  We study the homogeneous gravitational collapse of a spherical cloud of
matter in a super-renormalizable and asymptotically free theory of gravity. We
find a picture that differs substantially from the classical scenario. The
central singularity appearing in classical general relativity is replaced by a
bounce, after which the cloud re-expands indefinitely. We argue that a black
hole, strictly speaking, never forms. The collapse only generates a temporary
trapped surface, which can be interpreted as a black hole when the
observational timescale is much shorter than the one of the collapse. However,
it may also be possible that the gravitational collapse produces a black hole
and that after the bounce the original cloud of matter evolves into a new
universe.
