Boxing News

Saturday, November 15 saw David Haye embark on his heavyweight quest. Across the Irish Sea, a slighter gladiator was treading water, with the prospect of a super bantamweight world title lying somewhere over the horizon.

Bernard Dunne carried out his training camp in preparation for the rugged Eduardo Garcia. Garcia was indisposed a few weeks before the fight and in his place, Cristian Faccio assumed the antagonist's role in opposition of the Irish folk hero.

Faccio was well regarded, ranked eleventh by both WBO and WBC sanctioning bodies. Faccio, however, is naturally a bantamweight and on the day of the weigh-in, was a pound below the limit and indeed below Dunne, who weighed one hundred and twenty two pounds precisely.

Dunne’s interview revealed him to be supremely confident and thoroughly prepared for this fight, which he believes will provide him access to the upper echelons of world boxing.

Faccio’s modest entrance was given a fine Irish welcome. He was far from home, but was awarded a warm applause. Had he been the second man to enter the ring he would have had no reason to be intimidated, but as he moved about in his corner, Dunne’s entrance transformed the Breaffy Arena into a cauldron and one had to imagine Faccio, far from home standing in the centre of an Irish coliseum.

First pitched into darkness, the arena was filled with theatrical smoke, spotlights and the battle cries of the Irish fans, which added to the dramatic overstatement that is Dunne’s entrance. More...

Bernard Dunne’s rehabilitation continued Saturday night in Dublin’s National Boxing Stadium. A near full house greeted the "Irish Rover" in his second return to the ring since the traumatic ordeal against Kiko Martinez eleven months ago. The atmosphere was jovial all night. Fans were treated with the ringside presence of Matthew Macklin, who contributed greatly to the festive mood surrounding the events.

Dunne’s entrance greatly overshadowed opponent Damian David Marchiano’s modest introduction to the Irish audience. The Argentine appeared unfazed by his lack of support however and rather than merely waiting in his corner, he prowled the ring, looking threatening.

Upon entering the arena, Dunne’s appearance was an immediate point of speculation. His entrance garb left only his arms exposed, but they seemed more muscular than in previous outings. He seemed to have grown, his chest and abdomen appearing stronger than in previous bouts and his visage not as gaunt as before.

When the fighters were brought together, Dunne, although supposedly only an inch taller, was evidently the bigger man. Marchiano, a sturdy, rugged looking fighter was notably smaller, yet seemed unperturbed by the Irish man’s imposing figure. As referee Emille Tiedt administered his final instructions, the crowd roared its support of Dunne, every voice audibly contributing to a formidable battle cry.

As the action got underway, the fight did not match the crowd’s enthusiasm. Dunne carefully placed his feet defensively and planted his jab on the forehead of Marchiano repeatedly. The first round saw little variation, Dunne occasionally following up with a cross or hook, completely dominating the opening session with his superior reach and foot movement.

One would have speculated that this was a tentative opening from Dunne had he not made it clear that this was the tactic he wished to employ. Respectful applause heralded the closure of the opening session and the crowd descended into near silence between rounds. More...

Entering into the early 2000’s, boxing was in a state of desperation. Having fallen from the mind of the public, largely due to the lack of accessibility, it seemed that boxing was on the verge of returning underground. Pay Per View and high-ticket prices quenched any thirst the general public had for the Bloody Arts.

However, boxing has enjoyed a resurrection of sorts in the past couple of years. Despite the disapproval of some boxing purists, the reality television series “The Contender” allowed the sport some much-needed healthy publicity.

The subsequent release of films such as “Million Dollar Baby” and “Rocky Balboa” saw boxing come back into fashion, with celebrities adopting boxing in order to attain fitness. The promoters then capitalised on this sudden reinvigoration of the sport.

Perhaps spurned on by the newly present competition offered by Mixed Martial Arts, the world of boxing has enjoyed two years of fantastic matchmaking with the world's best meeting and creating some classic battles which has translated into further positive exposure for the sport in the general media.

Boxing finally clawed its way back from obscurity as Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton did battle on front of a huge international audience. Finally, the world of boxing seems to be in recovery.

There is nowhere in the boxing world that has felt the effects of this invigoration more than the west of Ireland. A minority sport in the past, Olympic Boxing Club, which is now recognised as Galway’s premier boxing club, has, this year alone, produced over twenty County Champions, over a dozen Provincial Champions and guided Brian Brosnan, Brian Barrett, Christopher Sherlock, JJ Mongan and Alan Donnellan to National Titles and International honours in the amateur ranks. More...

As one of the appetisers on last weekend’s delicious menu of title fights, a fine domestic card was presented by Brian Peter’s promotions in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, deep in the West of Ireland. With a fine selection of local fighters on show and a host of international opposition, the arena filled early and a warm atmosphere sparked in anticipation of the evening’s event.

The Breaffy House International Sports Hotel and Resort played host to the festivities. It was an appropriate venue, often employed by Ireland’s best athletes as part of their mental preparation for high level competition, the bill’s headliner Bernard Dunne was in need of some psychological repair following the assassination of his reputation, public persona and ego last year, at the hands of the malicious Spaniard Kiko Martinez.

In his return to the ring, Dunne was opposed by Felix Machado, a former super flyweight title holder and a highly experienced campaigner. Super bantamweight Bernard Dunne had once again captured the attention of the Irish public and was coming to the West of Ireland to attempt to prove a point.

Brian Peters was visible by the ring prior to the events initiation, chatting to the patrons and surveying the arena for any potential details which needed attention. However, the beautifully prepared arena needed little more organisation.

The fighters in turn were preparing with an equal level of concentration, Adnan Amar readied himself in the dressing rooms with his trainer Brendan Ingle, Michael Sweeney smiled and chatted with his training team, Artus Jashkul nodded his head in time with the music pumping through his headphones and later Bernard Dunne paced between the dressing rooms and the arena‘s entrance. Other fighters meandered through the meticulously organised rows of chairs, many in an almost meditative state, mentally preparing to enter into hostilities later in the evening. More...

Saturday, March 29. For the first time in his career Paul McCloskey was taking charge of a ship, one which belonged to a fleet of Brian Peters' promoted boxing events taking place in recent weeks.

McCloskey was calm in the build up. One assumed that with his first big occasion looming ahead of him, the Derry man would have displayed some nerves or apprehension. Instead, the week preceding the fight presented a Paul McCloskey who smiled politely at the fights mention and mingled easily with the press.

Opposing him, Cesar Bazan, a fighter who had been a world title holder at lightweight, fighting with passion in each bout and in the Mexican spirit, was not going to surrender, even at a time when his greatest achievements are memories now overshadowed by his losses to greater, more notable opposition.

Indeed, his opposition had been well documented in the fightʼs promotion. With over half a century of fights on his record, Bazan had never ran from or alluded any opponent. His record contains a couplet of losses to two truly great fighters in fellow Mexican Jose Luis Castillo and the Puerto-Rican Welterweight sensation, Miguel Cotto.

For Paul McCloskey, this elevation in the level of competition would serve as his certification. With a successful result, McCloskeyʼs professional apprenticeship would be complete and he could begin to advance into the fistic world.

The fight itself was a joy for any journalist. Every round was incredibly similar and if one were to pen a detailed report of the first round, the author could easily pass it off as a report of any of the nine rounds that followed. More...

As Professional Boxing enjoys a long overdue resurgence and our current champions finally receive the exposure they deserve, there are other men who anonymously prepare to become champions themselves. These men are the less famed and less credited amateur boxers who toil at their trade without payment or recognition.

As the final qualifiers draw to a close, the men fortunate enough to have qualified, begin to undergo intense training in anticipation of their opportunity in the Beijing Olympic Games this year.

With boxing enjoying a huge influx of new fans and much of the attention being bestowed upon the glorious profession welterweights, middleweights and bantamweights, it is not surprising that the amateur game has been lost from the radar slightly and there is a lack of knowledge on Olympic Boxing.

However, in the hearts of many, these games mean as much as a world titles in the paid ranks and the rules, requirements and demands of the competition have been studied in acute detail. This after all, is the pinnacle of amateur boxing.

First introduced to the games in the St. Louis Olympics back in 1904, boxing had a turbulent honeymoon phase, being disallowed in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. It was 1920 before the event became a permanent fixture in the games, but since that time, the event has produced volumes of itʼs own heroes, idols and legends.

Qualification for the tournament is a hotly contested privilege, to be earned rather than won. Regional tournament in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania all serve as obstacle-laden routes toward their dream destination; the Olympic Games. More...

© Allan Donnellan / Saddo Boxing

In 1991, Dublin’s National Boxing Stadium hosted it’s first professional show, in which the legendary Steve Collins defeated Danny Morgan in three rounds. The Stadium has enjoyed an illustrious run since that December; fighters such as Jim Rock, the Hyland brothers, Bernard Dunne and recently, John Duddy, have all become Irish heroes through the exposure they have received applying their craft in the country's premier boxing venue.

In Matthew Macklin, the stadium may well have found a new darling.

The timing of this card was perhaps unfortunate in that it coincided with Ireland’s Easter Holiday weekend. This fact ensured that the crowd never threatened to fill the National Stadium. However, promoter Brian Peters should have been pleased with the night, as the undersized, but warm, vocal crowd cheered the native fighters home in what was an supremely successful night for the Irish. More...