Who next for Dunne?

Running Bing

I think he has got the stage now where he will lose all credibility if he fights another nothing fight. Now I can understand why they are doing it(personally I think it will hurt him more than help him but I am sure his camp are far more knowledgeable than me) but I really think now is the time to step up.


You can use all the superlatives and jimmy maggeeisms you want about Walstad but that was an easy fight for Dunne last night...Walstad did not clearly win one round, if you take the blinkers off it was an incredibly one sided fight.


My question is who next for Bernard? Would his camp really have the nerve to set up another easy fight for him at this stage or has this simply gone on for too long? Do people think they will finally make a move and take the step up and put him in a real battle? Personally I think it is now or never for Dunne. So who do you think Dunne will fight next?

Big Ears

Next is Kiko Martinez , guarenteed . Martinez is a puncher but is a bit unproven . One thing you can be sure though is Martinez will be better than Walstad .

He beat Bouaita(ranked ahead of Walstad at #2) wide on points , stopped Juan Garcia Martin 5 rounds quicker than Esham Pickering(the fight after Martin had fought Pickering for the European title) .

When he stopped well travelled Frederic Bonifai , he did it quicker than anyone had done previously(and Bonifai hadn't been stopped much)

Other than that there is no one worth mentioning on the record for Martinez .

If you want him to step it up who do you think he should fight ?

Personally I feel Martinez , McCullough then Molitor would be perfect for Dunne but some people may disagree .

dlofnep

Yes, Kiko is a mandatory fight. If he doesn't, he would be stripped of the EBU title. After Kiko, he has no choice but to fight Molitor. I mean, that's the obvious choice for a world title shot. Unless they work out something with McCullough.. In which case, that can be his pre-title fight.

Vince135792003

Babybing wrote:

that was an easy fight for Dunne last night...

It didn't look easy. Especially into the later rounds.

Its Martinez next and I think he should look no further than that fight.

Big Ears

dlofnep wrote:

Yes, Kiko is a mandatory fight. If he doesn't, he would be stripped of the EBU title. After Kiko, he has no choice but to fight Molitor. I mean, that's the obvious choice for a world title shot. Unless they work out something with McCullough.. In which case, that can be his pre-title fight.

He needs someone a step above Martinez that is experienced and done it all before he faces Molitor . The step up between European and World level is often too great just to jump straight to(as shown by Molitor v Hunter) .

McCullough would be the same to Dunne as Rabanales was to him , and i'd be a perfect fight to set him up for Molitor .

Running Bing

Big Ears wrote:

He needs someone a step above Martinez that is experienced and done it all before he faces Molitor . The step up between European and World level is often too great just to jump straight to(as shown by Molitor v Hunter) .

McCullough would be the same to Dunne as Rabanales was to him , and i'd be a perfect fight to set him up for Molitor .

Would hunter be out of the question? Wouldnt like to see Mcculough would be a pointless fight imo.

Big Ears

Babybing wrote:

Would hunter be out of the question? Wouldnt like to see Mcculough would be a pointless fight imo.

Hunter is a Featherweight now and has vowed to never move back down so yes .

Wayne McCullough is set on continuing fighting , I'm not happy about it and I bet neither are you . But the true is he would give Dunne his toughest test to date but just wouldn't have the power to take Dunne out . He would make him work for 12 rounds non stop and that's something Dunne needs .

Also a loss at European title level might show McCullough , enough is enough .

Unless you can think of a better challenge for Dunne before facing Molitor(and you can be sure he'll need that fairly tough fight before Molitor) .

Also take note that a fight with Molitor is not guarenteed to be secured . Dunne isn't that highly ranked with the IBF so won't become mandatory(unless he fights one or two eliminators) , so it'll have to be a voluntary defence by Molitor and that will mean that Brian Peters is going to have to offer more money than anybody else .

Not much to worry about though , Bernard Dunne is the most marketable and profit making fighter in the World at Super Bantamweight . Even more than the likes of Rafael Marquez himself . So Peters will come up with the necessary cash .

dlofnep

Big Ears wrote:

He needs someone a step above Martinez that is experienced and done it all before he faces Molitor . The step up between European and World level is often too great just to jump straight to(as shown by Molitor v Hunter) .

McCullough would be the same to Dunne as Rabanales was to him , and i'd be a perfect fight to set him up for Molitor .

I agree, but that fight is highly unlikely to happen as Dunne's camp have already shown no disinterest. There is nobody else in Europe. Who do you suggest he fight before a crack at Molitor?

walshb

It's without doubt D-day for Dunne now. He must fight Martinez or go for a world title. It has gone on too long now and if he aint ready now or by xmas, he simply will never be ready. Walstad was brave, was tough and tried his best, but Dunne beat him so handily. I was very shocked at the scoring though. One judge had it 115-113???, what fight was he watching?

cowzerp

i thought he won all the rounds and was shocked at all the judges! maybe 1 could have gone the other way but thats a maybe. i like dunne but am not convinced he'll win a world title-fingers crossed though..

walshb

Big Ears wrote:

Hunter is a Featherweight now and has vowed to never move back down so yes .


Not much to worry about though , Bernard Dunne is the most marketable and profit making fighter in the World at Super Bantamweight . Even more than the likes of Rafael Marquez himself . So Peters will come up with the necessary cash .

But who knows him?
The US don't and I don't think they
want to. Bernard is making the most money
I'm sure, but that's down to Peters and Ireland and the Point selling out
every time as well as RTE paying big bucks.
He is not a big name outside of Ireland and not really
rated or seen as a top top fighter.

Big Ears

walshb wrote:

But who knows him?
The US don't and I don't think they
want to. Bernard is making the most money
I'm sure, but that's down to Peters and Ireland and the Point selling out
every time as well as RTE paying big bucks.
He is not a big name outside of Ireland and not really
rated or seen as a top top fighter.

I never said he was that well known other than in Ireland but I was trying to point out that Super Bantamweights are usually quite poorly paid . But because Dunne is such an attraction here he earns quite a nice some of money and that Dunne should never really have to bother going to another country to fight unless the money is great .

Super Bantamweights aren't big anywhere(bar here with Dunne) no matter how good they are . Dunne is possibly the best known Super Bantamweight in the World , even though he's only known here . Your average person on the street knows that when someone says Bernard Dunne they're talking about an Irish boxer .

Boxing journalists and hardcore fans know who Dunne is and do rate him as someone who could bridge the gap between European and World class .
Outside of those people there aren't many that know him and the few regular American boxing fans that know him don't think that much of him due to his early career there , where in reality he was quite poor .

As for a suitable non European opponent Julio Zarate , Tomas Villa , Mauricio Pastrana and Mauricio Martinez would all be real tough opponents who it'd be perfect if Dunne could come through against . But they all have a reasonable dig at least and would have a realistic chance of winning .
Zarate especially would be difficult but if Dunne could get through that it would show that maybe he would be able to take on some of the punchers in the division aswell as the lighter hitters like Molitor .

Pastrana is probably the best pick to fight as he has plenty of World class experience and would bring a very tough fight but not quite the same as dangerous as the other three .

walshb

I was thinking the exact same. The division as a whole is poorly paid.
I'd say Dunne is definitely making more money, despite him not being close to WC level. He's in the top 10, but still behind a few men. Plus he's Irish and he's white (not saying anything here by the way, apart from his skin color) and he has a huge following in Ireland....

alanceltic

Walshb, you have been fairly cynical/critical of Ben in the past, im just curious as to how u think he faired against Walsted??? Personally I think that time will show this fight to have been a tougher fight than the upcoming kiko fight. My own toughts are that he boxed him excellently on the outside for the first 6-7 rounds, not taking too many chances in close and took his foot off the gas in the last 2 rounds, I think if the heat was really on and the chips were down he could up the tempo another notch. I think he will have little trouble with Kiko but dont think he will jump straight into a world title shot after this, I think he needs another 2 distance fights b4 thinking about it. Is 2 distance fights really enough experience at the very top level to compete....i dont think so

walshb

alanceltic wrote:

Walshb, you have been fairly cynical/critical of Ben in the past, im just curious as to how u think he faired against Walsted??? Personally I think that time will show this fight to have been a tougher fight than the upcoming kiko fight. My own toughts are that he boxed him excellently on the outside for the first 6-7 rounds, not taking too many chances in close and took his foot off the gas in the last 2 rounds, I think if the heat was really on and the chips were down he could up the tempo another notch. I think he will have little trouble with Kiko but dont think he will jump straight into a world title shot after this, I think he needs another 2 distance fights b4 thinking about it. Is 2 distance fights really enough experience at the very top level to compete....i dont think so

I have posted on Bernard's performance already. I thought he did very well and boxed beautifully against a limited, but game fighter. Dunne probably won at least 9-10 of the rds. He however does not possess the punch IMO, necessary for the top flight, nor the chin or even the consistent high level of stamina. Going 12 rds is hard, but going it against a tough hard hitting opponent is the real test. Walstad was not in Bernard's league and though he pressed towards the end, he was not near good enough. Against a hitter with stamina nad a chin, I think Bernard is in big trouble and if this Kiko has these qualities, then Bernard really needs HELP!!

drollab

Kiko sounds like a tough opponent and thats what he needs if he is aiming at a world title. If he beats Kiko I would like to see him go and fight in the US against a tough Mexican maybe on the same card as John Duddy. That would be a great night in the MSG. He needs to fight a big hitter and get caught a few times to make him keep his guard up, he might end up learning the hard way. Fighting McCullough would be a waste of time, as he is over the hill, Mc Cullough is just looking for a pay day.

But I think he is great for Irish boxing and he seems like a decent lad as well.

Big Ears

walshb wrote:

I have posted on Bernard's performance already. I thought he did very well and boxed beautifully against a limited, but game fighter. Dunne probably won at least 9-10 of the rds. He however does not possess the punch IMO, necessary for the top flight, nor the chin or even the consistent high level of stamina. Going 12 rds is hard, but going it against a tough hard hitting opponent is the real test. Walstad was not in Bernard's league and though he pressed towards the end, he was not near good enough. Against a hitter with stamina nad a chin, I think Bernard is in big trouble and if this Kiko has these qualities, then Bernard really needs HELP!!

You say he doesn't possess the chin or power for the top flight but in truth he'd only need one of those to be very good and the other to be okay to compete at the top level . If Dunne had McCullough's chin there is the possibility he could outbox the world's elite at Super Bantamweight..........but he doesn't . If he had Marquez's power he might be able to take out any of the world's elite.........but he doesn't .

Dunne can beat World class opponents , but they do have to be suited to him . Molitor may very well be one of those opponents , because may no mistake about it . Despite Molitor being a good opponent for Dunne it doesn't mean he's a weak champion , many feel Vasquez vacated the IBF title just to get away from him because he is very quick , slick and accurate .

walshb

Big Ears wrote:

You say he doesn't possess the chin or power for the top flight but in truth he'd only need one of those to be very good and the other to be okay to compete at the top level . If Dunne had McCullough's chin there is the possibility he could outbox the world's elite at Super Bantamweight..........but he doesn't . If he had Marquez's power he might be able to take out any of the world's elite.........but he doesn't .

Dunne can beat World class opponents , but they do have to be suited to him . Molitor may very well be one of those opponents , because may no mistake about it . Despite Molitor being a good opponent for Dunne it doesn't mean he's a weak champion , many feel Vasquez vacated the IBF title just to get away from him because he is very quick , slick and accurate .

Good point as Bernard is a classy boxer without doubt. But he has neither IMO, so me mentioning the two does not matter. The punch we know could take out opponents and failing this he relies on his speed, skills and solid chin. IMO Dunne has two critical things against him and they are chin and power. Chin being the most critical as he is not the hardest guy to hit. Walstad and others proved this. He is no sweet Pea or PBF as regards defense. From what I have seen of Moliter, he is a notch above Bernard, He's a crisp puncher, and very accurate with good overall skills and stamina.
Like you said, Dunne can beat guys suited to him but if faced with a good puncher I think he gets KO'd and if faced with an average puncher with skills and stamina, it's a toss up

a-k-47

Dunne most over rated boxer ever, proven tonight by a tough spaniard. Knocked the fck out.