BOXING:PERFORMING BEFORE a hometown crowd for the first time since he was stunningly upset by the 21-year-old Spaniard Kiko Martinez last August, Bernard Dunne faces the Argentinian Damien Marchiano in the main event of tonight's Brian Peters seven-bout Hunky Dory Fight Night card at the National Stadium.
"Everything has gone according to plan in training," said Dunne's Belfast-based trainer, Harry Hawkins, following yesterday's weigh-in at the Burlington. "Now I just hope everything goes according to plan in the ring."
Ten months ago, it is safe to say, that nothing went according to plan in the ring. On the night of August 25th at The Point, Martinez dropped Dunne three times between the opening bell and referee Terry O'Connor's intervention to hand the Neilstown boxer his first professional loss, snatching away Dunne's European super-bantamweight title in the process.
Dunne, who scaled in at 123lb (1lb over the super-bantam limit, but 1lb under the contractually agreed catchweight of 8st 12lb), is hopeful a convincing win over Marchiano might position him for another crack at the Euro title.
Getting back to where he was a year ago, when a world title challenge seemed within his grasp, may take a bit more time.
Dunne, now 24-1, has fought just once since the Martinez debacle, coasting to an easy points win over former world champion Felix Machado in Castlebar back in April. He has extensively viewed a DVD of Marchiano's prior fights, and said of tonight's foe: "He's very aggressive, which suits me, because it means I won't have to go looking for him. He'll be coming after me, which will hopefully give me a chance to break him down by outboxing him."
Marchiano, who weighed in just a half pound lighter than Dunne, is 15-4-1 overall, but two defeats in his last three fights marked the only times he has previously ventured outside his homeland. He dropped a decision to the highly regarded American Abner Mares last November and less than six weeks ago was stopped by Silence Mabuza in South Africa.
Particularly since neither of the principals spoke the other's language, yesterday's face-to-face confrontation unfolded in an absence of rancour. The weigh-in itself proceeded without incident, the only moment of suspense coming when Londoner Peter McDonagh, who will defend his Irish lightweight title against the undefeated Cavan youngster Andrew Murray, scaled in a quarter pound over the limit.
Boxing Union of Ireland president Mel Christle announced that in accordance with the rules, McDonagh would be allotted two hours to shed the extra four ounces, but as it turned out, it took less than a minute.
McDonagh (10-11) stripped off his skivvies and, in his birthday suit, weighed 9st 8lb 8oz - exactly the same as Murray. Christle promptly declared McDonagh the owner of "the heaviest pair of underpants in the world".
Murray (12-0), who won the Irish junior welter title by outpointing James Gorman at the King's Hall last December, will be dropping down in weight in the hope of acquiring a second championship.
There were no weight issues with regard to the other title bout on tonight's bill, one that will see Dublin's Jim Rock (28-14) attempt to acquire his fourth All-Ireland professional title when he meets Staffordshire's JonJo Finnegan for the vacant All Ireland light-heavyweight championship.
Rock (12st 2lb) and Finnegan (12st 3 lb) were so comfortably inside the limit it was apparent if they had struggled on their way to the weigh-in it was only to become light-heavyweights at all.
"Ah, I'm really only a middleweight," said Rock, confirming tonight's exercise is being undertaken for historic purposes.
Finnegan, a distant cousin of the former Commonwealth champions Chris and Kevin Finnegan, is 11-3, but has dropped two of his last three fights, all of which took place on his home turf in Burton-on-Trent.
In other undercard bouts of note, Portmarnock junior welterweight Oisín Fagan, having returned from America and a five-year stint as an Oklahoma schoolteacher, hopes to position himself for a crack at the Murray-McDonagh winner for his old Irish 10st belt. Fagan (21-5) will face Konstantin Sakara (1-2-1) of Latvia in a six-round tune-up.
Irish cruiserweight champion Darren Corbett of Belfast (26-4-1), inactive for four years, returns to the ring as a heavyweight tonight in another six-rounder against the Lithuanian Remigijus Siausys.
