Parallel lives: How the careers of Frank Bruno and Mike Tyson compare
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Your support makes all the difference.Frank Bruno
Born London 16 Nov 1961
1980
May
Bruno beats Rudi Pika of Wales to become ABA heavyweight champion at the age of 18
1981
February
Bruno has eye operation in Bogota, Colombia, to cure rare form of short- sightedness
1982
17 March
Professional debut, knocked out Lupe Guerra in the first round, Albert Hall
1983
Bruno and Tyson spar at D'Amato's Gym in Catskills
1984
13 May
Loses unbeaten record -
knocked out by "Bonecrusher"
Smith, Wembley, after 21 straight wins
1985
Appears as Juliet with Lenny Henry as Romeo in Comic Relief show at the Shaftesbury Theatre
1 October
Wins European heavyweight title, knocking out Anders Eklund, of Sweden, at Wembley
1986
4 March
Beats Gerrie
Coetzee of South Africa in round one of final eliminator for WBA heavyweight title
19 July
Loses in 11th round to WBA heavyweight champ Tim Witherspoon at Wembley Stadium
1987
24 October
Beats 37-year-old Joe Bugner in 8th round at White Hart Lane
1989
25 Feb
Bruno loses in 5th round to Mike Tyson at Las Vegas Hilton for undisputed world heavyweight title
December
In pantomime Aladdin - as the genie - at the Dominion Theatre, London
1990
December
Plays the genie again in Aladdin, this time at Theatre Royal, Nottingham
1991
Routine medical reveals a torn retina. Bruno given the all-clear to box again after surgery
20 November
Launches comeback with easy 1st round win over
Dutchman John Emmen at Albert Hall
December
In panto at Bristol Hippodrome playing Robin Hood
1993
1 October
Loses in 7th round to Lennox Lewis for WBC heavyweight title
1995
2 September
Beats Oliver McCall on points at Wembley Stadium to become WBC heavyweight champion
Mike Tyson
Born New York 30 Jun 1966
1980 March
Tyson is taken by Bobby Stewart to meet veteran trainer Cus D'Amato, who sees him spar and says he can be heavyweight world champion
September
Tyson moves to Catskills to live with Cus D'Amato
1984 September
Wins National Golden Gloves - but loses to Henry Tillman in Olympic trials and again in box-offs. Is left out of the team for Los Angeles
1985 6 March
Pro debut, ko's Hector Mercedes in 107 secs, Albany, NY
4 November
Cus D'Amato, (right), dies of pneumonia, aged 77
1986 16 February
Explains in beating Jesse Ferguson he was trying to hit him on the tip of the nose to send it through the base of his brain
3 May
Taken distance for first time after 19 consecutive knockouts - by James Tillis in Glen Falls, NY
26 July
KOs Marvis Frazier in 30 seconds
22 November
Wins WBC heavyweight title, and becomes youngest heavyweight champion in history with 2nd round win over Trevor Berbick in Las Vegas
1987 7 March
Wins WBA title by outpointing James "Bonecrusher" Smith in boring fight
1 August
Unifies heavyweight division for first time since 1979 by outpointing IBF champion Tony Tucker
1988 22 January
Stops former champion Larry Holmes in 4 rounds, knocking him down 3 times
8 February
Tyson marries Robin Givens
(right)
27 June
Tyson's co-manager Jim Jacobs dies of leukaemia in New York at 58
23 August
Tyson breaks hand in late-night street brawl in Harlem
4 September
Tyson is knocked out when he drives his BMW into a tree
30 September
Humiliated on ABC-TV's 20-20 show when Robin Givens called their marriage "torture" and "pure hell"
7 October
Robin Givens files for divorce
1989 21 July
His last successful world title defence - 93 secs v Carl "The Truth" Williams
1990 10 February
Tyson loses to 40-1 outsider James "Buster" Douglas in Tokyo
1991 28 June
Tyson wins his fourth fight since the Douglas defeat. He outpoints Razor Ruddock in Las Vegas
20 July
18-year-old Desiree Washington,
(right), reports to police that she has been raped by Tyson
1992 10 February
Tyson found guilty of rape and deviant sexual conduct
March
Sentenced to 10 years - six of which to be served in jail, the rest on probation
1993-94
Tyson in detention
1995 25 March
Released from detention in Plainfield, Indiana
19 August
Ends his 4-year ring absence with 85 secs win over Peter McNeeley
16 December
KO's Buster Mathis in 3 rounds,
(right)
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