Dunne should not retire, says Roche

MICHAEL ROCHE, one of Bernard Dunne’s closest friends in boxing circles, said yesterday that the now former WBA world super bantamweight champion should not even consider retirement at this stage.

The five-time Irish champion and Ireland’s only Olympic boxer in Sydney in 2000 was at the O2 on Saturday night when Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym ended the Dubliner’s six-month reign as world champion.

“To be honest, it was like a death in the family,” the former Sunnyside star said. “I could not believe what I was seeing before my eyes.