Former world boxing champ Frank Bruno throws his weight behind Black Country hospice fundraiser

He had a room full of sports fans on their feet and chanting his name like the good old days during a visit to help raise over £2,000 for Mary Steven's Hospice during a charity night at The Kingfisher Hotel and Club in Wall Heath.

The 53-year-old sporting legend recalls the night of September 2 1995 when he outpointed Oliver McCall over 12 rounds to win the WBC title as if it were yesterday.

He revealed:"I remember it very well. It was one of the best performances of my life and the moment that the dream I had had as an eight year old came true. I had not been the favourite to come out on top. It was like winning the lottery ten times over and you do not forget moments like that."

Bruno admitted to the Express&Star: "I still watch the video. Not all the time - I'm not kinky - but, every now and again, it is nice to sit down and see it again. I never tire of it."

But he still rates Mohammed Ali as the greatest."He was the Godfather who put boxing on the map. I like all boxers because it is a very hard game but he was The Man.

"It is a nerve wracking sport. It does not matter how much sparring and training you have done, you sit in the dressing room before a fight thinking 'what the hell am I doing here?' You know that when you step into the ring you are on your own. It is mentally and physically exhausting."

He said of the time he almost knocked out Mike Tyson: "I tried my best and rocked him but my best was not good enough. I tried to finish him off but he bobbed and weaved his way out of it." He added with one of his trade mark deep voiced laughs: "Then I realised that I had upset him and made him angry!"

Jumbo Cummins was the opponent who hit him hardest. Bruno recalled: "Luckily it was just on the bell at the end of the round when he caught me and so I had time to clear my head. But I was all over the place when he hit me"

He added: "I won a few fights and lost a few. I had a good innings and musn't grumble. It is 20 years since I was last in the ring and I am still ducking and diving. I have my good days and my bad days."

That was a reference to the well publicised fact that he has had battles outside the ring as well as in it.

Mental illness has dogged the former World Champ who admitted: "It happens to a lot of people when they retire - not just sportsmen. People are more inclined to get it off their chest and talk about it now. They don't feel so shamed by it.

"Being Sectioned three or four times is not nice. It is not pleasant having the police come round and losing it after your marriage breaks up. But you have to be positive, grit your teeth, dust yourself down and get on with it because it is a tough old world out there."

Kingfisher Hotel co owner Dave Facer, who is now planning to run regular sporting nights in aid of Mary Steven's Hospice said simply: "Everyone loves Frank. He is a legend - a real bloke who has been through his trials and tribulations like the rest of us. You can relate to him."