Dunne eyes Hunter fight as body blows stop Wilders

BERNARD DUNNE took a giant step towards an inevitable clash with the European super-bantamweight champion Michael Hunter after his short route victory over former British and European bantamweight champion Noel Wilders at the sell-out show in the National Stadium on Saturday night.

Dunne launched a ferocious bombardment of body shots that put the former world IBO champion on his knees two minutes and four seconds into the sixth round and left referee David Irving with no option but the stop the fight.

Dunne won the first, second and fourth rounds decisively and would have been even more emphatic had he not been over exuberant. The judges had rounds three and five level but one would have to question that as - throughout the contest - Wilders never landed a serious punch on Dunne, who sustained a nick over his left eye in a clash of heads in the third round.