# Brian Brunette

Brian Brunette is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1986, challenging for the WBA light welterweight title in 1986.

## Professional career

Brunette made his professional debut on July 7, 1980, with a 2nd-round knockout of Wayne Grant on the undercard of the Larry Holmes-Scott LeDoux match at Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. Brunette won his first 23 fights, 17 of them by knockout.
On September 6, 1986, Brunette squared off against undefeated champion Patrizio Oliva in Campania, Italy for Oliva's WBA light welterweight title. Brunette lost via third-round technical knockout (TKO) in a scheduled fifteen round bout, when his manager threw in a towel to stop the bout.
Brian was managed and trained by his brothers and father.
Three months later Brunette returned to the ring for one last fight, defeating middleweight Billy Travers by 5th-round TKO. It was his final professional fight, as he retired at the age of 28 after sustaining an eye injury while preparing for a match in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1987. His record at the time of retirement was 24-1, with 18 wins coming by knockout.
He was managed by his brother Tommy and trained by his brother, Bob.

## Professional boxing record

24 Wins (18 knockouts, 6 decisions), 1 Loss (1 knockout, 0 decisions) :
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| Win | -- | Billy Travers | TKO | 5 | 26/12/1986 | Key West High School, Key West, Florida, U.S. | Referee stopped the bout at 0:28 of the fifth round. |
| Loss | 46-0 | Patrizio Oliva | TKO | 3 | 06/09/1986 | Napoli, Italy | WBA Light Welterweight Title. Bout stopped at 2:38 of the third round after Brunette's trainer threw in the towel. |
| Win | 32-12-2 | Ezequiel Sanchez | KO | 7 | 13/05/1986 | Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | -- | Lalo Gimenez | KO | 3 | 31/01/1986 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. | Lalo knocked out at 1:22 of the third round. |
| Win | 0-2 | Jim Freeman | TKO | 3 | 26/12/1985 | Turnberry Isle Resort and Club, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. | Referee stopped the bout at 2:10 of the third round. |
| Win | 9-8 | Steve Mitchell | UD | 10 | 10/09/1985 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | 15-2 | Ken Larson | TKO | 2 | 29/05/1985 | Holiday Star Theater, Merrillville, Indiana, U.S. | |
| Win | 13-2-1 | Rudy Fuentes | KO | 2 | 22/11/1984 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | Fuentes knocked out at 1:10 of the second round. |
| Win | 13-9-3 | Trevor Evelyn | PTS | 10 | 08/08/1984 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | 0-3 | Greg Collins | KO | 1 | 13/05/1984 | Highland, Indiana, U.S. | |
| Win | 22-4 | Gary Holmgren | MD | 10 | 01/02/1984 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | Minnesota Light Middleweight Title |
| Win | 63-43-4 | Bruce Strauss | TKO | 6 | 08/12/1983 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | 10-12-1 | Larry Mayes | TKO | 2 | 26/10/1983 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | 0-9 | Billy Doyle | KO | 2 | 26/08/1983 | Belcourt, North Dakota, U.S. | |
| Win | 9-4-2 | Mike Pollitt | TKO | 4 | 23/07/1983 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | -- | Steve Roake | KO | 2 | 07/05/1983 | Fargo, North Dakota, U.S. | |
| Win | 4-16 | Tony Akbar Taylor | TKO | 5 | 12/11/1981 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | 2-7-2 | Larry Ward | PTS | 8 | 06/05/1981 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | 0-5-1 | Nate Lenoir | KO | 2 | 26/02/1981 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | 8-18-2 | Charlie Peterson | PTS | 6 | 21/01/1981 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | |
| Win | 1-18 | Dale Gordon | PTS | 4 | 09/12/1980 | Warren, Ohio, U.S. | |
| Win | 0-1 | Darrell Ned Miller | TKO | 2 | 11/11/1980 | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. | Referee stopped the bout at 2:06 of the second round. |
| Win | 1-1 | Donnie Williams | KO | 1 | 23/09/1980 | Atkinson Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | |
| Win | -- | Rocky Trampler | KO | 2 | 24/07/1980 | St. James Civic Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Win | 0-1 | Wayne Grant | KO | 2 | 07/07/1980 | Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S. | |

## Personal life

Brian Brunette is married with two daughters and lives in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. Since retiring from boxing, Brunetta has worked as a manager for his family's boxing gym. He has also received his pilot's license.