BoxRec

I can recall the Bruno fight, and it was big news at the time. I do recall there being a fuss about him going shopping and the general vibe was that he wasn't taking it seriosuly.

If I remember rightly the media did whip it up as Uk vs AUS with Bugner on the recieving end of negative press.

Yes the perception that he was more talented that he showed and lacked the killer instinct was a key thing.

Quite a few of the older generation (Bugner's generation) fancied him to beat Bruno because they said he had more talent.

Bugner's best win - arguably Greg Page just two years after Page was champion, but he also beat James Tillis just after Tillis ran a young Iron Mike fairly close.

Twinkle Toes wrote: ↑07 Mar 2024, 09:59 I can recall the Bruno fight, and it was big news at the time. I do recall there being a fuss about him going shopping and the general vibe was that he wasn't taking it seriosuly.

If I remember rightly the media did whip it up as Uk vs AUS with Bugner on the recieving end of negative press.

Apparently, Bugner used the trip back to London as a bit of a junket, which sounds right as he was hopelessly overweight come fight night. And, yes, you're right, the media set Bugner up as the bad guy and he hammed it up as the heel to promote the fight.

Come the night, Bugner gave it a bit of a go for the first three rounds and then started looking for a way out. Bruno then got on top and hit Bugner with some decent shots but couldn't put him down so he ended up wrestling him down in frustration.

Big Frank then steamed in and Bugner just covered up, crouched down and waited for the referee to stop it, although the ref let Bruno hit him when he was down, which Bugner seemed quite pissed off about when he was interviewed in the ring afterwards (as they used to do then). Bugner wasn't really hurt though, he'd just run out of gas and wanted out.

He was photographed larking around in Hyde Park the morning after the fight.