BERNARD DUNNE woke up this morning with a weight off his shoulders and more time on his well-worn hands.

“AFTER a lot of thought and reflection the time has finally come to bring my career as a professional boxer to an end.”

BERNARD DUNNE has revealed not only does he fancy returning to the ring, he would love to do so against the fighter who dethroned him as WBA super-bantamweight champion, Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym.

BERNARD DUNNE and Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym met face to face for the first time in Dublin on Wednesday and now their respective handlers, Harry Hawkins and Niwat Laosuwannawat, have gone head-to-head in advance of tomorrow night’s world title defence at the O2 in Dublin.

BERNARD DUNNE is putting the finishing touches to his preparations for the defence of his WBA World Super Bantamweight title against Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym of Thailand at the O2 on Saturday week.