IT WAS a flashing visit by Bernard Dunne to the weighing scales in the foyer of the old Jurys Hotel in Ballsbridge, a low-key appearance for the biggest fight of his life at the O2 Arena (RTÉ 2, 9.30pm). A small band of supporters and team members gathered and whooped for what was little more than a glimpse of the champion with his fight face on.
The WBA Super Bantamweight title-holder emerged from a group of officials and managers at the back of the roped-off area, stood on the scales and jerked his hands in the air. That was as much energy as he wanted to expend.
Dunne was half a pound inside the eight-stone 10-pound weight with his Thai opponent, Poonsawat Kratingdaenggum, causing a mild stir but coming in right on the limit at 122 pounds. A courteous bow with clasped hands and he was wrapped up again, disappearing into an oversized tracksuit.
They say the further east you travel, the harder it is to read the emotions of an opponent. In that Poonsawat remained firmly in character. His welcoming expression has not changed since arriving in Dublin at the start of the week. But there is a can-do aspect to the way he carries himself and, having been kept away from a world title fight by the politics of the sport for 16 months, he will be cynical enough to see this as his one and only crack at a world title. A Thai fighter before becoming a boxer, he is impressively muscular and has a compact physique, which is matched by an impressive 38-1 winning record.
Dunne, with just one defeat in his 28-1 record, is considerably the taller fighter by three inches but less muscle-bound. He posed for a few seconds for photographs and was off again to the doctor, to eat, to relax. Traditionally the weigh-in has been no time for entertaining the press or the television cameras before the pending challenge and this one is to see if he can extend his run as the world champion to greater than six months.
If reading straws in the wind was a science they would be telling us that there is an unmistakable anxiety about this meeting of east and west. Poonsawat brings a fighting style and physique more in the line of Kiko Martinez than Dunne’s last opponent, the Panamanian, Ricardo Cordoba. It was Martinez who silenced Dunne’s fans with a first round knockout that set his career spiralling backwards in August 2007.
But Dunne ensured green shoots sprang from that setback and, with the guidance of trainer Harry Hawkins and physical conditioner Mike McGurn, the Dunne of today is a more formidable and durable prospect than the Dunne of even a year ago. After winning the title he’s more confident too.
Still, the Dubliner’s better conditioning has not stopped his manager Brian Peters from stating that Poonsawat is three times a better boxer than Martinez.
Dunne agrees and he sees tonight’s clash as difficult but also as one of the expected consequences of being at the top of his sport as the world champion.
“At the level we’re at now . . . it’s about the world champion,” he explained. “Every fight is a tough fight. He’s proven he’s a calibre fighter through the years with the guys he has fought. His record, it speaks for itself. This is a guy that can fight, box, punch, everything. But we all know the lengths I am willing to go to retain my belt.
“It’s a 12-round fight and we’ve worked very, very hard,” he added. “We’ve pushed my body to the limits because we know what we are going to, in against Poonsawat, so between Mike (McGurn) and Harry (Hawkins) we made sure we didn’t leave any stone unturned. Between the two of them they have dominated me. They have made sure I’ve worked my socks off, strength, conditioning and technical ability.
“The Cordoba fight is really a separate affair. It’s over, in the past. It is not going to do anything for me when I step in the ring with Poonsawat. When I step in there it’s a completely different moment in time.”
Poonsawat is expected to come forward aggressively and look for clean winners. But Dunne is backing himself that what his opponent has to come through, his longer-range jabs and counter punching, is sufficient enough. Dunne has also learned to wrap up if in trouble – something he didn’t do against Martinez to his great cost.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Detroit-based Irish middleweight, Andy Lee, who was at the weigh-in. “But he (Dunne) is capable of doing it. This is a real world title fight.”
Tonight's line-up
WBA Super Bantamweight contest:Bernard Dunne (Ire) v Poonsawat Kratingdaenggum (Thai); Heavyweight contest Tyson Fury v Tomas Mrazek; Jamie Power v Michael Sweeney agreed weight 12st 11lbs; Patrick Hyland v Manual Sequera agreed weight 9st 1lb; Stephen Haughian v Albert Starikov agreed weight 10st 9lbs;
Oisin Fagan v Jurijs Ivanovs agreed weight 10st;
Anthony Fitzgerald v Tadas Jonkus agreed weight 11st 9lbs.
Find out how Bernard Dunne fares against Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym on www.irishtimes.com/sport
