Frank Bruno vs. Mike Tyson II
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| Date | March 16, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBC Heavyweight Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Boxer | Frank Bruno | Mike Tyson | |
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| Hometown | London, England | Catskill, New York, US | |
| Pre-fight record | 40–4 | 43–1 | |
| Height | 6'3" | 5'10" | |
| Weight | 247 lbs | 220 lbs | |
| Style | Orthodox | Orthodox | |
| Recognition |
WBC Heavyweight Champion |
WBA/WBC/IBF No. 1 Ranked Heavyweight |
Frank Bruno vs. Mike Tyson II, billed as "The Championship: Part I", was professional boxing match contested on March 16, 1996 for the WBC Heavyweight championship.
Frank Bruno, at that time, had been a professional boxer for over thirteen years. He was a former European heavyweight champion and had received several shots at the world heavyweight title over the course of his career. The first came in 1986, when he was knocked out by Tim Witherspoon in a bout for his WBA title. He fought Mike Tyson in 1989 for his undisputed world championship but was knocked out in the fifth round. After fighting Lennox Lewis for his WBC title in Cardiff Arms Park in 1993 and losing, Bruno would have to wait two years for another title shot. He fought Oliver McCall, who defeated Lewis in an upset in 1994 for the WBC title, on September 2, 1995, in London. McCall had claimed he was going to get revenge on the English through Bruno after Gerald McClellan suffered permanent brain damage in a title fight against Nigel Benn in February that year, but Bruno outboxed McCall to win his first world championship.
Tyson was released from prison on parole in 1995 after he was convicted of raping Desiree Washington in 1991. He had fought two fights since his release, beating Peter McNeeley by disqualification in his pay-per-view return and knocking out Buster Mathis, Jr. in a nationally televised bout on Fox. After the victory against Mathis, Tyson was placed ahead of Lewis in the line of contenders for the WBC title and his promoter Don King, who also promoted Oliver McCall, drew up a contract where McCall would defend his title against Bruno and the winner of the fight would be forced to defend the belt against Tyson in their first defense.
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