Dunne on the comeback trail

BOXING NEWS:THE GLOVES are off when it comes to analysing the career of Bernard Dunne. The first question put to him yesterday was to describe the last eight months of hell, since Kiko Martinez stunned him with a first-round knockout to take his European title in just the third defence. The 28-year-old smiled and talked about time well spent with his young family.

Brian Peters Promotions has the Neilstown native back in the ring this Saturday but the boxing adage about returning to the bottom rung of the ladder once beaten holds true. Dunne is not facing the 35-year-old former superfeatherweight world champion Felix Machado in Dublin city, but rather in the unique setting of the Breaffy House Resort in Castlebar, Co Mayo.

Boxing moved on in Dunne's absence. Martinez lost the European belt on his first defence last month, to England's Rendall Munroe. That can be interpreted as a positive or a negative for Dunne. His Belfast trainer, Harry Hawkins, broke it down in simple terms, as only a corner man can.

"I wasn't really shocked," he said. "Munroe learned the lesson from Bernard and stayed off in the early rounds. Bernard was caught cold in the most dangerous round of a fight. We knew Martinez was dangerous but I had no doubt that after four rounds Bernard would have given him a boxing lesson."

That fateful night in the Point Depot last August seemed to finish Dunne off as a world-title prospect. He clearly lacked the power of a genuine contender so the past eight months have been about fixing that. "The defeat was a shock to everyone," Hawkins continued. "It was certainly a shock to Bernard Dunne. He went on a weight-training programme for 10 weeks. He had a week off and then another six weeks of just pure weights. I can see a difference in him now; he's a lot stronger."

John Duddy, Andy Lee and Dunne were being heralded last year as the men to bring Irish boxing back to the world stage. Duddy's recent points win over Canadian Walid Smichet saw him badly cut and subsequently dismissed as middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik's next opponent. Lee was controversially stopped by Brian Vera on March 21st.

Walid and Brian who? Exactly.

Machado has been hand picked. He has lost four of his last six fights, dating back to 2003. He is a smaller man. There are, however, some warning signals. He is a southpaw who hasn't been knocked out since his first professional fight back in 1993.

Mentally, Dunne assures everyone, he has recovered: "I remember the Kiko fight. I haven't blocked it out. The fact I didn't see the punch was one of the things that done me in. I didn't fulfil the plan Harry laid out for me. When he knocked me down the best way I knew how was to fight back. I was like a rat backed into a corner. Maybe I should have held on."

Will you follow Harry's game plan on Saturday? "I'll remember to duck the next time a big one is coming." Another smile. Otherwise, the theme of yesterday's press conference was caution. They say Dunne will take it on points over 10 rounds.

The road to redemption starts out west in a 2,000-capacity hotel arena. Small steps.