By Jonny Stapleton
Art Pelullo, Banner Promotions and Tommy Egan Promotions have claimed they could guarantee Bernard Dunne a world title shot in a matter of months if the former European super-bantamweight champion was free from all other promotional obligations.
Neilstown native, Dunne (27-1) has bemoaned, in the press this week, the fact his career seems to have stalled somewhat and former amateur boxer Egan claims it’s a “disgrace” that one of Ireland’s biggest boxing draws hasn’t challenged for a world title.
Dunne’s manager Brian Peter’s and Frank Maloney have exchanged harsh words like fighters would blows in recent months in relation to a potential Rendall Munroe-Dunne European title showdown. Despite their public spat, the fight never came off and Team Dunne are now talking of a summer world title bout. But Egan fears further political wrangling may also hamper Dunne’s ambitions.
“If Bernard Dunne was free from all promotional contracts and free to talk to a promoter we could guarantee him a world title fight in a matter of months. Art Pelullo, who is one of the most powerful and influential boxing promoters in the world, and I would love Bernard to be part of the Banner Promotions Tommy Egan Promotions deal. That is what this deal is about we can offer Irish fighters big fights. Bernard is a brilliant fighter and the biggest Irish boxing draw this island has seen. It is a disgrace he hasn’t had a world title fight confirmed as of yet,” Egan explained.
“I really feel for Bernard. Boxing politics seem to be getting in the way of his destiny and legacy. Bernard as a fighter is the number one super-bantamweight in the world in terms of financial clout and marketability, but he seems to be caught in limbo. He can’t get a fight with Rendall Munroe and the World Title fight is coming too slow. Any champion in any of the governing bodies would be attracted to fighting Bernard but it hasn’t come off yet. “
“As a boxing fan and a friend of Bernard I would love to see him achieve his goals and dreams. If he was free to talk to promoters I could guarantee him a deserved world title shot. In fairness to Brian Peters he has done a lot for Irish professional boxing and he got Bernard his European title. As of late, however, our biggest ever boxing star’s career seems to have faltered and I would fear he may not realise his enormous potential,” Egan added.
(Isn’t the real reason that Dunne’s career has stalled is because he was knocked out in a round by Kiko Martinez who was subsequently outpointed by Rendall Munroe, the reigning European super-bantamweight champion, and the Irishman has failed to beat a ranked top 15 contender since? – Ed)
January 22, 2009 at 8:24 pm |
(Isn’t the real reason that Dunne’s career has stalled is because he was knocked out in a round by Kiko Martinez who was subsequently outpointed by Rendall Munroe, the reigning European super-bantamweight champion, and the Irishman has failed to beat a ranked top 15 contender since? – Ed)
No that is not the reason! A lot of fighters get caught cold, Dunne would beat Martinez in a rematch with ease. And what has Rendall Munroe outpointing Martinez (which was a spilt decision by the way!) have to do with Dunne’s career. Munroe, if you really feel the need to involve him in the discussion, has been fighting mediocre opponents since winning the EBU title and is in a lot of peoples opinions stuggling with them!
Bernard Dunne will get a World title shot and he has a far better chance of winning a title than Munroe will ever have. That comment smacks of envy as it is true, Bernard Dunne is the most marketable superbantam in the world and his boxing skills are far superior to Munroe’s.
I don’t expect you to publish this comment though, but I would like to be proved wrong!