McGuigan urges Dunne to turn on the power

BARRY McGUIGAN had advice for Bernard Dunne last night on the eve of tonight’s European super bantamweight title defence against Reidar Walstad at The Point — get stronger, make a couple of defences, make some money, let the top guys beat each other up and then move in on a world title.

“Bernard is a lovely kid, fast hands, good timing, balance, co-ordination and speed but the one thing he lacks at the moment is raw power,” said McGuigan, who lost his world title to Steve Cruze in Las Vegas 21 years ago today.

“The problem is that at the top level, the super-bantamweight is arguably the toughest division in boxing at the moment. Daniel Ponce De Leon, Celestino Caballero is not a devastating puncher, but is very, very good, very clever; Steve Molitor is a good boxer, punches hard — and then you have Daniel Ponce De Leon who could knock a horse out.

“So it is a really tough division at the very top. Bernard is no spring chicken in the super bantamweight division. He is 27 so he has got to get on with it so it will be a difficult decision for Brian Peters and Bernard to make.

“I feel that — given the opportunity and the right circumstances — Bernard Dunne can win the world title but I think he needs to have another couple of defences and then have a look at the top level guys because they are going to box each other. Let them beat each other up and, in the meantime, make a few quid. There is no rush.”

McGuigan was at the National Stadium last evening to throw his expert eye over the Irish talent at the European Union championships and took time out for a nostalgic reflection on his defeat in the blistering heat of Las Vegas.

“Looking back on it I’m very proud of my performance,” he said. “If you look at my career and without pointing fingers at anyone, had Vegas never happened I think I would have been champion for substantially longer and I believe I would have won the super-featherweight title given the chance because I still feel that Gomez was there for the taking.

“But that’s beside the point. The point is I look back on my career and I am a Hall of Famer. I am very proud of that.”

Meanwhile, Dunne can take his performance to a new level against Reidar Walstad this evening at The Point where he will undoubtedly be swept along on a wave of euphoria never experienced by any other boxer in this part of the country.

Yesterday he weighed-in right on the 122lb super-bantamweight limit with the Norwegian tipping the scales at 121.5lbs and exclaiming that it was the weight of the new European champion.

“I gave him this opportunity, I will dangle it before him and then I will take it away,” Dunne said. “There is an extra incentive in Reidar Walstad having beaten me previously. But defending my European belt is all I need to make me focused.”

Asked about Walstad’s insistence that the longer the fight goes on the better chance he will have, Dunne said it was just fight talk.

“He obviously has not done his homework because if he has watched any tapes of me he will definitely be worried,” he said. “I am ready for him. I am a big super-bantam, I’m strong and he has never met anybody of my calibre before. I hope beating me as an amateur will give him a little bit of confidence and he will come to have a go tomorrow night.

“I can’t wait for this fight. I have trained as hard as I ever trained, I’m 100% focused.”