Was Tyson ('96/Bruno II) better than Tyson ('89/Bruno I)?

Hi,
I recently watched Tyson v. Bruno (both fights) and what I have observed is that post-prison Tyson (Bruno II) knocked Bruno out quicker than their first encounter.

Mike Tyson v. Frank Bruno I - Tyson via 5th-round TKO
Mike Tyson v. Frank Bruno II -Tyson via 3rd-round TKO

During their second encounter, Frank Bruno was the WBC heavyweight champion who came fresh off a 12-round bout with Oliver McCall, winning on points. Bruno would've not only got more experience and composure compared to the first encounter, he would've, or atleast attempted to adapt to Tyson's brawler style. He had also knocked out some Tyson opponents quicker than Tyson himself after their first encounter.

Mike Tyson v. Jose Ribalta - Tyson via 10th-round KO
Frank Bruno v. Jose Ribalta - Bruno via 2nd-round KO.
Mike Tyson v. Jesse Ferguson - Tyson via 6th-round TKO (originally a disqualification)
Frank Bruno v. Jesse Ferguson - Bruno via 1st-round TKO

An athlete's peak performance is mostly around the ages of 25-35. (besides Tyson who had one of the shortest "prime" performances imo).

When Bruno fought Ribalta, Ribalta was 29, and his losses prior to that were only by decision, except for the 10th-round KO that Tyson gave, and the 7th round TKO Ricardo Richardson delivered. 6 out of 9 wins for post-Tyson Ribalta came by way of knockout, including Leon Spinks. Because of the prime age demographic and his overall performance, I would still say Ribalta was in his prime when he fought Frank Bruno, and that, although a knockout artist, he was slightly premature when he lost to Frazier and Tyson.

When Bruno fought Ferguson, Ferguson was 37, slightly above the prime age demographic, but still had the fighting spirit in him. 4 out of 11 losses came by way of decision. 4 out of 6 wins for post-Tyson Ferguson came by way of knockout, including Ray Mercer. Because of the prime age demographic and his overall performance, I would say Ferguson was slightly out of his prime when he fought Frank Bruno, and I believe he was at his peak when he fought Carl Williams and Mike Tyson.

When Tyson fought Bruno in the second encounter, Tyson was 29, and his only loss prior to the bout was the Buster Douglas fight. 4 out of 6 wins for post-Douglas Tyson came by way of knockout. Although Tyson would've been at his peak, he fired Kevin Rooney, who was essentially the last remnant of Cus D'Amato's teachings, besides Teddy Atlas who left by the time Tyson turned pro. Tyson had also went to prison prior and was long divorced with his ex-wife Robin Givens. Tyson also surrounded himself with a completely new roster of trainers and managers, who knew nothing of Cus D'Amato's strategies. Because of these factors, I would say Tyson was definitely out of his prime, and was last at his peak when he fought Michael Spinks. (Tyson's prime was from Berbick to Spinks, in my opinion.)

When Bruno fought Tyson in the second encounter, Bruno was 34 and his losses prior to the bout were knockouts from Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, James Smith and Tim Witherspoon, the latter 2 being close to the final bell. 7 out of 8 wins for post-Tyson Bruno came by way of knockout, including Ribalta, Ferguson, Williams, and Coetzer. Because of the prime age demographic and his overall performance, I would say Bruno was in his prime, and the loss to Lennox Lewis in 1993 could've affected him but not to an extent that he began to dwindle in performance.

Tyson v. Bruno (first encounter)
Tyson, coming fresh from a 1st-round KO of Michael Spinks soon got into legal troubles. A street fight with Mitch 'Blood' Green cost him a broken hand and a lawsuit, which he lost, having to pay Green $45,000 in reparations. He also divorced his wife, Robin Givens after he was accused of domestic violence.

In the first round, Tyson knocked down Bruno with a right hook but Bruno got up, and later into the round, with 50 seconds left, Bruno hit Tyson with a left hook and a right hand, which staggered Tyson, and he recounted he saw "white lights" when Bruno hit him with this combination. After this, nothing really significant happened other than Bruno covering Tyson and clinching to prevent any further assaults launched, until the 5th round when he got Bruno against the ropes and struck him with his infamous right hook, right uppercut combination that didn't stun Bruno until he strictly went for his head, in which a flurry of uppercuts ended Bruno by 5th-round TKO.

Tyson v. Bruno (second encounter)
Tyson, coming fresh from a 3rd-round KO of Buster Mathis Jr soon looked for a title shot. Coincidentally, he was in line to fight Frank Bruno for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world.

Tyson began to swam Bruno, landing a few good combinations before Bruno did the same tactic in the first encounter, covering and clinching Tyson. In the final seconds of the first round, both men briefly exchanged blows and this time, Tyson staggered Bruno. Bruno soon recovered and began counterpunching until the bell rung. After this, nothing really significant happened other than Bruno doing the same thing, until the 3rd round when Tyson soon slipped to the right, then stunned Bruno with a left hook and proceeded to land 12 more punches, ending Bruno by 3rd-round TKO.

This begs the question, why did a Mike Tyson who just got out of prison end a prime Frank Bruno quicker than a Mike Tyson who just started declining mentally and athletically (and was at a closer stage to his prime) ended a premature knockout artist Frank Bruno?

I believe the reason why Bruno lasted longer in the first encounter was because Tyson was more passive and I also believe, was more rusted than the Tyson in the second encounter. He just threw Hail Mary's and haymakers and lost his discipline and technique. However, Tyson in the second encounter was probably more focused and was more nuanced towards boxing, taking the initiatives during the fight to go on the offensive and overwhelm a prime Bruno.

And the paragraph above leads to my conclusion, and my answer to the thread's title, was Tyson ('96/Bruno II) better than Tyson ('89/Bruno I)?

Yes, Mike Tyson when he fought Frank Bruno in 1996 was more focused, dedicated, disciplined and had more morale than when he fought Frank Bruno in 1989, making him a "better" version of himself.

Thank you for reading my thread, hopefully everything made sense while reading this. Please give me feedback and your thoughts about my opinion, and what could make my argument invalid or wrong. Please be constructive with your response

 

Correction: Ferguson did NOT knockout Ray Mercer and instead beat him by decision.