The British public loves a trier. A country that through some sort of deep-seated, pessimistic self-loathing has always treated unlucky losers better than infallible winners. Tim Henman, Eddie The Eagle, every England national football side between 1966 and today. These have-a-go heroes are treated with more reverence than the likes of Lewis Hamilton or Lennox Lewis, who suffered from being a little too good to the point the British public was almost suspicious of their genius.
You could file Frank Bruno in that column of British sports stars who kept falling just short. While the aforementioned Lewis rose to the top on a gilded staircase erected in the wake of his 1988 Olympic triumph, Bruno had battled his way into the heavyweight reckoning. But eventually, against all the odds, ‘True Brit’ would take his place alongside Lewis as one of the few modern Englishmen to hold the heavyweight championship of the world.
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Were he from any other country, fans would likely have given up on Bruno ahead of his challenge on this day in 1995. But when Bruno stepped into the ring with the fearsome ‘Atomic Bull’ Oliver McCall, the WBC champion, he had the backing of his countrymen. Just like he did in 1986, when WBA champion Tim Witherspoon knocked him out in eleven rounds. Just like in 1989, when he rocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson before succumbing to the undisputed king. Just like during his 1993 ‘Battle of Britain’ with the aforementioned Lennox. Bruno fell in the seventh round of that clash in Cardiff.
The populace kept Bruno on a pedestal no matter what. The fact he had lost three world title fights didn’t bother them. They still flocked to see the lovable big man in pantomimes. They tuned in in their droves to hear that booming laugh in conversation with the iconic Harry Carpenter. Like Henry Cooper before him, Frank Bruno didn’t need a world championship to become mainstream royalty. Just as ‘Our ‘Enry’ had, Bruno belonged to each and every person in Britain.
For a while that was enough. Life as one of British sport’s great nearly men awaited. With acting roles and the lucrative public speaking circuit awaiting, Bruno could rest easy in the knowledge he would always have a place in the hearts of his adoring public. But there was still a competitive fire that burned in Bruno. The same fire that had singed Tyson, before its wielder got caught in the flames himself. Bruno would try to tame the ‘Atomic Bull’.
McCall was no soft touch either. This wasn’t an attempt to stage-manage a feel-good moment for a beloved fighter. McCall’s last two performances were a two-round destruction of Lennox Lewis and a decision victory over Larry Holmes. That is some serious form. It’s a better last two fights than any of the current crop of big men can boast. Make no mistake, Frank Bruno was up against it.
Wembley Stadium was a suitably grand stage for Bruno’s fourth and final world title challenge. It was also a fitting monument to the fighter’s popularity. McCall would find that out as he entered the lion’s den. The seats may as well have been populated solely by Bruno’s family and friends, such was the warmth he received while McCall found only scorn.
Things didn’t improve much for the American in the ring. Bruno took an early lead, boxing brilliantly behind his jab and keeping the dangerous in-fighter at bay. But McCall, often a fraught presence as evidenced by a series of in-ring meltdowns, looked calmer than usual. It soon became clear that his strategy mirrored that of previous Bruno-conqueror Witherspoon. Hang tight, stay safe and then pile on the pressure as Bruno tires.
The later rounds saw McCall do his best work but, unlike Witherspoon almost a decade before, he wasn’t doing enough to get rid of his man. Bruno was hurt in the 11th and 12th but still he hung on. This was a fighter who had learned from his mistakes. No longer the young fighter who was stopped by Witherspoon or who was bludgeoned against Tyson. Not the brave but beaten battler who Lewis had taken out. Bruno stayed standing, better than he’d ever been. He heard the final bell.
The next thing Bruno heard was the announcement of the scores. 115-113 and two lots of 117-111 for the new WBC heavyweight champion of the world. After four heavyweight title fights, Bruno was finally a world champion. He became just the third British fighter to claim the crown, after Lewis and the pioneering Bob Fitzsimmons. Bruno was also the first British fighter to win the world heavyweight title on home soil.
Tyson would rip the WBC belt from Bruno’s grasp in just three rounds in his next fight. Bruno retired after that mauling. But it feels inconsequential in the face of what Bruno achieved on this day in 1995. A fighter and a man who could have rested on his laurels and soaked up the public’s adoration forevermore instead risked it all. He went up against a feared fighter and emerged victorious. Britain loves an unlucky loser but Bruno proved by beating Oliver McCall that they can love a winner even more.
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