Straight off the back of a White Hart Lane win against Joe Bugner, Frank Bruno stepped onto the world stage against a ferocious Mike Tyson at the Las Vegas Hilton, Hilton Center, Las Vegas. Tyson was, at the time, undefeated and prizing the WBC, WBA and IBF belts from his grip, was never going to be an easy talk. That said, Bruno was entering the fight in prime condition (weighing in at 228 lbs vs Tysons 218lbs), putting himself the best position possible going into the fight. Tyson not so much after breaking his hand in a street fight against boxer Mitch Green in August the year prior.
What followed was five rounds of memorable action, with underdog Bruno certainly having his moments and giving it his best. Live on HBO with Tyson’s earning $7 million, and Bruno a healthy $3.6 million. Bruno went down early, receiving s standing 8 count, and later in the round had a point taken away for hitting Tyson on the back of the head. However Bruno then caught Tyson with a right hand, followed by a left hook and clearly rocked the champion (something that was a rarity in Tyson’s world). Unfortunately Bruno’s skillset was geared more towards power than speed and he couldn’t capitalise on his moment. Bruno took the best Tyson had to offer with the fight being called off in the fifth round after he had received four or five powerful blows to the head. Tyson remained undefeated, but the first left many wondering whether still the unstoppable force that he was viewed by many to be.