Frank Bruno and Anthony Joshua had very similar careers, But who was better?

[Willow The Wisp]

Two of Great Britain's best heavyweights of recent vintage, both top contenders who thrilled British and world fans to no end.
Both had some tremendous gifts in the ring, and worked their way up the rankings; and both fell just short of world title aspirations, owing to issues of durability often associated with combat sport fighters of high muscularity.

As we close in on Joshua's last dance, and the sky-high expectations that many fans once held for him begin to fade from mind, it is a good time to weigh in on which one should rank higher.

In my opinion, it is a close call that requires some contemplation.

The basics:

Frank Bruno

Born: 16 November 1961

Height and Weight: 6'3" 238

Years active: 1982 - 1996

Professional Record: 40-5-0 (38)

Knockout ratio: 95%

Titles held: WBC world professional heavyweight belt.

Finest moment: Winning the WBC world title belt from Oliver McCall, who had crushed Lennox Lewis via 2nd round knockout 11 months prior.

Best Wins: Scott LeDoux, Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings, Phil "Bazooka" Brown, Anders Eklund, Larry Frazier, Gerrie Coetzee, James "Quick" Tillis, Joe Bugner, Pierre Coetzer, Carl "The Truth" Williams, Oliver "The Atomic Bull" McCall.

Most damming Losses:
James "Bonecusher" Smith, "Terrible" Tim Witherspoon, Mike Tyson (x2), Lennox Lewis.

Highest Ring Ranking: 3

Challenges to the world title: 1 (2/25/89).




Anthony Joshua

Born: 15 October 1989

Height and Weight: 6'6" 242

Years active: 2013 - 2024

Professional Record: 28-4-0 (25)

Knockout ratio: 89%

Finest moment: Winning the vacant IBO world title belt in an unforgettable back and forth battle against combacking former World Champion Wladimir Klitschko in the former's final fight.

Best Wins: Dilian Whyte, Charles Martin, Dominic Breazeale, Carlos Takam, Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin, Andy Ruiz, Kubrat Pulev, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin.

Most damming Losses:
Andy Ruiz Jr., Oleksandr Usyk (x2), Daniel Dubois.

Highest Ring Ranking: 1

Challenges to the world title: None

[famicommander]

Bruno vs world title winning opposition:
L vs James Smith KO 10
W vs Gerrie Coatzee KO 1
L vs Tim Witherspoon KO 11
L vs Mike Tyson TKO 5
L vs Lennox Lewis TKO 7
W vs Oliver McCall UD 12
L vs Mike Tyson TKO 3

Joshua vs world title winning opposition:
W vs Charles Martin KO 2
W vs Wladimir Klitschko TKO 11
W vs Joseph Parker UD 12
L vs Andy Ruiz TKO 7
W vs Andy Ruiz UD 12
L vs Oleksandr Usyk SD 12
L vs Oleksandr Usyk UD 12
L vs Daniel Dubois KO 5

Bruno's title history:
-Made 3 unsuccessful title challenges
-Won WBC belt on 4th attempt against Oliver McCall
-Lost on 1st defense

Joshua's title history:
-Won IBF heavyweight title by KO over Martin
-Won vacant WBA heavyweight title in 3rd IBF defense against Wladimir Klitschko
-Won WBO heavyweight title by UD over Parker in 5th IBF/2nd WBA defense
-Lost WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight titles by TKO to Ruiz on 8th IBF/4th WBA/2nd WBO defense
-Won WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight titles by UD over Ruiz
-Lost WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight titles by SD to Usyk on the second defense of his second reign
-Made 2 further unsuccessful title challenges

This isn't even close.

Joshua is 4-4 at the world title level and has won a total of 6 heavyweight titles with 7 total successful defenses in 2 reigns.
Bruno is 2-5 at the world title level and has won a total of 1 heavyweight title with no defenses

[famicommander]

And Anthony Joshua did, indeed, challenge for the lineal/TBRB/Ring world championship against Joshua in their second fight. Tyson Fury was retired at the time and Usyk and Joshua were the consensus top two fighters at the time. Usyk obviously won, but Joshua made the challenge.

The lineage was
Fury d. Klitschko
Fury retires
Fury d. Wilder to start a new lineage
Fury retires
Usyk d. Joshua to start a new lineage

[Willow The Wisp]

And Anthony Joshua did, indeed, challenge for the lineal/TBRB/Ring world championship against Joshua in their second fight. Tyson Fury was retired at the time and Usyk and Joshua were the consensus top two fighters at the time. Usyk obviously won, but Joshua made the challenge.

The lineage was
Fury d. Klitschko
Fury retires
Fury d. Wilder to start a new lineage
Fury retires
Usyk d. Joshua to start a new lineage

I beleive that Usyk won the heavyweight title from Fury, after his series with Joshua. Don't really take all those Fury retirements as a reason to vacate the title. You win it and you lose it in the ring, as a novel concept. But your thoughts are as valid as mine are.

[famicommander]

I beleive that Usyk won the heavyweight title from Fury, after his series with Joshua. Don't really take all those Fury retirements as a reason to vacate the title. You win it and you lose it in the ring, as a novel concept. But your thoughts are as valid as mine are.

Joe Louis was considered to be fighting for the vacant lineal championship upon his return, even though he retired for a shorter duration than Fury and no new champion was crowned in his absence.

I apply the same rules to Fury.

[Boxing 112]

And Anthony Joshua did, indeed, challenge for the lineal/TBRB/Ring world championship against Joshua in their second fight. Tyson Fury was retired at the time and Usyk and Joshua were the consensus top two fighters at the time. Usyk obviously won, but Joshua made the challenge.

The lineage was
Fury d. Klitschko
Fury retires
Fury d. Wilder to start a new lineage
Fury retires
Usyk d. Joshua to start a new lineage

Tyson Fury was not retired during AJ Usyk. He was WBC champion and never vacated it. So AJ has never fought for Lineal. You are going by Ring taking the belt of him, because he claimed retirement, but he still had 1 of the 4 major titles and did not vacate it. The companies do what suits them. When it was convenient for the Ring, they thought as Fury claimed retirement, within days they decided to make the Ring belt vacant because they wanted to put it on the line for AJ Usyk for their convenience. WBC is one of the 4 major titles so as he never vacated it he was always active wbc champ therefore you cannot be classed as retired. Now Fury has claimed retirement 6 months ago but Ring still rank him every month in their top 10, shows they do what suits them.

[famicommander]

Tyson Fury was not retired during AJ Usyk. He was WBC champion and never vacated it. So AJ has never fought for Lineal. You are going by Ring taking the belt of him, because he claimed retirement, but he still had 1 of the 4 major titles and did not vacate it. The companies do what suits them. When it was convenient for the Ring, they thought as Fury claimed retirement, within days they decided to make the Ring belt vacant because they wanted to put it on the line for AJ Usyk for their convenience. WBC is one of the 4 major titles so as he never vacated it he was always active wbc champ therefore you cannot be classed as retired. Now Fury has claimed retirement 6 months ago but Ring still rank him every month in their top 10, shows they do what suits them.

He did indeed try to vacate the WBC title. They simply refused to believe him. Not that it matters, because the alphabet soup belts have jack squat to do with the lineal championship in the first place.

But he did, in fact, retire. Twice.

And I don't honestly care about The Ring, and haven't since De La Hoya bought them. The TBRB is the legitimate independent ranking organization of record and has been since its inception.

[NihonJim]

I like Bruno but AJ was the better fighter.

Bruno is seen as like a joke by some people, he wasn't. He has a fantastic jab, big power and his chin wasn't as bad as people made out. He gave Lennox a very tough night.

But Brunos gas tank was shocking, and he WAS a stiff fighter.

Overall Joshua is the better fighter BUT I think Bruno might be at him if they fought prime for prime. And yes, both statements can be true at the same time.

[TMLT87]

A lot of Brits will say Bruno because of nostalgia and he EXISTED in a better era, but AJ was better imo, not necessarily by a lot, but better.

Bruno had the better jab, power and chins about equal, AJ faster and puts his shots together better. Obviously they both had the stereotype of being big, stiff bodybuilders with questionable stamina and a tendency to freeze up when **** went south, but it all applies more to Bruno imo.

[Willow The Wisp]

Tyson Fury was not retired during AJ Usyk. He was WBC champion and never vacated it. So AJ has never fought for Lineal. You are going by Ring taking the belt of him, because he claimed retirement, but he still had 1 of the 4 major titles and did not vacate it. The companies do what suits them. When it was convenient for the Ring, they thought as Fury claimed retirement, within days they decided to make the Ring belt vacant because they wanted to put it on the line for AJ Usyk for their convenience. WBC is one of the 4 major titles so as he never vacated it he was always active wbc champ therefore you cannot be classed as retired. Now Fury has claimed retirement 6 months ago but Ring still rank him every month in their top 10, shows they do what suits them.

I may share (and should share, if I'm going to mention it), a tremendous back story of that epic goof made by The Ring, during a down era in the beloved magazines long history, and its 2nd fall from grace.

The liniage of Britain's monarchs, the Christian Papacy, the NFL Championship, the U.S. presidency.......it's all been done, recorded, accepted. The one Heavyweight Championship of the world; same thing.
There's no debate and no room for debate.