I was delighted with the news that Bernard Dunne has secured a shot at WBA super-bantamweight champion Ricardo Cordoba on March 21 - but the announcement was tinged with a feeling of concern.
For the best part of three years Dunne has been the standard bearer for Irish boxing. He has packed arenas, tempted terrestrial TV back in to the sport and provided a wonderful role model for any child hoping to lace on a pair of gloves.
But he has also used his one get out of jail card, having been KO’ed in one round against Kiko Martinez in an EBU title fight in August 2007.
Since then he has fought three times (twice in Castlebar and once in Dublin’s National Stadium). The crowds have been smaller but just as passionate. If unsuccessful against Cordoba, the cash strapped Irish public are unlikely to be as forgiving for the third incarnation.
That said, top-level boxing is all about taking risks and Dunne and his team are to be applauded for their decision to go for broke.
Having spoken to Promoter Brian Peters at length ahead of the announcement I am well aware of the effort and expense that has gone in to securing an event of this magnitude.
There is little doubt that Dunne v Cordoba at the O2 Dublin on St Patrick’s weekend can be a huge commercial success, what follows is what worries me.
For boxing to be an industry, regular bills with familiar faces are required. Without the pulling power of Dunne one worries whether the rising talent – which is there – will be afforded a suitable platform to introduce themselves to the masses.
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The irish-boxing.com National Boxing Awards took place last Saturday night and I’m delighted with how it went.
The big fear in putting together an event for the first time is whether or not the big names will come to support it. Thankfully they did; Paul McCloskey, Martin Rogan, Martin Lindsay, Paddy Barnes, Kenny Egan, Andy Murray, Stephen Haughian, the Hyland brothers and Robbie Long all made the trip to Newry for what we hope will become one of the most important dates on the local boxing calendar.
Local clubs turned out in force for the evening, which saw McCloskey crowned ‘Boxer of the Year,’ Lindsay, ‘Prospect of the Year’ and Olympic heroes Barnes and Egan recognised for their Beijing successes.
After the official end of the ceremony the boxers mixed freely with the crowd signing autographs and posing for photographs.
The positive knock-on effect of boxers making such public appearances is immediate. In the days following the event a number of fans in attendance got in touch looking for tickets to a professional card in Craigavon – featuring Haughian and Murray on February 7.