Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Franklin Ray Bruno (born November 16, 1961) is a
United Kingdom|British former boxer whose career
highlight was winning the World Boxing Council|WBC
world heavyweight championship in 1995.
Altogether, he won 40 of his 45 contests. He is
also well known in the UK for acting in
pantomimes.


==Boxing career==
Bruno became a professional boxer in 1980, quickly
racking up a streak of 20 consecutive wins by
knockout. This streak caught the attention of many
international boxing magazines, such as Ring
Magazine, KO Magazine, Boxing Illustrated, The
Ring En Espanol and many others. In March of 1984,
however, future world Heavyweight champion, United
States|American James 'Bonecrusher' Smith, then a
boxing journeyman, halted that streak when he
defeated Bruno by knockout in the tenth and final
round of the bout, with Bruno leading on all three
judges' cards.

Bruno got back into title contention with wins
over the likes of former World Boxing
Association|WBA world champion Gerrie Coetzee (by
knockout in round one), and, in July of 1986, he
challenged Tim Witherspoon for the WBA world
Heavyweight championship. After once again leading
on the cards for most of the fight, he ran out of
steam and was defeated by knockout, in round
eleven.

In 1989, Bruno, whose Boxing training|training
partners included celebrities like Sting
(singer)|Sting, challenged Mike Tyson for the
unified world Heavyweight title. After being sent
down in round one, Bruno finished that round by
rocking Tyson with a left hook. However, Tyson
beat Bruno by knockout in round five.

Frank Bruno kept winning fights and he kept his
spot as one of the world's leading Heavyweights,
and in 1993, he had a third chance, against young
Lennox Lewis, who was making his second defense of
his first of two championship reigns. Lewis beat
Bruno by knockout in round seven.

In September, 1994, Oliver McCall beat Lewis in
London, and, after defeating Larry Holmes, he went
to England to defend the WBC title against Bruno.
Bruno finally became world champion by outpointing
 McCall over twelve rounds.

Bruno did not last long as champion: his first
defense was a rematch with Tyson. Tyson beat Bruno
by knockout in round three, in what turned out to
be Bruno's last bout as a professional.


==Outside boxing==
Bruno grew up with five siblings in a terraced
house in south London, where his parents had
settled after moving to England from the
Caribbean. In 1990, he married his partner Laura
at a small church in Hornchurch, an area of
Greater London near the border with Essex,
England|Essex. They had three children. However,
their relationship deteriorated, and they divorced
in 2001.

In 1995, the year of his world championship, he
released a cover version of "Eye of the Tiger",
the theme song of the movie Rocky III. It reached
#28 in the UK charts.

In January 2001, Bruno announced that he wanted to
stand as the Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative
candidate in the traditionally safe Tory seat of
Brentwood and Ongar against the independent Member
of Parliament|MP Martin Bell. However, this idea
was quickly dismissed by Conservative Central
Office.

On September 22, 2003, Bruno was taken from his
home near Brentwood, England|Brentwood in Essex by
medics, assisted by police officers, under terms
of mental health legislation. He was taken to
Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford, where he underwent
psychological tests. He had been suffering from
Clinical depression|depression for several months
beforehand. The psychologist Cary Cooper|Professor
Cary Cooper expressed the opinion that the end of
Bruno's boxing career, the breakdown of his
marriage, and the suicide of his former trainer
George Francis (trainer)|George Francis in 2002
all contributed to his condition. 

Media coverage of the situation raised
controversy, with the media being accused of
insensitivity, in particular The Sun, whose
headline in the first editions the next day read
Bonkers Bruno Locked Up. Second editions retracted
the headline and attempted to portray a more
sympathetic attitude towards Bruno and mental
health in general. They also established a charity
fund for the victims of mental illness, although
some mental health charities condemned The Sun's
latter action that day as being grossly cynical in
the light of the former. By 2005 he was able to
appear on BBC Radio as a guest expert at a boxing
match.


== External links ==
* "http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/798060.stm Frank
Bruno marriage ends" - BBC News article dated
Tuesday, June 20, 2000
*
"http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1113507.st
m Bruno considers election fight" - BBC News
article dated Friday, January 12, 2001
*
"http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1113968.st
m Blow for Bruno's election plan" - BBC News
article dated Friday, January 12, 2001
* "http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1479749.stm Bruno
to divorce" - BBC News article dated Wednesday,
August 8, 2001
* "http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3130780.stm
Profile: Frank Bruno" - BBC News profile dated
Monday, September 22, 2003
*
"http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/3131690.st
m How Bruno's troubles began" - BBC Sport article
by Tom Fordyce, dated Tuesday, September 23, 2003
* "http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3130376.stm
Goodwill messages for Bruno" - BBC News article
dated Wednesday, September 24, 2003