Jonny Stapleton – Freddie Roach has backed Bernard Dunne to bounce back from the loss of his WBA boxing super bantamweight World Title claiming “Dunne is not done.” The man regarded as the greatest boxing trainer in world is adamant the Irish people should not be looking for a new boxing superstar just yet and added his support to the campaign to get the Dubliner to move up a weight. However while he states Dunne should not be replaced as Ireland’s number one boxing superstar, Roach does claims he is working with an Irish talent that become known world wide..
Roach, who is regarded as the mastermind behind pound for pound ring king Manny Pacquiao’s success as well as the rejuvenation of Ahmir Khan, is now training and co managing former Crumlin amateur Dean Byrne. He believes ‘Irish Lightening’ Byrne has the talent and desire to cause a major storm in the boxing world.
“I believe in my heart of hearts Dunne is not done. He is a quality fighter and a real talent. I do think he should go up in weight. That I believe is a must. In fact I am 100% percent certain he should,” Roach, who worked with Dunne in the famous Wild Card Boxing gym earlier in the former World Champion career, said before discussing Byrne Dunne comparisons.
“I think 2010 will be the beginning of the next stage in Dean Byrne’s career. He will eventually get a lot of national and international recognition. Rather then compare him to Dunne I’d say that he will be the next fighter that people compare Dunne too. I have too much respect for Dunne to say he should be replaced by Dean as Ireland’s number one boxer. As for Dean Byrne the fans will make their own comparison. That’s natural. I do think they will say he’s the best since Dunne and he’s the new Irish fighter to get behind Dean is a pure talent, he’s exciting to watch, he moves very well, has the combination of speed and power, he listens, works hard, loves to fight, so if he wants it bad enough, then he’ll be the champion. And I know he wants it”