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Remembering Former Heavyweight Champion Frank Bruno & Appreciating His Courage In & Out of the Ring!

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

Heavyweight legend and national treasure, Frank Bruno has published an autobiography which goes beyond the story of his time in the ring and embraces his struggles with mental health. It is a symptom of his bravery that he would not shirk from the responsibility he feels to tell the tale and be a standard bearer for recovery.

As little more than an observer to his life, those of us who follow boxing have seen the man who we loved become a man that we whispered about his struggles with his mental health were played out in front pages of national newspapers rather than behind closed doors.
It led many to question just how great this guy had been in a ring as doubts would be expressed over whether he was in a fit state then or now. It was a very unfair assessment as Bruno was a man who united a nation and became the idol of all of us.

There are two significant Septembers in his life which are 20 years apart. The first, in 1995, was when he won the WBC belt in Wembley Stadium. The second was in 2015 when Bruno finally admitted he needed help and he was re admitted to the hospital.

Both involved incredible bravery. We shall get to the first fight in a minute but the second fight came after he had already found himself in the hospital and plastered across every newspaper in the country. This time, rather than being taken in an ambulance he opened the front door, walked through it and aid, “My name is Frank. Please help me.”

This stay was for six weeks and he had taken the first step of taking his life back. During 2015 there had been rumors that Frank was looking at making a comeback. He had taken part in The Great North Run the day before admission that had shown his body was not ready for that kind of exertion or physical test. One of the announcements that he had to now makes was – I am truly finished with boxing. Many of us were mightily relieved.

That was down to the fact that we loved Bruno. His winning of the world title was his fourth attempt and we had seen the agony of not managing to get over the line in world title fights so often that some of us thought, he shall never manage it. For some of us, it was – the good guys in this sport never win – but he did.

There is little doubt that Bruno was carefully managed to ensure his reputation included some decent records being set. In May 1984, he was knocked out in the tenth round of his fight with James “Bonecrusher” Smith and though there were some decent names on that record, he was finally tested and fell short – though he was ahead on all score cards when it was stopped.

With the European title under his belt, he went in against Tim Witherspoon for the WBA belt in 1986. Stopped in the eleventh round, guess who was in the lead on the cards?

In 1989, he got the opportunity for the title of undisputed champion as he took on Mike Tyson. It lasted until the fifth round but notably, Bruno was credited with rocking Tyson with a left hook for the very first time in Tyson’s career.

In 1993, it was an all British affair as he went in against Lenox Lewis. The stoppage came in the seventh round. Who was ahead on the score cards? It was the first time in history that two British boxers had fought for the heavyweight title.

Bruno captured the WBC belt against Oliver McCall on the 2nd September, on points. It was a glorious night and one that lasts long in the memory. What did not last long was his reign.

The contract he had signed meant he had to face Mike Tyson for the second time and in his final fight as a professional boxer, Bruno lasted till round three.

His retirement was down to an eye injury and advice not to fight again; and he never did.

Until his battle with his own mind and a mental illness that ended with him in the hospital not once, but twice. His retirement and his recovery, managed with a peace of mind he has not enjoyed for the majority of his adult life, means we still love him. In fact, we love him a little more because he has those vulnerabilities from which many of us suffer. Always honest and always lovable, we now have a weight tome to read all about it too.

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