Frank Bruno in the 21st century by Kev Parker Nov 14th 2007

Looking back at the career of Frank Bruno has made me realise how capable he really was. Comparing him with the title holders of the last 5-10 years, could we have had a two or possible three-time titlist in our midst if Bruno had competed later and hit his peak circa 2000-05? What if Frank had debuted in the early 90's instead of 1982? Bruno stood 6 foot 3 inches, had an 82 inch reach and a body that looked as if it had been cut from stone. He would have weighed in the weight range of 224 pounds (16st) to 248 pounds (17st 10lbs). Frank had a good stiff jab, very heavy hands and if he caught you at the end of the right hand you needed a chin made of iron to not be rocked to your boots. He wasn't the most mobile and didn't respond that well when caught, but bear in mind he faced very big punchers in his original world title bids. His first loss was to the contender James Smith who could dig very well himself. Firstly, Bruno's power would have taken care of, I believe, all the domestic challengers and he would have won British and European titles with relative ease. I think he would have stopped Williams, Skelton, Hide, Akinwande and Harrison (maybe he would have come along too late) all within eight rounds. I think only Sinan Samil Sam would have posed a few problems at European level for Frank due to his study chin, but I see that fight going the way his McCall fight went with Bruno putting the work in early, fading late but doing enough to take a decision. In the five years I'm looking at for match ups we had Tyson, Lewis, Ruiz, Byrd, The Klitschkos, Valuev, Holyfield, Brewster and Rahman that Bruno could have gone in with and targeted due to being names or holding the main titles. Mike Tyson  Tyson at the turn of this century was a very much different fighter to the one that Bruno faced originally. Bruno could have outlasted the 2001-2005 version quite easily in my opinion and forced a mid to late rounds stoppage. Tyson would have taken the early rounds with his aggression and energy then been literally jabbed into submission for a stoppage once his energy levels and punch output had depleted. Result - Bruno Wins RSF 9 Lennox Lewis Lennox was in his peak in these years and would have beaten Frank in a more impressive way than he had done back in 1993. He was more fluid, had a better range of punches at his disposal, was more versatile and much more cagey fighter. He also knew how to 'fight tall' thanks to Emmanuel Steward. What an event this could have been in 2002/03 at Wembly. Result - Lewis Wins KO 5 John Ruiz Ruiz has an awkward but effective style, however, I don't believe he would be strong enough to hold off Bruno. Golota knocked him down heavily in their match, he was rocked by the naturally smaller Roy Jones Jr and James Toney and I think Frank could have landed his right hand early and often to knock out Ruiz within the first quarter of the fight. Ruiz's punch and grab style may have bought him some extra time but I see a focused Bruno simply overwhelming him. Result - Bruno Wins KO 4 Chris Byrd Although Byrd would have been giving a lot of strength and size, what's new? I see him being too slick, slippery and simply too crafty for Bruno. Frank always has a puncher's chance, especially against a fighter a small as Byrd, but I see him doing more missing than hitting in this fight. Byrd would dip, dodge and poke his way to victory winning a unanimous decision. Result - Byrd Wins PTS Wladimir Klitschko Wlad isn't blessed with the best chin in the world and I could see him going down and staying down like in his match with Sanders, but I can't ignore his good boxing skills. He also has adapted slightly and uses his height very well and of course moves more fluid than Frank. He would eventually out jab Bruno after a losing start and fight a conservative and safe match behind the jab to build up the points, always being wary of the potential equaliser coming his way. Result - W Klitschko Wins PTS Vitali Klitschko Vitali is heavy handed himself, has faster hands than Frank, is very tall and knows how to use his reach and height well. I see him taking the odd heavy shot from Bruno but Vitali's chin has proved sturdy enough. Vitali would use his greater hand speed to bust up Bruno and awkward movement to befuddle and break down Frank for a late stoppage. Result - V Klitschko Wins RSF 9 Evander Holyfield Holyfield at this stage of his career was very much on the downslide and would be too small to hold off the bigger, stronger man. His movement would allow Evander to bag a few rounds but Frank could keep it basic behind the jab firing the straight right after it to rarely miss the defensively limited Holyfield. His strength in the clinches would also sap Holyfields stamina thus reducing his already low punch out put. Result - Bruno wins PTS or RSF 10-12 Nikolay Valuev For me Valuev's size could work against him in this match up. I could see Bruno's jab giving Nikolay fits. Valuev's skills have improved but he too sticks to the basics and has little variety in his punches, and for a man of his size certainly doesn't punch with the authority he should do. The sheer strength of Valuev could cause problems for Frank late on but again I see Bruno taking enough rounds to be able to squeak out a very close decision. Result - Bruno Wins PTS Hasim Rahman Rahman blows very hot and cold with his performances and his biggest claim to fame is the one punch KO of Lewis. Lewis returned the favour in the return match and Hasim's chin, in my opinion, is not as study as Bruno's. Rahman himself has a good jab and decent power in the right hand but his chin does not hold heavyweight shots well at all. Maskaev was able to do the double on him and Ruiz, in their dreadful fight, hit him often enough to keep him in a shell for large portions of that 'fight'. Frank's would be shaken once or twice but Rahmans chin would let him down and I see Frank being able to do what Maskaev did in their first fight and stop the Rock in 7 rounds after landing often enough to keep Hasim honest and weary to engage. Result - Bruno wins KO 7 Lamon Brewster Brewster is another fighter who performs to a certain level and has only a couple of very good wins on his record at a title level. Frank's jab would be able to keep Brewster away and not allow him to get his good left hook off on the inside to trouble Bruno. Like in the Klitschko rematch I think Bruno could win this in a similar manner, only taking a few rounds more to achieve the same result. Result - Bruno Wins TKO 10 Of these ten fantasy match ups I have Bruno winning six of them and would think he could pick up the WBC, WBA and WBO titles depending on the timing of the match ups. His career may have finished with a similar record of wins and losses but how much sweeter would it be for him to hear the words 'Frank Bruno, TWO-time Heavyweight Champion of the world.'

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