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. Oliver McCall II Tommy Morrison and Ray Mercer, defeating them by technical knockout and majority decision respectively. Meanwhile, McCall successfully defended his WBC title against Holmes in a close unanimous decision victory. Following that victory, McCall was challenged by another British fighter in Frank Bruno. Bruno was able to build a big lead on the judges scorecards and withstood a late McCall rally to capture the WBC Heavyweight Championship. Bruno would then move on to defend his new title against the returning Mike Tyson, who stopped Bruno in three rounds to become the new WBC champion. After Tyson's victory over Bruno, Lewis became