Tyson Clobbers Bruno Regains Piece Of Heavyweight Title With Third-Round Destruction Of Brit

From the moment he stepped out from behind prison walls, Mike Tyson faced a wall of doubters.

They’d didn’t believe he could ever again be what he was when he ruled the heavyweight division as undisputed champion.

Well, scratch at least one name from that list of doubters.

Frank Bruno became a believer Saturday night, forced to face harsh reality after Tyson smashed him into submission 50 seconds into the third round before a sellout crowd of 16,693 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to capture Bruno’s World Boxing Council title.

“I hit like a mule,” said a triumphant Tyson and who could argue?

For Tyson, it’s another step back to the top of the mountain. First he got his freedom after being imprisoned on a rape conviction. Then he got back his skills, rusted after four years away from the fight game.

And now he has got his first title back, with plans to go after the remaining twothirds of the undisputed crown - the World Boxing Association title held by Bruce Seldon and the International Boxing Federation crown of Frans Botha.

The lasting image the celebrity-filled crowd took from the arena Saturday night was of Tyson on the apron outside the ropes, pointing defiantly to the WBC title belt around his waist.

“I feel a little bit broken-hearted,” Bruno said. “He is a little bit better than I thought.”

Indeed, if Bruno is the yardstick, Tyson is even better than he was before.

The last time the two fought, in 1989, Bruno staggered Tyson with a punch and lasted until the fifth round.

This time, Tyson was never staggered, never slowed as he went about the swift destruction of Bruno to improve his record to 44-1 with 38 knockouts.

Bruno, 40-5 with 38 knockouts, thought he had a lot going for him. He was coming off the biggest victory of his career, a 12-round decision over Oliver MCall in September to give him the WBC crown.

Bruno was coming into an arena filled with his countrymen, wildly chanting and singing their support.

Bruno had a 27-pound weight advantage, 247 to 220, a 4-inch height advantage, 6-3 to 5-11, and an 11-inch reach advantage, 82 to 71.

And Bruno was facing a fighter whose recent performances had been criticized. Tyson’s first comeback fight, in August against Peter McNeeley, was not considered a true test because it lasted only 89 seconds against a journeyman.

Tyson’s next fight, in December, ended in a three-round knockout of Buster Mathis Jr. But Tyson missed a lot of punches and looked rusty.

A sparring session before this fight had been prematurely halted because Tyson’s handlers thought he looked flat. But when the opening bell sounded, there was no rust, no flatness, no advantage for Bruno.

“He certainly wasn’t flat tonight,” said Tyson’s trainer, Jay Bright, responding to those who had questioned both Tyson and Bright’s training methods. “He’s the best in the world.”

Tyson charged ahead right from the start while Bruno, looking nervous, swung with a series of punches that flew wildly over Tyson’s head.

Before the round was over, Tyson had landed five solid punches and opened a cut over Bruno’s left eye.

Tyson was back to work in the second round, unleashing stinging combinations. Bruno, who got in one good punch, was reduced to holding Tyson, a tactic that caused referee Mills Lane to deduct a point from the champion.

“He was holding on,” Tyson said, “because he didn’t want to get knocked out.”

It didn’t help.

The final sequence in the third round began with a left hand by Tyson. After landing three punches, Tyson effectively ended the fight with two head-rattling right uppercuts that caused Bruno to sag helplessly into the ropes.

Tyson got off another left and two glancing rights before Lane stepped in.

The fight was over. The doubts were quieted. The belt was back in the hands that once terrorized the heavyweight division.