Dunne ready to take on world

PROMOTER Brian Peters did his utmost to play it down after the three-round demolition of Yersin Jailauov at The Point, but Bernard Dunne could be moving rapidly towards a shot at a world title.

Dunne’s trainer, Harry Hawkins, revealed that they were ready to bring in a number of experienced sparring partners from America — including ex-world champions — to help them take Dunne’s career to a new level.

Brian Peters confirmed: We will be bringing in a whole bunch of serious sparring partners from the US and Argentina. We are talking about 50-bout veterans who have excelled at the upper end of the scale.”

The manner in which he brushed aside Jailauov would indicate that Dunne is a class above what European boxing can throw up in the super-bantamweight division.

Dunne has a mandatory defence of his EBU title against a sprightly little Spaniard, Kiko “La Sensacion” Martinez, pencilled in for May 19. Martinez has an impeccable record of 15 straight wins and a style and enthusiasm to match it.

But such is the Dubliner’s talent, it will take an exceptional performance to dethrone him.

Dunne made Jailauov look very ordinary.

“I knew he was going to be awkward. He was standing back and his dangerous punch was always going to be his left hook because his hands were so far out,” Dunne said. “Harry (Hawkins) told me to work off the jab and pick my shots off that point and that’s what I did. We just worked on getting him to throw the left and counter with my own left hook and that’s the shot that eventually put him away.

“I thought the referee should have stopped the fight the first time I put him down. He was completely gone.

“But this was about patience, picking our shots. Everything we did in our training camp worked perfectly.

“I caught him with five or six lefts and then a short right hand and that really did the damage. I don’t think there is any doubt about the fact that my left jab is my best punch.”

Over the past couple of months boxers have been backing away from the world championship amidst rumours that Dunne might vacate his European crown for a shot at a world title.

“There were a lot of guys in Europe turning down fights thinking that Bernard was going to vacate but there was never a chance of that,” Peters said.

“Having said that, one would have to be impressed with Dunne’s performance against a tough fighter. I think his class really showed.

“But he has a mandatory challenge coming up against Kiko Martinez and we would like to get that out of the way. We would like that fight to be at The Point before it closes for refurbishment.”

Dunne, however, was making no secret of the fact that he wants a world title shot sooner rather than later.

“We will see what happens and we’ll take each fight as it comes. It is a matter of progression. I am in the top 10 now — maybe get into the top five and maybe by the end of the year we will be able to do it.”

He singled out the Mexican Daniel Ponce De Leon, the WBO champion, as the man he would like to fight for a world title.

“Ponce De Leon has a huge punch and he is a real aggressor and that suits me,” he said. “When he walks into me I would like to think I would be able to box the ears off him. I think that technically I am much more superior to him.”

And if such a fight materialises Dunne would like see John Duddy return to Ireland on the bill.

“Why not John Duddy and Jim Rock? That would make a big double header,” he said. “Irish boxing is getting a great lift right now. We have a very good amateur team as well. People should remember that boxing is our most successful international sport.”

Brian Peters was in total agreement: “We saw Jim Rock tonight. He was not totally prepared for that fight but that was a peach of a punch that knocked out Szabolcs Rimovszky. We have Matthew Macklin here. He could not box because of injury but Jason McKay boxed and won, and of course there is John Duddy and Andy Lee. We have a treasure chest that is full of middleweight gems.”

Rock, who just celebrated his 35th birthday, would relish a crack at Duddy. He was to have boxed him last year but the plug was pulled on the fight after several postponements.

“If the Duddy fight comes up I will jump at it,” he said. “But he probably thinks he has bigger fish to fry than me right now. There are some really great fights out there and I would want to be part of it.”