Sporting Equals Lifetime Achievement

Frank Bruno MBE - Sporting Equals Lifetime Achievement

 

Franklin Roy "Frank" Bruno MBE 

Frank grew up with five siblings in South London and began boxing at 9, at the local Wandsworth Boys Club.

Frank became a professional boxer in 1982, quickly racking up a streak of 21 consecutive wins by knockout.

The Former World Champion who was known for his punching power won the WBC heavyweight championship in 1995 against Oliver McCall at Wembley Stadium.

Frank won 40 of his 45 bouts, and out of the 40 fights Bruno won he had 38 knockouts, giving Frank Bruno a 95% knockout rate of the fights he won.

In 1989, Frank challenged Mike Tyson for the undisputed world heavyweight title. In the opening moments, the fighters came together with huge punches. Frank rocked Tyson for the first time in Tyson's career with a left hook. However, Tyson recovered and eventually beat Frank when the referee stopped the contest in round five.

Bruno was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2003, having previously suffered with depression and he supported Paul Gascoigne through similar issue in 2008.

In 2013 Bruno supported the Daily Mirror's Mental Health Campaign, offering inspiring words to people suffering with similar conditions.

The Crisis Care Concordat signed in 2014, announced by Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb, will help cut the numbers of people detained inappropriately in police cells and drive out the variation in standards across the country. Mr Lamb in an interview confirmed that following his discussion with Frank started the process that now will help many sufferers of Mental Health and their families

His celebrity status is used by many mental health charities and his name is used as an example to draw attention to the unknown factors of Mental illness