By Irish Paddy Cronan, OnTheGrindBoxing.com: “There are two types of people in the world, the ones that talk about it and the ones that do it. If you want to do it you gotta stuck it up and you gotta get your ass back in that next round and hold out.”- Eddie Futch
Your either a fighter or your not. Its as simple as that. You see it every day. From my childhood I remember climbing trees.. Some kids would have a bad fall and never try again, others would have a bad fall and as soon as they got up they would keep trying until they had conquered the tree. You can pick out a fighter from a young age. A lot of people walk away from adversity others relish it.
Bobby Gunn is a perfect example. From the age of six Bobby was thrust into the ring and has been there ever since. He had won over 250 amateur bouts before turning pro in 1989 as a light middleweight. In the following four years he notched up a respectable record of 11-2 with eight of his wins coming by way of knock out.
Shortly after he notched up his eleventh victory against Rafael Reyes his mother Jacqueline passed away she had been the one to light a fire under Bobby from that first time he stepped in the ring. When he was beginning to recover from the loss of his mother disaster struck again. While painting a house Bobby fell from a ladder. The fall shattered his ankle he was told it would take over a year to heal. It seemed like something did not want Bobby stepping back in the ring. Unfortunately the power at work had its way although Bobby continued to train as a boxer for it was all he knew from a young age. However this would prove to be Bobby’s first big fall off the tree. He was hurting like never before it was unclear if he would get up and try again.
In 2004 with the dreams of what could have been if he had stuck with boxing over the previous ten years haunting him nightly he decided he was going to give it another go. This time he would not stop until he reached the top of the tree and held a world championship belt firmly in his hands. Before long he amassed a record of 5-0 in what he calls his “second” boxing career. He would now be given the opportunity to fight for what he’s wanted since he stepped in the right at the tender age of six. A shot at a world title.
In 2007 just as Bobby was within an inch of the top of the tree he fell again. His fight was stopped because of a small cut on his nose. Bobby was outraged as he felt he had taken a lot of Enzo Maccrinelli’s big shots and was still standing. Gunn why by know was older and wiser knew he could not simply walk away. He knew that in his heart of hearts that he would get another chance. He continued on notching up four wins and a draw post Enzo in 2007/2008.
Bobby has started off 2009 in exceptional form and it was an honour to be in attendance. Bobby stopped Brad Gregory of Wichita Kansas within four rounds. It was clear from the opening bell that Gunn was in a class above Gregory. I got the impression that he could have finished the fight earlier but it seems Gunn felt he needed more rounds under his belt as he had not fought in three months. Gunn was presented with the WBA NABA cruiserweight title to add to his WBC USNBC cruiserweight title the he had claimed against Shelby Gross in his last fight of 2008.
Bobby is now planning on where to go next to take his career to the next level. He dreams coming back to Ireland to fight for an Irish title. From speaking to him its is very clear that he is proud of his roots in Ireland. He always fights with an Irish Tricolour on his shorts something that links him to his fighting ancestry back on the Emerald Isle.
Along with “BigTime” Tim Kudgis and Suge Green, “Irish” Paddy Cronan is part of the On The Grind Radio team. OTG Radio is live at 8pm est/5pm pst Sundays and Thursdays (12 Midnight UK and Ireland) , right here on eastsideboxing, listen to past episodes by clicking the “On The Grind Boxing Radio” button.