FIGHTLINE BY DOUG FISCHER
Fights only last a matter of minutes, but fighters are connected to each other by chains that extend for decades – even centuries – into the past. Their bond is a lineage built face- to-face: A young prospect struggles with the skills of an aging veteran whose nose was once broken by a fighter now enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. In that way, muscle memory carries knowledge and boxers face a piece of everyone their opponent has fought, everyone those people fought, and so on. This month, we’re linking two English heavyweights – both built like superheroes, both suffering their share of setbacks, but both wildly popular with the British public – Frank Bruno and Anthony Joshua . Bruno began his pro career with 21 consecutive knockouts before suffering a 10th-round KO to future titleholder James “Bonecrusher” Smith in 1984. The affable Londoner rebounded with a seven-bout win streak that included a first-round KO of former titleholder Gerrie Coetzee in 1986. However, he failed in his first bid for a world title, fading to an 11th-round stoppage under the heavy hands of WBA beltholder Tim Witherspoon. Bruno remained a bona fide celebrity in the U.K. during the late 1980s and early ’90s as he pummeled a parade of second-tier heavyweights that included James “Quick” Tillis, Joe Bugner, Pierre Coetzer and Carl Williams. But his second and third title challenges were denied by Mike Tyson in ’89 and Lennox Lewis in ’93 despite his game efforts. Bruno’s fourth title shot against Lewis conqueror Oliver McCall in 1995 would be the charm. He held off the rugged American slugger to claim a unanimous decision and the WBC belt. He lost the green strap in a rematch with Tyson six months later and retired with a 40-5 (38 KOs) record. Joshua’s rise following his Olympic gold medal win in the 2012 London Games can only be described as meteoric. The Watford native rapidly developed into an attraction, filling major arenas and stadiums in the U.K. while compiling a 22-0 record during his first five years in the pros. In that time, he was named The Ring’s 2014 Prospect of the Year, annexed his first world title from Charles Martin (KO 2) in 2016, won The Ring’s 2017 Fight of the Year with an epic 11th-round stoppage of former champ Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium and unified three major belts by outpointing previously unbeaten Joseph Parker in 2018. But the Joshua Express was derailed by dangerous late sub Andy Ruiz, who stopped “AJ” in seven rounds in 2019. Joshua rebounded with a careful points victory in their rematch six months later but never regained his former dominance, dropping back-to-back decisions to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022, then suffering a fifth- round KO to Daniel Dubois in 2024. However, Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs), who returns to the ring in July, remains one of boxing’s biggest stars, and it was announced that his long-awaited showdown with fellow U.K. legend Tyson Fury will take place later this year in what will be Britain’s biggest boxing event ever. There are multiple paths linking Bruno and Joshua, whose primes are separated by 30 years, but we found a Fightline that connects them with just four boxers. Can you find a faster route? If so, or if you have another Fightline you’d like to submit, send it to comeoutwriting@gmail.com. And remember, some fighters can be linked on paper by jumping forward and backward in time, but to be a true lineage, the fights must come in chronological order.
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BRUNO UD 12 MCCALL SEPTEMBER 2, 1995
GOMEZ UD 12 MCCALL OCTOBER 19, 2007
KLITSCHKO TKO 9 GOMEZ MARCH 21, 2009
KLITSCHKO UD 12 JOHNSON DECEMBER 12, 2009
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JOSHUA TKO 2 JOHNSON MAY 30, 2015
96 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
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