In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero, boxing legend Frank Bruno talks about being a real good guy of boxing and reminisces about his rivalry with Mike Tyson.
The boxing world is packed with all sorts of characters—some bad, but a lot of them good. Like boxing legend Frank Bruno.
The British heavyweight boxing champ held the WBC and European heavyweight titles, and faced several world champions, including Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. But what Bruno is most known for is being a good guy—both in and out of the ring.
His rivalry with Tyson was one for the books: In 1988, after Tyson knocked him down in the first round, Bruno gathered himself to continue and rocked the American champion—for the first time in Tyson’s career—with a left hook toward the end of the round.
“A lot of hype going on in the Mike Tyson days, you know,” Bruno told CalvinAyre.com. “I lost both times but there’s a lot of hype going on.”
So what makes a good rivalry, we asked.
“It’s exciting. You could never know what could happen in boxing,” Bruno explained. He compared the sport to horseracing, where “one minute you think the horse might win.”
“One minute you could win in one round, three rounds, whatever. So it’s interesting to see what’s going to happen. Nobody knows what’s going to happen. Me against Mike Tyson was a very good rivalry,” the boxing legend said.
Bruno fought Tyson again in 1996. He was defeated, and has since retired from professional boxing. Now, the boxing legend keeps himself busy with various partnerships. Recently, Bruno graced the booth of betting business eMerchantPay at the ICE Totally Gaming 2017.
“I don’t know if it [being a good guy] has affected me. Boxing has always been involved in gambling and gambling has always been a big part of boxing, but I don’t know if it has affected me or destroyed me or anything like that,” Bruno noted.
Boxing was once considered to be among the popular spectator sports in world, but it is losing its popularity—or so we’re told—while UFC and even WWE continue to grow in popularity. There are many reasons that contribute to boxing’s waning popularity, but the sport being “boring” should never be included in the list.
“Boxing is a very, very exciting game. I don’t think it’s boring at all. It’s the most prestigious sort of like game,” Bruno said.
