The Official Bernard Dunne v Poonsawat Kratingdaengym thread

I reckon its a real 50/50 fight. Poonsawat having the power - Dunne having the skills and home advantage. I still havent made my mind up as to whether it will be 8th round KO win for Poonsawat or a wide points win for Dunne!

Here is the start of my preview article from Boxing Scene . com (its a bit of a monster) -


In an attempt to play his part in tidying up the division and the mess that is the WBA’s super bantamweight title triangle, Bernard Dunne (28(15)-1(1)-0) invites a nightmare into his house when he faces Thai powerhouse and WBA interim champion Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym (38(27)-1(0)-0) to battle it out for Dunne’s first defence of his WBA regular super bantamweight title at the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland on the 26th of September.

Unless they’ve been travelling around the world on a J1 visa trekking through Belize, Machu Picchu and Laos then there is hardly an Irishman on the planet that could have failed to notice the rise of Bernard Dunne, who has almost singlehandedly revived professional boxing in Ireland. Despite the popularity of John Duddy amongst the immigrant diaspora in the US, no professional boxer has captured the Irish publics imagination like Dunne since Steve Collins filled the Dublin’s O2 (then “The Point”), Cork’s Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Manchester’s Nynex Arena and most famously Millstreet’s Green Glens Arena during the mid 1990’s.

Of course Collins, who’s career path draws parallels with Dunne’s, had the aid of high profile British fighters such as the flamboyant Chris Eubank and destructive Nigel Benn to ensure that enough media hype and interest was generated to power all the lights in Birmingham for a year. Sadly for Dunne he has no such caricatured figures to be pitted against, but what he does have is the technical boxing skills of any top Cuban amateur, an endearing cheeky chappy persona, manager Brian Peters, and until recently a booming Celtic Tiger economy to make up for the lack of household names in the division – Irish households that is. But, if Bernard Dunne has Brian Peters, the County Meath farmer, publican, and entrepreneur has provided the bricks and mortar, the timber and the nails, the plasterboard and silicone mastic (need I go on?) for this particular development.

Dunne turned professional in December 2001 in the sweaty cut throat surroundings of the LA boxing scene and Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym but Dunne did not confine himself to local fights in California and travelled throughout the states to Connecticut, Oklahoma, Nevada, West Virginia, New Mexico and Arizona garnering nationwide TV coverage on SRL promoted ESPN2 cards, which undoubtedly boosted the American boxing publics awareness of this seemingly frail and anaemic yet marauding Irishman.

However, in 2005 with Sugar Ray Leonard’s attentions focused on The Contender TV series and the pangs of homesickness and mammies cooking rumbling in the Dynamo’s belly, Brian Peters brought the matured (14(9) - 0) fighter back home to Dublin to set sail of a voyage that would bring fame, fortune and glory to both. Peters surrounded Dunne with a close-knit team, stalwart trainer Harry Hawkins at the Holy Trinity Gym now trained the Neilstownman and later fitness and conditioning guru Mick McGurn was brought in to answer lingering question marks which dogged Dunne’s ability to cope with the age old conundrum of making weight and maintaining power.................

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its on Irish tv. Should be a free legal and live stream on the RTE website

If you havent seem him you will be impressed - the more I see of him the more impressed I am - he has improved and matured greatly in the last year or two. Here is a video of him bullying Somsak around round after round before knocking him out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GLs-GVCpWA

 

Back off my honeymoon the day before - home - carry the missus over the threshold - Macklin fight and the Velodrome - home - snooze - early fight to Dublin - meet a friend for lunch - meet the bhoys from Sligo - go to the fight! bingo! you bring the wee fella?

 

nah - cheap as feck if you ask me. If you support a premiership football team - which is nowhere near the entertainment you get from a proper night of world championship boxing and for that you have to dole out £45 every second week. With tickets from 50 euros I think its a bargain.

 

Lets try and keep this a Dunne-Poonsawat thread.

When Munroe steps it up to world level then he can join the party. :good