Parallel lives: How the careers of Frank Bruno and Mike Tyson compare

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)