Oliver McCall vs. Frank Bruno

Oliver McCall vs. Frank Bruno, billed as "The Empire Strikes Back", was a professional boxing match contested on 2 September 1995 for the WBC Heavyweight Championship.[1]

The Empire Strikes Back

Date	2 September 1995
Venue	Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom
Title(s) on the line	WBC Heavyweight Championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Oliver McCall Frank Bruno Nickname "The Atomic Bull" Hometown Chicago, Illinois London, United Kingdom Pre-fight record 26–5 39–4 Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) Weight 234 ^3⁄4 lb (106 kg) 247 ^3⁄4 lb (112 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBC Heavyweight Champion WBC No. 6 Ranked Heavyweight
Result
Bruno defeated McCall via Unanimous decision

Background

McCall first wrested the WBC championship by knocking out Lennox Lewis on 24 September 1994 in London. Since then he had made one defence of his title, a hotly contested and closely fought decision against former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes on 8 April 1995.[2]

This was Bruno's fourth attempt at winning a world title. WBA Champion Tim Witherspoon knocked him out in 11 rounds in 1986, undisputed champion Mike Tyson stopped him in five rounds in 1989, and WBC champion Lennox Lewis finished his fellow Brit in seven rounds in 1993.

The winner of the bout was contractually obligated to defend his belt against the returning Tyson in his next fight.

The fight

In the opening rounds, Bruno unloaded a barrage of left jabs that left McCall stunned. McCall absorbed the punishment, put up little defense and waited until the fifth round to throw a meaningful punch. But by then, Bruno was confident and ahead on points.

As the fight wore on, it became apparent that McCall's last hope to retain the title was to win by a knockout.

McCall hurt Bruno with an uppercut in the 11th, and in the 12th, McCall shoved the local hero around the ring and unloaded a hard right to Bruno's head. McCall banged Bruno with another body shot and a left-right combination. Bruno, bleeding from the mouth, hanging on desperately, turned the final minute into a dance of attrition.

Judge Malcolm Bulner gave Bruno a 115-113 victory. Newton Campos and Fay Solis each had Bruno the winner by 117-111.[3] Bruno became only the third British-born boxer to win a world heavyweight title along with Bob Fitzsimmons and Lennox Lewis—and he was the first to win it on British soil.

Aftermath

Bruno's reign as champion was short lived as he lost his first defence against Mike Tyson and retired shortly afterwards.

McCall returned to the ring 6 months later when he beat future WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev. In 1997 he fought a rematch again Lennox Lewis for the now vacant WBC title, which he lost in bizarre fashion as he refused to fight and started crying.

Undercard

Confirmed bouts:[4]

Winner	Loser	Weight division/title belt(s) disputed	Result
Nigel Benn	Daniel Perez	WBC World super middleweight title	7th-round KO.
Virgil Hill	Drake Thadzi	WBA World light heavyweight title	Unanimous Decision.
Non-TV bouts
Bahre Ahmeti	Steve Foster	vacant IBF Inter-Continental super welterweight title	4th-round TKO
Paul Ryan	Karl Taylor	Welterweight (8 rounds)	3rd-round TKO

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United Kingdom	Sky Sports
United States	Showtime

References

1. "Oliver McCall vs Frank Bruno". BoxRec.
2. "McCall will test Bruno's survival instinct". 2 September 1995.
3. GLAUBER, BILL (3 September 1995). "BOXING : Bruno Defeats McCall to Capture WBC Title" – via LA Times.
4. "Event". BoxRec.