bruno. Bruno would regain his composure and exchange punches with Tyson until the bell sounded. During their first round exchange, Bruno would receive a cut over his left eye. Tyson would continue to attack Bruno in round 2, with Bruno again grappling with Tyson at a frequent basis in an effort to slow Tyson down. Less than a minute into the third round, Tyson dodged a Bruno jab and proceeded to unleash a 13-punch combination that caused referee Mills Lane to stop the fight and award Tyson the victory via technical knockout.


Aftermath

The match would prove to be the final one of Frank Bruno's career. Though he initially talked about a potential third fight with Tyson, he was advised by doctors that he risked losing vision in one eye if he continued to fight and subsequently announced his retirement from the ring shortly thereafter. Mike Tyson would next set his sights on the WBA Heavyweight champion
Bruce Seldon Bruce Samuel Seldon (born January 30, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 1996, and 2004 to 2009. He held the WBA heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996, most notably losing to Mike Tyson via knockout in his se ...
. However, Tyson's contract stated that he would first have to defend the WBC Heavyweight title against number one contender
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
. Don King eventually paid Lewis $4 million to step aside and let Tyson face Seldon on the condition that Lewis would get his WBC title shot after. Tyson would then go on to defeat Seldon by 1st round knockout to capture the WBA Heavyweight title.


Undercard

Confirmed bouts: * Christy Martin WUD6 Deirdre Gogarty


Broadcasting


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruno, Tyson World Boxing Council heavyweight championship matches 1996 in boxing Boxing in Las Vegas Boxing on Showtime 1996 in sports in Nevada Boxing matches involving Mike Tyson March 1996 sports events in the United States MGM Grand Garden Arena