Brian Brunette

Last updated June 01, 2024

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 second 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.^[1]

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 (his brother, Tom) threw in towel to stop the bout.

Brian was managed and trained by his brothers Tommy, Bobby, Al, and Father, Tommy Brunette Sr.

Three months later Brunette returned to the ring for one last fight, defeating middleweight Billy Travers by fifth-round TKO. It was his final professional fight, as he retired at the age of 28 with a record of 24-1 with 18 wins coming by knockout.^[2]

He was managed by his brother Tommy and trained by his brother Bob.^[1]

Boxing Career

Inducted into the Sport of Boxing at Mancini’s St. Paul Sports Hall Of Fame 2014
St Paul Golden Gloves Jr Middleweight Championship and MN State Upper Midwest Jr Middleweight Championship (1979)
Overall Amateur Golden Gloves/USA Boxing record with 27 wins with 3 decision losses against International Boxers of USA National Teams
Represented MN State Upper Midwest Team in National Gloves Championship, Indianapolis, IN.
Won the Jr. Middleweight Championship - USA vs. Canada International competition against Canadian Champion Ken Johnson at St. Paul Civil Center in St. Paul, MN (1979)
Attended Century College (formerly known as Lakewood Jr. College) in White Bear Lake, MN on an Upper Midwest Golden Gloves Scholarship (1980)
Professional Boxing debut July 7^th, 1980 - Won this bout in a 2^nd round knockout (KO) against Wayne Grant from Omaha, NE at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, MN
Won MN State Jr Middleweight Championship defeating Gary Holmgren 10 round majority decision (02/01/1984)
Boxed Patrizio Oliva for the WBA World Boxing Association World Jr. Welterweight Championship in Naples, Italy (09/06/1986) (only loss in professional boxing career). The bout was stopped in the 3^rd round due to an accidental thumb in the eye.
Minnesota State Governor Rudy Perpich proclaimed September 6^th“Brian Brunette Day” in the State of Minnesota
Overall professional boxing record 24 wins with 1 loss with 18 KO’s.
Final Bout - Boxed Billy Travers (12/26/1986), winning by 5^th round KO in Key West, Florida
Retired from the ring due to an eye injury while preparing to box the South Africa Champion in Johannesburg, South Africa (Spring, 1987)
Inducted into The Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame as one of the most distinguished Boxers in Minnesota History (2019)
Brian Brunette ranked #19 in “The Top Ranked Boxers” of All-Time from Minnesota

Professional Boxing Record

24 Wins (18 knockouts, 6 decisions), 1 Loss (1 knockout, 0 decisions) ^[2]
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.

Baseball Career

George Washington High School Varsity Baseball Team - Selected to the St. Paul All City Conference Baseball Team (9^th,10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grades)

MN All Metro All Star Team and USA High School All American Baseball Team (1976)
Played Short Stop, 2nd Base, and Pitcher in 12th grade going 9-0 with an ERA of 2.5 - Overall Batting Average (after 4 years) 371 average (1976) 571; North End American Legion Baseball Team (1973, 1974, 1975, and 1976); Selected to the St. Paul All Legion Team (1973 - 1976)
Varsity High School Hockey Team Left Wing and Defense (10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grades)
Counselor and Coach at Chandler Baseball Camp in Chandler, Oklahoma (Summer, 1975), under the leadership of Founder and Owner, Tom Belcher
While attending Iowa Western Jr. College, played in the 1977 JUCO Jr. College Baseball World Series, Grand Junction, CO
Attended the University of MN on a Baseball Scholarship (1977 - 1978)
Played 2^nd base for the Staunton Braves MLB Minor League/NCAA Collegiate Baseball Team during the summer of 1978, in Staunton, VA.
North End American Legion Baseball Coach (1979 - 1980)
Inductee into the Iowa Western Community College Sports Hall Of Fame (Oct. 20, 2012)

Aviation Career

FAA Certified Flight Instructor, St. Paul Downtown Airport - 2000 to Present

Certified Flight Instructor - Airplane Multi-& Single-Engine, Instrument. Advanced Ground Instructor, Stage Check Pilot and FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) (2004 – 2010). First Officer in a Lear Jet for Bank Air, Inc. West Columbia, SC and Certified Flight Instructor at Wings Inc., Flight School, St. Paul, MN (2000 to 2007).

Aviation Flight Certificates & Ratings

Commercial Pilot: Multi- and Single-Engine Land Airplane / Instrument Airplane
Certified Flight Instructor, CFII, MEI Airplane Multi- and Single- Engine Instrument
Advanced Ground Instructor, Gold Seal Instructor
ATP Written Completed (2000)
Stage Check Pilot Instructor for Wings Inc (2000 – 2007)
FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) MSP FSDO (2005 – 2010)
FAA First Class Medical Certificate (August 2020)
Instrument Rating
Human Factors in Flight
Gold Seal Instructor

Professional Life

Great Lakes Region Organizing Committee, St. Paul, MN - 2008 to 2023

Marketing Representative - Built 1:1 relationships with workers, motivating individuals and groups of workers to action while involving community allies in organizing campaigns.

Assisted with several Organizing Campaigns and the successful signing of 66 new union contracts and conducting broad and intensive outreach efforts to city residents and to low-wage workers.
From Top Down, Bottom up, Salting, Striping, banners, and pickets along with Political Involvement that included phone banking, door knocking, proud member engagement, and Union Membership recruitment.
Coordinated with workers to gather information that is useful in identifying opportunities for membership growth and mobilization, as well as identified and developed leaders to guide and lead campaigns.
Conducted individual/group meetings with workers to discuss and plan organizing campaigns and engage workers in broader union efforts to bring pressure on industry sectors.
Member of MN Construction and General Laborers Union (LIUNA) Local 132/563 for 30 years with 4 years as a Union Business Agent (1993-96 & 2000-2001).
Worked for 12 years in the field as a General Construction Laborer with several different Union Contractors including the City of St. Paul Public Works Department.

Brian Brunette’s Youth Boxing Association, St. Paul, MN - 1986 to 2008

President - Worked with more than 200 Golden Gloves/USA amateur and professional champions for this nonprofit affiliated with Regis Golden Gloves/USA Boxing.

Member of PAL in St Paul, MN. Assisted in daily operations at the Brunette Boxing Gym, and with the training and development of inner-city youth.
Successfully promoted Golden Gloves/USA Amateur and Professional Boxing Events in Minnesota and throughout the country.

Education

Attended:

Gorman Elementary Grade School, St Paul, MN
Como Park Jr. High School (7^th, 8^th, 9^th grade), St Paul, MN
George Washington Sr. High School (10^th, 11^th, 12^th grades), St Paul, MN - Graduated 1976
Iowa Western Jr. College, Council Bluffs, IA (1976 - 1977) - Baseball Scholarship, Physical Education Curriculum
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (1978 – 1979) - Baseball Scholarship, Physical Education Curriculum
Century College (formerly Lakewood Jr. College), White Bear Lake, MN (1981 – 1983) - Upper Midwest Golden Gloves Scholarship, Business Curriculum
Inver Hills Jr. College, Inver Grove Heights, MN with Wings Inc., Flight Training School, Holman Field, St. Paul, MN in the Aviation Flight Program (1998 – 2003)
Completed individual courses including George Mealy Union Leadership 1 & 2, 10 Day Union Organizing Las Vegas, and Mark Belsin Top-Down Union Organizing

Leadership Roles

Amateur and Professional Boxing Referee and Judge
Youth Softball Coach/Hitting & Fielding Instructor
Speaking with Youth regarding amateur sports and drug free life

Personal Life

Brian is a member of the Brunette family of Boxers: Father Tommy Brunette Sr, and brothers Tommy, Bobby, and Al
Brian is married with two daughters and lives in Mendota Heights, MN
Brian is a Lineal Descendant of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Sioux Tribe Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota
Interests include Personal Fitness, Public Speaking, General Aviation, and German Shepherd Dogs

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References

1 2 Moton, Tony (May 14, 1986). "Brunette knocks out Sanchez in Round 7". Star Tribune . p. 41. Retrieved February 10, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
1 2 Boxing record for Brian Brunette from BoxRec (registration required)

External links

Boxing record for Brian Brunette from BoxRec (registration required)

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[star-1] 1 2 Moton, Tony (May 14, 1986). "Brunette knocks out Sanchez in Round 7". Star Tribune . p. 41. Retrieved February 10, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[rec-2] 1 2 Boxing record for Brian Brunette from BoxRec (registration required)

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