Frank Bruno Biography

Early Life and Education

Frank Bruno was born Franklin Roy "Frank" Bruno on November 16, 1961, at Hammersmith Hospital in Hammersmith, London, England. He grew up in Wandsworth, London along with his five siblings.

Bruno is the son of Robert Bruno, immigrants from the Dominican Republic, and Lynette Bruno. His mother was a former district nurse and Pentecostal Lay teacher from Jamaica. His father passed away in 1975.

Bruno hold British nationality and ethnicity wise, he has a mixed ethnical background. He studied at the Oak Hill schools in Sussex, England. He started boxing at the local Wandsworth Boys Club at the tender age of 9.

Professional Career

Bruno made his debut as a professional boxer in 1982. The following year, he achieved 21 consecutive wins by knockout. His outstanding performance from the beginning helped him to rank high. 

Bruno performances caught the attention of numerous international boxing magazines, including ‘Boxing Illustrated,’ ‘The Ring,’ ‘KO Magazine,’ and ‘Ring En Espanol.’

Bruno defeated the fringe contender, Floyd Cummings, former world title contender Scott LeDoux, and Belgian champion Rudy Gauwe during the period. However, he broke his streak after American former professional boxer James Smith defeated him by knockout in the tenth and final round of the match.

Bruno won his first title, the European heavyweight title on 1 Oct 1985. He won the title beating fringe fighters Larry Frazier and Jeff Jordan. He retained his title back after a victory over former WBA champion Gerrie Coetzee in July 1986.

Bruno once again defended his title against former contender James Tillis and journeyman Reggie Gross and Chuck Gardner.

Bruno challenged the undisputed world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson for the title, in February 1989. However, Tyson recovered his title beating Bruno. The referee stopped the match at the fifth round of the match, with Bruno lying helpless on the ropes.

Bruno kept winning the fights and acclaimed the place as one of the world’s leading heavyweights. He had a victory over contender Carl Williams before defeating journeymen like Pierre Coetzer, Jose Ribalta, and Dutchman Jan Emmen.

Bruno’s biggest fight of his career came in the year 1993. He played the match against Lennox Lewis. It was his third chance to retain the world title. Lewis defeated him on a stoppage in round seven.

Shortly after, Bruno formed the new group, dispatching Jesse Ferguson in one round, and the fringe contenders Mike Evans and Rodolfo Marin equally easily.

WBC Heavyweight Champion

Bruno became world champion beating WBC Champion Oliver McCall over twelve rounds, on September 2, 1995. His championship didn’t last long, as he fought against Mike Tyson in his first defense and lost the match on a stoppage in round three. At that time, he suffered a severe eye injury that was caused by Tyson.

Following the biggest fight, Bruno was also advised that he will never fight again to avoid running the risk of causing any more damage to it. Bruno announced his retirement from boxing in August 1996.

Media Appearances and Non-Boxing Interests

Bruno's image was enhanced by his relationship with the BBC boxing commentator Harry Carpenter. He made his media appearance on the early Comic Relief programs in the 1980s. Later, he frequently appeared on TV and on stage in pantomime.

Bruno later started a steel roller coaster ‘The Ultimate’ at Lightwater Valley, in 1991. At the time, it was the longest roller coaster in the world.

In 1995, Bruno released a cover version of the song ‘Eye of the Tiger.’ The cover also became the theme song of the movie ‘Rocky III’ and was listed No. 28 on the UK charts.

Bruno announced that he wanted to stand in the traditionally safe Tory seat of Brentwood and Ongar, as the Conservative candidate against the independent Member of Parliament, Martin Bell. His election campaign slogan was "Don't be a plank, vote for Frank!" at the time. However, Conservative Central Office quickly dismissed the idea.

Bruno became one of the celebrities who were the part of the World Cup song, ‘Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann?’ in 2006. He made his appearance in a British TV quiz show ‘The Weakest Link,’ on 15 August 2009 and defeated Duke McKenzie in the final round for £12,800 (approx. $18,000). 

In February and October 2011, Bruno briefly appeared as a guest in episodes of the ITV comedy show, ‘Harry Hill’s TV Burp.’ The same year, he featured on the ITV1 chatshow ‘The Alan Titchmarsh Show.’ He was cast in the ITV series ‘Piers Morgan’s Life Stories,’ on April 20, 2012.

Bruno successfully completed the 2011 London Marathon for the third time. He also appeared along with his daughter Rachel in the BBC Three documentary ‘Rachel Bruno: My Dad and Me,’ on 23 July 2013.

Personal Life

Frank Bruno was married to Laura Bruno in 1990. They had two daughters Nicola and Rachel and a son, Franklyn. The couple dated for several years before getting married. They welcomed their first child, daughter Rachel in 1986.

Frank's relationship with Laura didn't last long and divorced in 2001. He briefly involved in a relationship with his old friend Yvonne Clydesdale. The pair first met in 2000 at a health resort and started dating a few months later. 

Bruno announced that he was to become a father of his fourth child with Clydesdale in December 2005. Clydesdale gave birth to their baby daughter Freya on May 10, 2006. The couple was also jointly awarded £50,000 (approx. $70,472) damages for libel against The People newspaper as well as publishers MGN in respect of fake claims made regarding their relationship.

The relationship between Bruno and his ex-girlfriend Clydesdale came to an end after several years of their romance.

Bruno got engaged to the hairdresser, Nina Coletta, in 2012. In October 2016, Bruno disclosed that he is again single after his four-year relationship with Nina.

Mental Issue

On September 22, 2003, Bruno was taken by medical staffs’ police officers from his home near Brentwood in Essex, under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Bruno was later taken to Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford for his psychological and psychiatric tests. He had been suffering from depression for several months and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Bruno admitted that he uses cocaine on October 9, 2005, which he started in the year 2009. He faced several mental health problems due to his addiction which media covered in a disrespectful manner raising controversies. He was criticised by The Sun, whose headline the next day after his arrest read, ’Bonkers Bruno Locked Up’’.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Bruno also spoke in the support of their mental campaign, stating:

"Mental illness is a terrible thing to have to cope with but I’ve learned it’s a fight you can win if you live your life the right way"

Net Worth and Body Measurement

The former WBC heavyweight champion stands the height of 1.9m (6ft.2inch). Frank Bruno has earned a tremendous amount of money from his boxing career.

As of January 2018, Bruno's net worth is $10 million, according to TheRichest.

Bruno lost the Heavyweight Title against Mike Tyson on February 25, 1989. At the time, he made $3.6 million whereas Tyson made $7 million. The average ticket price was $700 and made the total sales of $4.3 million.

The People paid him $70472 after making false allegations about Bruno and his girlfriend Yvonne Clydesdale’s relationship. He also received $18,000 after beating Duke McKenzie in a British TV quiz show ‘The Weakest Link,’ on 15 August 2009.

Bruno is allegedly selling his $1414830 home in Bedfordshire after accusing neighboring travelers of tapping into his water supply. Previously, he had a 2000 Bentley Arnage worth around $38,990.

Bruno is currently driving Mercedes-Benz M-Class which worth is ranging from $36k to $46k. Besides, he has also published the book ‘Let Me Be Frank’ which was priced at Kindle £6.99 whereas was priced at Hardcover £9.