Dunne to dedicate win to Sutherland

World champion boxer Bernard Dunne today vowed to dedicate a successful title defence to the late Darren Sutherland.

The Dubliner is planning to use the Olympian’s tragic death to spur him to victory in his first fight since winning the belt in front of a home crowd.

Dunne, the Super Bantamweight champion, faces a tough Thai challenger when he returns to the O2 on Saturday, the scene of his dramatic victory.

He said he would try and block out Sutherland’s death before planning a tribute.

“I’ll be honest, I’ll try and block it out on Saturday night,” Dunne said.

“All I’ll want to focus on is the fight.

“It’s a horrible loss and a terrible thing to have happened but we can dedicate the win to Darren once we win the fight.”

Sutherland’s father Tony plans to talk about his son’s life and untimely death in a live television interview on Friday.

The following day Dunne faces Thailand’s highly-rated Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym, who has 38 wins from 39 professional fights, in the same arena he dramatically secured the title against Ricardo Cordoba earlier in the year.

“Fighting in front of my home fans, it’s what I wanted,” Dunne said.

“I wanted my first defence to be here and I worked so hard to make sure that it did happen here.

“The fans deserve it and they’re as much a part of me winning a world title as anybody else.”

Dunne has been undergoing intensive training under the watchful eye of Belfast-based trainer Harry Hawkins.

“He (Dunne) was deeply shocked when he heard the news last week as everybody in boxing was,” Hawkins said.

“Bernard is a very, very family orientated guy and he feels for the family of Darren Sutherland and I know that’s in his mind and he’ll be wanting to turn it into a positive.

“What a shock for everyone about Darren Sutherland, we’re really gutted for the family. There’s no doubt Ireland’s riding high (in boxing) but what a loss to us all.”