Former British heavyweight boxer Frank Bruno net worth is $10 million.
Born in Hammersmith, London, Bruno is known for being one of the greatest British heavyweight boxers of all time.
Growing Up In London
Franklin Roy Bruno was born on 16th November 1961 to Caribbean parents Robert and Lynette Bruno, who had settled in Wandsworth.
He lived with his four siblings in a London terraced house.
He had two brothers, Eddie and Michael, and two sisters, Angela and Faye.
Frank grew up in a neighbourhood where gang culture had become more and more prevalent. Many young men were getting on the wrong side of the law and Frank was no exception.
When speaking of his childhood, Bruno has often spoken how boxing had saved him from a life of crime.
The talented sportsman really didn't see a future for himself any where else until he 'picked up the gloves'.
He attended Oak Hall School in Sussex, which was a place for 'difficult' children.
It was here that he learned to box.
The young Bruno went to the gym where, from 14 years old, he focused his attention on becoming stronger and fitter.
Frank Bruno's Boxing Journey: The Amateurs
Like so many boxing greats, as an amateur, Frank shone from the start.
In his career as an amateur, he only lost to Joe Christie, but he would later go on to beat him in a rematch.
His career as an amateur culminated with him becoming the youngest Amateur British Champion ever at the age of 18.
Joining The Professional Ranks
From his record breaking time at the amateurs, Bruno was a hot prospect for the professional ranks.
In a division that was dominated by American heavyweights, the likes of Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, George Foreman and Mike Tyson, Bruno was one of the few British heavyweights that many felt had the skills to go on and become a world champion.
He turned professional in 1981 and never looked back, winning his first 21 matches, all by way of knockout.
At the time, there had never been a British Heavyweight World Champion in the 20th century, so all eyes were on Bruno as the next hopeful.
His 21-match streak caught many international boxing magazines' attention, and he was recognized by KO Magazine, The Ring, and Boxing Illustrated, among others.
During this period, Bruno defeated Scott LeDoux, Floyd Cummings, Rudy Gauwe, Eddie Nielson, Tony Moore, Bill Sharkey, Ken Lakusta and Walter Santemore.
Bruno was in his early 20s and displaying a tremendous amount of skill and fitness but one thing that separated him was his desire and his unwillingness to give up.
Even when times were hard.
This is arguably what made him a British heavyweight legend. Even against big hitters like Cummings, Bruno would take the shots and come back.
A British Bulldog.
Unfortunately his magnificent streak of knockouts ended in ended in May 1984 when he was defeated by James Smith, an up-and-coming American heavyweight champion who went by the nickname "Bonecrusher".
The fight went right until the tenth and final round, and until that point, Bruno was leading on the judges' cards.
Getting Back On Track: European Heavyweight Champion
For anyone familiar with the sport of Boxing, you will know that a single defeat can potentially destroy a career.
And whilst the Smith defeat was certainly a setback, Bruno answered his critics the right way.
Following his defeat, the British youngster went on to win his next six fights.
This new winning streak culminated in Bruno winning the European heavyweight title after knocking out Anders Eklund of Sweden.
During this series, he also KO'd Lucien Rodriguez, a world title contender and former European champion, in a single round.
For the next few years, Bruno's aim was to win the WBA heavyweight title. In 1986, he got his chance against American Tim Witherspoon in Wembley stadium but was unsuccessful.
Frank was leading for most of the fight but was KO'd in round eleven.
Undeterred by the devastating defeat Bruno went head-to-head with Joe Bugner, who was a veteran, past his peak.
Bruno went on to win by TKO in round eight.
Challenging 'Iron' Mike Tyson
During the 1980s, American Mike Tyson had emerged as one of the most vicious and exciting heavyweight boxers to ever become world champion.
At just 20 years old he had won the WBC heavyweight title and within a few years he had become the undisputed heavyweight world champion.
In 1989, Frank Bruno took on Mike Tyson for all the world heavyweight titles (WBC, WBA and IBF) in Las Vegas, Bruno's first fight in America.
The matchup only lasted for 5 rounds as there was huge punches exchanged by both competitors in the opening moments of the match.
Bruno did catch Tyson with a few good shots which wobbled the 22-year-old Tyson but it wasn't enough.
Tyson, on home soil and in scintillating form, landed some huge blows on Bruno, who took some heavy punishment throughout.
The Greatest British Heavyweight Clash: Fighting Lennox Lewis
After his brutal loss to Tyson, Bruno, like so many times before, responded well by winning his next four fights.
His resurgence made him the ideal contender for 28-year-old, British heavy-weight Lennox Lewis who was undefeated in his previous 23 bouts with 19 coming by the way of knockout.
On the 1st October, 1993 the pair met in Cardiff Arms Park in Wales for the biggest heavyweight showdown in British Boxing history.
With the WBC title on the line it was the first time that the two Brits had fought together for the world heavyweight title.
Lennox Lewis beat Bruno in round seven via TKO (technical knockout) despite Bruno leading on points until that final round.
Bruno's Last Chance For The World Title
After missing out on his dream of becoming a world champion, Bruno refused to give up (a trait we had seen throughout his career).
In 1995, the ageing boxer finally succeeded and became WBC heavyweight champion when he beat Oliver McCall in a match that lasted twelve rounds.
But, unfortunately, Bruno's championship reign didn't last long, as his first defence of the title was against Mike Tyson.
Tyson beat Frank Bruno in round three. Unfortunately, Bruno's performance was unusually poor, and it turned out to be his last professional match after Tyson caused him a severe injury to his eye.
Following his eye injury, Frank Bruno was advised to no longer fight as the injury could lead to permanent blindness.
Soon after the fight with Tyson, Frank Bruno retired.
Frank Bruno's Net Worth Explained: Becoming an Author
Throughout most of his career, Frank Bruno had Norman Giller as his publicist.
Giller was a sports historian and, together with Bruno, wrote three books: Know What I Mean, Eye of the Tiger, and From Zero to Hero.
More recently, Frank Bruno has released a new title called 60 Years a Fighter, which has a foreword written by Piers Morgan.
Bruno's Mental Health Problems
In 2003, Bruno suffered a mental health crisis.
He was sectioned under the mental health act and taken from his Brentwood home to Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford for psychiatric and psychological tests.
Bruno was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and, a couple of years later, admitted that his mental health problems had been exacerbated by his cocaine use, which began in 2000.
Bruno used his experience with mental health to support UK football legend Paul Gascoigne when he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act in 2008.
In 2012, Frank Bruno was sectioned again.
This time, he was taken to St Andrew's Hospital in Northampton, where he stayed for five weeks.
As a result of his personal experiences with mental health, Frank Bruno has campaigned to improve men's mental health.
In 2006, he published his autobiography Frank: Fighting Back.
Bruno also set up The Frank Bruno Foundation, which is dedicated to improving men's mental health. In addition, he offers video calls one-to-one with anyone who wants to discuss mental health issues.
Since his mental health battles Frank has been praised by a number of mental health charities, including Mind, for openly discussing about his struggles.
His bravery in and outside the ring has inspired many over the years including current world heavyweight world champion, Tyson Fury, who himself has openly discussed his own mental health struggles.
The two have become good friends over the years and have frequently talked about their love of the sport of boxing and their mental health battles.
Outside Of Boxing
Although Frank has had a tremendous career in the sport of boxing, one thing that has always separated him from other British heavyweights was his charming personality and sense of humour.
His heart and determination inside the ring and loveable nature outside made him a national treasure.
The sporting icon's extremely deep voice made him a favourite for impressionists at the time, where his catchphrase 'You know what I mean Harry' would be used in a number of high profile comedy shows.
It's due to his personality that the British sporting legend became a household name and that he is still much loved to this day.
The former heavyweight champion has made numerous appearances on children's TV shows and on many Comic Relief (charity) shows.
He has also starred in a number of Christmas pantomimes, much to the UK public's delight.
The sportsman's ability to laugh at himself and not take himself too seriously has gone down well with the British public and he remains as popular a figure today.
In 1995, Bruno released a song – a cover version of the theme song from Rocky III, "The Eye of the Tiger". This song reached number 28 in the UK charts.
Aside from being in the public eye through sport and the media, Frank Bruno also decided he would like to stand as the Conservative candidate from Brentwood and Ongar. However, he later denied that he had any real intention of standing.
Frank Bruno has won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also awarded an MBE in 1990.
Bruno's Personal Life
Frank Bruno has kept his romantic life quite private.
He got married to his first wife, Laura, in 1990 after ten years of dating. They married in Hornchurch, Essex and had three children together, Nicola, Rachel, and Franklin.
Unfortunately, the marriage didn't last. After Bruno was forced to retire, his relationship with his wife broke down.
He confessed that he took out his frustrations on his wife, saying, "the worse I felt, the more I took it out on my wife."
In 1997, Laura took out a court order against Frank, which banned him from assaulting, molesting or harassing her. They tried to resolve their problems, but by 2000, they decided to end their marriage.
In 2006, Frank Bruno's old friend-turned romantic partner gave birth to his daughter Freya.
From 2012, Frank Bruno lived in the Gorbals areas of Glasgow with his hairdresser girlfriend, Nina Coletta.
The relationship lasted four years, but the pair drifted apart in 2016.
Frank supports West Ham United F.C. and is a patron of the children's charity, The Shannon Bradshaw Trust.
In 2013, he featured in a documentary for BBC Three with his daughter; it was called Rachel Bruno: My Dad and Me.
In 2018, Frank became a grandfather. His daughter Rachel gave birth to his granddaughter, Amaya, and Nicola gave birth to Olivia.
Frank Bruno In Recent Times
Frank Bruno still remains physically fit and goes to the gym every day. Boxing is still a part of his fitness routine.
He has also run several marathons and half-marathons, including the London Marathon.
In terms of his other interests, Frank Bruno has a real love of music and enjoys listening to Bob Marley, Gregory Isaac, Michael Jackson, and Ray Charles, among others.
Nowadays, Frank spends a lot of his time on appearance requests.
Frank Bruno Quotes
"Mental illness is a terrible thing to have to cope with, but I've learnt it's a fight you can win if you live your life the right way."
"Boxing is the toughest and loneliest sport in the world. You've got all the fans, lots of hangers-on jumping up and shouting different words. But when you actually go in the ring, it's a very lonely and scary place. It's just you and the other guy."
"If you say you've had a nervous breakdown or things aren't right mentally, people run away from you. They think you're from 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest,' you know."
"Sometimes when you have bipolar, you have days you are grumpy and not feeling yourself."
"It is harder than being in the ring. At least in boxing it is 12 rounds and then you come out. In hospital I could never see when it was going to end". - Bruno talking about his mental health struggles
"When you're a man, you try and be macho."
"My head has got regrets, but I haven't."
"Being sectioned was the best thing that ever happened to me."
Summary Frank Bruno Net Worth 2021
- In 2021 Frank Bruno's net worth is approximately $10 million.
- He was born in London on 16th November 1961.
- Frank began boxing seriously in school and was an impressive amateur boxer.
- He was the youngest ever Amateur British Champion when he was 18.
- As a professional boxer, Frank began with a 21-match winning streak.
- He became European Champion and WBC World Heavyweight Champion.
- In his career, he had 40 wins and five losses.
- Frank Bruno was forced to retire after gaining an eye injury that could result in permanent blindness.
- After retiring, Frank was plagued by poor mental health and was eventually diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. As a result, he has been sectioned twice and speaks openly about mental health.
- Frank has written many books and is releasing a new title in 2021 to mark his 60th birthday.
- Frank has three daughters and a son, as well as two granddaughters.
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