Oliver McCall vs. Frank Bruno lost his first defence against Mike Tyson and retired shortly afterwards. McCall returned to the ring 6 months later when he beat future WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev. In 1997 he fought a rematch again Lennox Lewis for the now vacant WBC title, which he lost in bizarre fashion as he refused to fight and started crying. Confirmed bouts: Oliver McCall vs. Frank Bruno Oliver McCall vs. Frank Bruno, billed as "The Empire Strikes Back", was a professional boxing match contested on 2 September 1995 for the WBC Heavyweight Championship. After Oliver McCall narrowly beat former champion Larry Holmes in
Oliver McCall vs. Frank Bruno local hero around the ring and unloaded a hard right to Bruno's head. McCall banged Bruno with another body shot and a left-right combination. Bruno, bleeding from the mouth, hanging on desperately, turned the final minute into a dance of attrition. Judge Malcolm Bulner gave Bruno a 115-113 victory. Newton Campos and Fay Solis each had Bruno the winner by 117-111. Bruno became only the third British-born boxer to win a world heavyweight title along with Bob Fitzsimmons and Lennox Lewis—and he was the first to win it on British soil. Bruno's regin as Champion was short lived as he