Dunne’s plans disrupted as Sassau forced to withdraw

BERNARD DUNNE will have to make a quick return to the drawing board in advance of his televised fight in Leipzig on Saturday night after the enforced withdrawal of the original opponent, Daniel Kodjo Sassau from Togo, who came up against visa problems.

His new opponent, Marian Leondraliu, poses a new and more dangerous threat to the Dubliner’s unbeaten record because the Romanian is bound to be well prepared.

Leondraliu was scheduled to box Steve Foster Jr in London on Saturday night but when that fight fell through and the new opportunity came his way he grabbed it with both hands.

The experienced Romanian has been mixing it with some very good opponents throughout his career and Dunne’s manager and promoter, Brian Peters is only too well aware of the perils that lie ahead.

“This guy has been in training for a fight with Foster so you are guaranteed he will be in good shape,” he said. “He’s campaigned as high as light welterweight and crossed swords with world ranked fighters like Souleymane M’baye and Mohamad Abdulaev. In fact M’baye is the mandatory challenger for Ricky Hatton’s titles which tells you the kind of calibre opponent we are talking about here.

“But then Bernard has been building up quite a reputation for himself on both sides of the Atlantic and this is just part of the natural progression. Each contest is a step up the ladder.”

RTE 2 will be broadcasting the fight live in their two hour programme from Leipzig from 8.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.

Topping the bill will be the IBF world middleweight title clash between locally based Armenian, Arthur Abraham and Nigerian Kingsley Ikeke.

“The fact RTE are screening the fight live underlines their commitment and belief in Bernard and the revival in Irish boxing,” Peters said.

“Anyone who has witnessed any of Bernard’s fights at The National Stadium will know that it’s a special atmosphere but the next best thing to being present is watching him perform live on TV.”