Tyrone Brunson (boxer)
Encyclopedia
Tyrone Brunson is an American
boxer
who fights in the middleweight
division
and comes from a long line of middleweight boxers from the city. His amateur career extended over 90 fights, finishing with a record of 82-12. While he never won one of the coveted amateur accolades such as the National Golden Gloves and PAL Championships, or made it to the Olympics, he did win several youth tournaments as well as the Silver Gloves
and the Pennsylvania State Golden Gloves. Brunson himself claims that his failure to win a senior national tournament was due to two things: (1) impatience to move into the professional ranks, and (2) what Brunson describes as a "pro style" of fighting that emphasizes power and knockouts rather than earning points.
Brunson's KO streak continued into 2006, where in his first fight of the year he defeated James Morrow
for the Mid American middleweight title. Morrow was the first, and until recently only fighter on Brunson’s resume who had a winning record (see ‘criticism’ section).
On March 27, 2007 he equaled Otto's record when he KO'd David Johnson after 52 seconds of the 1st round. Brunson's record equaling effort was almost foiled due to a bizarre accident: Early in the bout Johnson managed to get tangled up with referee Dale Grable, which caused him to fall and injure his ankle. Despite only being able to limp around the ring he indicated to the referee that he wished to continue and the bout restarted. A few seconds later Johnson was legitimately knocked down with a barrage of punches from Brunson. This time he decided that his ankle injury was too painful and chose not to continue. As the second knockdown was as a result of a punch and not a slip the referee ruled the bout a TKO victory for Brunson (Had Johnson decided his ankle injury was too severe to continue when it first happened, the bout would have been ruled a No Contest).
Brunson claimed the North American record as his own on May 5, 2007 by KO’ing Tony Watson
after just 100 seconds of the 1st round, moving his record to a perfect 16-0. The next milestone in his sights was the world record held by Edwin Valero
of Venezuela
with 18 consecutive 1st-round KOs. Brunson equalled Valero’s total with a victory over Jamie Waru at the Sky City Casino in Auckland, New Zealand on June 8, 2007, and on March 8, 2008 recorded his record breaking 19th consecutive 1st round KO when he defeated Francis McKechnai in just 72 seconds at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Michigan
.
On 15 August 2008 Brunson’s run of consecutive 1st round KO victories was brought to a halt at 19 when in his 20th pro fight he was held to a draw in a 6 round contest against Mexican journeyman Antonio Soriano. The decision was greeted with a chorus of boos from the attending audience, who felt that Soriano had done enough to gain the victory
On December 4, 2009, Brunson fought Carson Jones. Brunson had a great first two rounds (Of a 10 round fight) sticking Jones with hard, straight jabs. His luck changed in the third round. Jones hit Brunson with a great combo, knocking him down for the first time in his career. Jones continued to pound on Brunson until Brunson was no longer defending himself, the referee then stopped the match, declaring Jones the winner by TKO
.
Brunson has fought outside of the US several times, namely in New Zealand
where the questionable level of opposition he has faced there led to accusations of him deliberately seeking out mismatched opponents that would not be approved by any athletic commission in the United States. A prime example of this is his 2007 bout against Tony Watson
(record 5-10-1), who prior to the Brunson bout had not fought in over 10 years since suffering a 1st round KO loss and weighed over 200 lbs (above the cruiserweight limit) in comparison to the 165 lb Brunson (record 15-0-0). His very next fight after Watson also took place in New Zealand against questionable opposition, this time against Lee Hunter, a novice making his professional debut.
Mark Vester of boxingscene.com has been particularly scathing about Brunson’s 'achievement' when compared to Valero’s, claiming:
“Valero stopped his first 18 opponents in the first round, and as bad as some of them were, they don't even compare to the stiffs that grace the resume of Brunson”.
In addition he suggested that there should be an asterisk
beside Brunson’s name in the boxing record books, as is sometimes used in other competitive sports statistics, to signify a “tainted” record.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who fights in the middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
division
Amateur career
Brunson hails from Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and comes from a long line of middleweight boxers from the city. His amateur career extended over 90 fights, finishing with a record of 82-12. While he never won one of the coveted amateur accolades such as the National Golden Gloves and PAL Championships, or made it to the Olympics, he did win several youth tournaments as well as the Silver Gloves
Silver Gloves
The Silver Gloves is an annual competition for amateur boxing in the United States. The contest is sponsored by Ringside, Inc.The Silver Gloves are open to all non-professional pugilists age 10 to 15 years old. The Silver Gloves is not the Golden Gloves amateur tournament, which is for amateur...
and the Pennsylvania State Golden Gloves. Brunson himself claims that his failure to win a senior national tournament was due to two things: (1) impatience to move into the professional ranks, and (2) what Brunson describes as a "pro style" of fighting that emphasizes power and knockouts rather than earning points.
Professional career
Brunson turned professional in 2005 with a KO victory over Kevin Carey in a fight which lasted just 25 seconds. He had 7 more fights that year, all of which ended in 1st round KO victories for Brunson. As with his debut 4 of those fights lasted less than 30 seconds, with his quickest victory coming in just 17 seconds against Terry Rork.Brunson's KO streak continued into 2006, where in his first fight of the year he defeated James Morrow
James Morrow
James Morrow is a fiction author. A self-described "scientific humanist", his work satirises organized religion and elements of humanism and atheism....
for the Mid American middleweight title. Morrow was the first, and until recently only fighter on Brunson’s resume who had a winning record (see ‘criticism’ section).
Chasing the record
By early 2007 Brunson's record had improved to 14-0, with all of his victories coming in the 1st round, and he was closing in on the unofficial North American record for consecutive 1st-round KOs held by Arthur “Young Otto” Susskind, who was credited with 15 consecutive 1st-round KO victories in the early 20th century. The major difference between Brunson's and Otto's streaks is that Brunson's began with his pro debut whereas Otto's streak didn’t start until well into his pro career.On March 27, 2007 he equaled Otto's record when he KO'd David Johnson after 52 seconds of the 1st round. Brunson's record equaling effort was almost foiled due to a bizarre accident: Early in the bout Johnson managed to get tangled up with referee Dale Grable, which caused him to fall and injure his ankle. Despite only being able to limp around the ring he indicated to the referee that he wished to continue and the bout restarted. A few seconds later Johnson was legitimately knocked down with a barrage of punches from Brunson. This time he decided that his ankle injury was too painful and chose not to continue. As the second knockdown was as a result of a punch and not a slip the referee ruled the bout a TKO victory for Brunson (Had Johnson decided his ankle injury was too severe to continue when it first happened, the bout would have been ruled a No Contest).
Brunson claimed the North American record as his own on May 5, 2007 by KO’ing Tony Watson
Tony Watson
Anthony M. Watson is a left-handed relief pitcher currently on the Pittsburgh Pirates active roster....
after just 100 seconds of the 1st round, moving his record to a perfect 16-0. The next milestone in his sights was the world record held by Edwin Valero
Edwin Valero
Edwin Valero was a Venezuelan professional boxer. He was born in Bolero Alto, and raised in El Vigía ....
of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
with 18 consecutive 1st-round KOs. Brunson equalled Valero’s total with a victory over Jamie Waru at the Sky City Casino in Auckland, New Zealand on June 8, 2007, and on March 8, 2008 recorded his record breaking 19th consecutive 1st round KO when he defeated Francis McKechnai in just 72 seconds at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
On 15 August 2008 Brunson’s run of consecutive 1st round KO victories was brought to a halt at 19 when in his 20th pro fight he was held to a draw in a 6 round contest against Mexican journeyman Antonio Soriano. The decision was greeted with a chorus of boos from the attending audience, who felt that Soriano had done enough to gain the victory
On December 4, 2009, Brunson fought Carson Jones. Brunson had a great first two rounds (Of a 10 round fight) sticking Jones with hard, straight jabs. His luck changed in the third round. Jones hit Brunson with a great combo, knocking him down for the first time in his career. Jones continued to pound on Brunson until Brunson was no longer defending himself, the referee then stopped the match, declaring Jones the winner by TKO
TKO
-In game, music and film:* Three Kingdoms Online, a browser based strategy game* "TKO" , an episode of Babylon 5* "T.K.O. ", a song from Elvis Costello's Punch the Clock album* "TKO", a song from Le Tigre's This Island...
.
Criticism
The main criticism levelled at Brunson by most boxing pundits and fans is the extremely poor level of opposition he has faced while making his way to the record. In contrast with Valero, whose first 18 opponents had a combined record of 112-102-17 (48% win rate, including draws), the combined record of Brunson’s opponents was just 60-94-8 (37% win rate). Furthermore, of those 18 opponents just 1 had a winning record and 6 had failed to win a single fight in their careers.Brunson has fought outside of the US several times, namely in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
where the questionable level of opposition he has faced there led to accusations of him deliberately seeking out mismatched opponents that would not be approved by any athletic commission in the United States. A prime example of this is his 2007 bout against Tony Watson
Tony Watson
Anthony M. Watson is a left-handed relief pitcher currently on the Pittsburgh Pirates active roster....
(record 5-10-1), who prior to the Brunson bout had not fought in over 10 years since suffering a 1st round KO loss and weighed over 200 lbs (above the cruiserweight limit) in comparison to the 165 lb Brunson (record 15-0-0). His very next fight after Watson also took place in New Zealand against questionable opposition, this time against Lee Hunter, a novice making his professional debut.
Mark Vester of boxingscene.com has been particularly scathing about Brunson’s 'achievement' when compared to Valero’s, claiming:
“Valero stopped his first 18 opponents in the first round, and as bad as some of them were, they don't even compare to the stiffs that grace the resume of Brunson”.
In addition he suggested that there should be an asterisk
Asterisk
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star...
beside Brunson’s name in the boxing record books, as is sometimes used in other competitive sports statistics, to signify a “tainted” record.