- - Bruno was massive because he was fragile and KOed when stepping up, ie Brits love horizontal heavies.
Bruno, bless him, he ain't never gonna sell out Wembley any more than Lummox could. AJ made himself a man of the people in support of ama boxing and Olympic team, and it if POs the lovable looser syndrome addled Brits, then so be it.
It was weird how bruno was so beloved even though he lost all his title fights but one, i remember watching the title fight against oliver mccall and he finally captured a world championship and people celebrated and cried, bruno lost it to tyson in his next fight and retired.
bruno was one of those rare figures as you say lovable loser, people just liked and rooted for him.
AT there respective times? Bruno was more beloved and followed in the UK, AJ has more reach thanks to the internet, but Bruno was huge in UK, he was massive during that time.
- - Bruno was massive because he was fragile and KOed when stepping up, ie Brits love horizontal heavies.
Bruno, bless him, he ain't never gonna sell out Wembley any more than Lummox could. AJ made himself a man of the people in support of ama boxing and Olympic team, and it if POs the lovable looser syndrome addled Brits, then so be it.
AJ by far. People liked bruno but they knew he was average. So when he fought lewis, who everyone knew was class, everyone wanted lewis to win. Just to be on the side of a winner. But if joshua fought fury, even with fury being the big favourite, 99% of brits would still support joshua because fury is such a steroid munching, cheating, despicable scumbag with very few fans. There is a reason why AJ sells out stadiums in 5 minutes but the gyppo couldnt even pack out a church hall in salford. Not even if was a clean needle exchange night in salford, with all fury's main fans in town. He still couldn't fill it out.:)
Bruno was a household name, everybody knew who he was from schoolchildren to housewives to grandparents. AJ hasn't achieved that level of fame although his earnings obviously eclipse Bruno's
Now that Tyson Fury is the fighting pride of America, Dereck War Chisora is now the biggest UK star. All action, all burger sharing, drew with Usyk, beat Parker 1, Whyte 1, Helenius, Takam, Malik "King" Scott, prime Kevin Johnson, David "the big truck" Price, shared the ring with GOAT Fury, kicked Kugan Cassius out of his room. One hell of a career. Bruno lost to every half decent opponent he ever faced, except for McCall, but McCall lost like a 100 fights and is only rated cause Lewis is a very chinny guy and switched off. Nash out.
AT there respective times? Bruno was more beloved and followed in the UK, AJ has more reach thanks to the internet, but Bruno was huge in UK, he was massive during that time.
Frank Bruno.
Anthony Joshua in part is big because? Of the times we live in, and the affect of social media.
I have said it before, and I will say it again. Social media creates a illusion, and has diluted super stardom.
There are random people on social media, who have millions upon millions of followers 'For doing completely nothing'.
This culture has infiltrated society and sport 'Everyone is a superstar these days'. So that makes you wonder, what does it actually mean to be a superstar these days?
The reason why I say Frank Bruno was bigger, is because I think his fans were more genuine and had a deeper rapport.
I just think personally these days, it is not difficult for people to get attention from the masses. And this makes them believe that they are superstars, when really they are not.
Don't get me wrong, Anthony Joshua is a superstar. But not quite in the way Frank Bruno was, Joshua's superstardom does not have the depth of Bruno's. The last British boxer to rival Frank Bruno's superstardom was Ricky Hatton.
Bruno by far, his fights were almost all on terrestrial TV. He was probably the most recognized sportsman in the UK in his prime. AJ is nowhere near that level of celebrity.
If anything Frank was better known for his catchphrases and comedic buffoonery than his actual boxing.
Bigger star AJ
More loved and known by the british public Bruno
Exactly this. Much like Khan being the bigger star but Brook being the more respected and liked in the UK.
AJ will never be "loved" by the UK public. AJ is a cash cow within the modern boxing model...but like Khan...most are watching in to see if he gets Bambi legged again. When Bruno fought...the Brits were all in...and were genuinely gutted when he lost.
AJ the bigger star/name but probably more but probably not as well loved, mostly because there another huge name and better fighter in Tyson Fury, which is why there’s been a huge downturn in his support and popularity since Fury returned, although he still has plenty of fans and still gets viewers. I think now people now he’s very beatable, it adds some intrigued too.
I think Joshua definitely was getting that public support that Frank Bruno had when Fury was out of the picture, but now the boxing fans are more divided.
Bruno had it all to himself, kind of. I know Lewis was there, but he was never quite seen as a British fighter in the same way. Plus Bruno had the underdog element, which the public like, they knew he was never the best.
Excellent post. Bruno was delightfully imperfect. AJ--at first--seemed to be almost annoyingly flawless.
Bruno was a household name in Britain in a way that I still don't think AJ is. Part of that is boxing is more niche than it was back in Bruno's day.
AJ has more box office appeal, selling out stadiums no matter who the opponent, but Bruno was more famous no question. Know what I mean, Arry? Hurr, hurr, hurr, hurr.
AJ the bigger star/name but probably more but probably not as well loved, mostly because there another huge name and better fighter in Tyson Fury, which is why there’s been a huge downturn in his support and popularity since Fury returned, although he still has plenty of fans and still gets viewers. I think now people now he’s very beatable, it adds some intrigued too.
I think Joshua definitely was getting that public support that Frank Bruno had when Fury was out of the picture, but now the boxing fans are more divided.
Bruno had it all to himself, kind of. I know Lewis was there, but he was never quite seen as a British fighter in the same way. Plus Bruno had the underdog element, which the public like, they knew he was never the best.
They were both household names, I really couldnt separate one from the other in that regard. But Joshua has definitely drawn bigger numbers, and was/is much bigger internationally.