Dunne edges closer to title shot

BEN DUNNE is just one fight away from the next phase of a professional boxing career that Sugar Ray Leonard predicts will take him to a world title fight following his short route weekend victory over Simon Ramirez.

Manager Brian Peters confirmed yesterday he will have one more four round contest before moving on to six rounds but insisted, despite all the hype he has generated, Dunne's management are not going to rush anything.

It may have taken Dunne a mere 69 seconds to dispose of the challenge of Simon Ramirez at the Thunderbird Wild West Casino in Oklahoma City at the weekend but the Dublin featherweight was drained afterwards.

"It was all the anxiety and nervous energy he burned up," Peters said. "Before the fight he was unbelievably cool. It's afterwards it appeared to get to him."

Dunne, who has signed a three-year 21-fight deal with the Sugar Ray Leonard organisation, was supposed to be stepping up in class against Ramirez but he made him look like an amateur as he demolished him with double left hook to the body and head that left Sugar Ray again singing his praises.

"It was just beautiful to watch," the former Olympic champion who went on to win world titles at a variety weights.

In fact Dunne's father, Brendan, represented Ireland at the Montreal Olympics where the young Ray Leonard from Palmer Park, Maryland, turned in the exhibition of the tournament to outclass Cuban, Andres Aldama, who had stopped all his opponents en route to the finals.

"My matchmaker Ron Katz thought this would be a distance fight as Ramirez had only lost one fight up to now but Dunne just took him apart. He was fantastic. We can't wait to get him back in the ring," Leonard said.

Ramirez is a member of a gang and before the fight they taunted Dunne en route to the ring shouting "Irishman you are going to go down."

But afterwards they were looking for his autograph.

His appearance may only have been brief the fight went out live on the ESPN Network but it was enough to create huge hype amongst the boxing fraternity.

"It's early days yet and let's not get too carried away," Brian Peters insisted. "He has only been boxing four rounders and in fact he has not gone four rounds in total yet.

"This guy is still in his infancy. We have another four rounder planned for Miami on February 7 and, after that, he will have his first six round contest in Albuquerque on March 7.

"Everybody is enjoying the hype and it would be easy to get carried away but right now we are looking at the general picture. We had hoped that the fight at the weekend would go the full four rounds and, in fact, we expected it would. But Ben's left hook to the body was devastating and there is just no defence against that.

"But I think it was his technique that impressed everyone throwing the punches and making him miss lefts and rights and then it was a peach of a left hook to the body that marked the beginning of the end. Things like that get him noticed."