Frank Bruno - How good was his power

[Scott9945]

Enormous puncher. I reckon one of the very few hardest punchers in history. Outstanding left jab to go along with it. Poor Bruno was unfortunate to grow up in the era he did. In this cotton candy era, Bruno would probably be the undisputed HW champion.

In any era, Bruno would still be hampered by his chin and poor stamina.

[sonnyboyx2]

Leroy Caldwell who was a fairly decent Heavyweight sparring partner for most top ranked Heavyweights of the 80s & 90s who sparred many times with Shavers, Bonecrusher Smith, Foreman, Bruno, claimed Big Frank had mind-numbing power and hit harder than any fighter he ever sparred.

[joseph5620]

In any era, Bruno would still be hampered by his chin and poor stamina.

Absolutely....

[Mugwump]

In any era, Bruno would still be hampered by his chin and poor stamina.

Stamina - absolutely.
Chin - disagree totally.

Similarly to Nigel Benn (who likewise is incorrectly referred to as "glass-jawed") there was never any problem with Bruno's chin ... UNITL ... he gassed.

He was desperately unfortunate to lose title fights to both Witherspoon (who Tyson always had the good sense to avoid) and Bonecrusher.

Both were comprehensively undone by Bruno's piston of a jab and concussive one-two. It was pure tragedy watching this young kid suddenly seize up like the Tin Man without oil. By the referee's intervention he barely had the energy left to breathe.

But the really important point about Bruno is one which certainly the British press prefer not to touch - his fragile mental health.

I knew Bruno had had it rough as a kid and been through "The System". Indeed, he very often served as the poster boy for turning one's life around with a dose of boxing's "good old fashioned discipline".

As physical specimens go Bruno never looked anything less than Spartan. But listening to his interviews (much like Tyson) you were troubled by an unnerving disconnect between the body of a man and the mind of a child. And I always felt that the coterie of older men that surrounded Frank were dirty. Or worse.

My suspicion is that Frank watched and experienced many bad things in his life. Things which could be set aside during his boxing career. But the moment the fights dried up he was effectively left to come to terms with his own demons.

I never quite got to the bottom of his sectioning under the "Mental Health Act". The government never gave a hoot about Frank's well-being during his fighting days and given the continuing horror show the Saville enquiry has initiated I seriously do question what "help" people like Frank might get once institutionalised.

If half the stories about his spiral into depression after retirement are true he's led a tough, tough life.

[beez721]

Stamina - absolutely.
Chin - disagree totally.

Similarly to Nigel Benn (who likewise is incorrectly referred to as "glass-jawed") there was never any problem with Bruno's chin ... UNITL ... he gassed.

He was desperately unfortunate to lose title fights to both Witherspoon (who Tyson always had the good sense to avoid) and Bonecrusher.

Both were comprehensively undone by Bruno's piston of a jab and concussive one-two. It was pure tragedy watching this young kid suddenly seize up like the Tin Man without oil. By the referee's intervention he barely had the energy left to breathe.

But the really important point about Bruno is one which certainly the British press prefer not to touch - his fragile mental health.

I knew Bruno had had it rough as a kid and been through "The System". Indeed, he very often served as the poster boy for turning one's life around with a dose of boxing's "good old fashioned discipline".

As physical specimens go Bruno never looked anything less than Spartan. But listening to his interviews (much like Tyson) you were troubled by an unnerving disconnect between the body of a man and the mind of a child. And I always felt that the coterie of older men that surrounded Frank were dirty. Or worse.

My suspicion is that Frank watched and experienced many bad things in his life. Things which could be set aside during his boxing career. But the moment the fights dried up he was effectively left to come to terms with his own demons.

I never quite got to the bottom of his sectioning under the "Mental Health Act". The government never gave a hoot about Frank's well-being during his fighting days and given the continuing horror show the Saville enquiry has initiated I seriously do question what "help" people like Frank might get once institutionalised.

If half the stories about his spiral into depression after retirement are true he's led a tough, tough life.

the problem with bruno wasnt so much his chin. his problem was hed freeze like a deer in headlights whenever hed get buzzed. if you hurt him,,you could tee off on him. he never learned how to hold on properly and clear his head. stamina was his biggest enemy. he didnt have the gas tank to beat the very elite. those big muscles arent good for going long distances. his losses to lennox and witherspoon were due primarily to his stamina issues

[KnockoutNed]

In any era, Bruno would still be hampered by his chin and poor stamina.

There really aren't many out there today that would give him a problem. Looking through the ring mags current top 10, I'd say there are only 2-3 guys that may not end up as Bruno's early KO victims.