16.05.05 – By Kevin Purcell: In a highly entertaining 10-round bout last Saturday in Dublin, Irish featherweight prospect Bernard Dunne improved his record to 16-0-0. His opponent, Ukranian Yuri Voronin (23-4-1), was ranked No.7 in Europe so a tough fight was expected for Dunne. Despite establishing his authority early in the fight, Voronin soon warmed to the task and put constant pressue on the Irishman.. Dunne was doing the cleaner work though and showed good variety in his attack, frequently scoring with straight rights, sharp left hooks and potent bodyshots. But the durable Ukranian southpaw was eventually rewarded in the final round when he scored with a counter left and then almost put Dunne through the ropes with a right-hand. Dunne had to rely on instinct and some good footwork to survive the final 90 seconds.
“This was a learning experience for me. It will stand to me this fight,” said a relieved Dunne afterwards, having been given a 96-94 verdict. Voronin had previously lost a close decision to Mzonke Fana in 2003 before reeling off 8 straight wins.
Under the tutelage of Freddy Roach, Dunne began his career in the US and claimed victories in his first 14 fights before having to leave Sugar Ray Leonards promotion company. He made his Irish debut in February before his victory on Saturday boosted his European ranking. A shot at European featherweight champion Nicky Cook (24-0-0) is what Dunne is looking at and if things go according to plan he will fight 3 more times before the year is out. But manager Brian Peters claims that offers keep coming in to go back and fight in America. Whichever route the 25 year-old chooses to follow his defence needs to be tightened if he is to eventually make an impact on the world scene but Ireland really needs an exciting prospect at the moment and we’re not too confident of Kevin McBride’s chances.