Frank Bruno vs. Mike Tyson II Tyson was released from prison on parole in 1995 after he was convicted of raping Desiree Washington in 1991. He had fought two fights since his release, beating Peter McNeeley by disqualification in his pay-per-view return and knocking out Buster Mathis, Jr. in a nationally televised bout on Fox. After the victory against Mathis, Tyson was placed ahead of Lewis in the line of contenders for the WBC title and his promoter Don King, who also promoted Oliver McCall, drew up a contract where McCall would defend his title against Bruno and the winner of the fight would be forced
Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno time that two British-born boxers had fought for the world heavyweight title, although Bruno had questioned how British Lewis really was, as he had won a gold medal for Canada at the 1988 Olympic Games as an amateur. Bruno described Lewis as "...not British", but said "It's about boxing. I'm sick and tired of his pretenses. He calls himself champion. He acts like he's a Sugar Ray Leonard or a Willie Pep or a Joe Louis", and that "Nobody cares about Lennox Lewis in Britain." To counter the Bruno claim that he was "not British", Lewis said, "What was I