February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The 22-year-old Dubliner hardly broke a sweat in dispatching Ramirez after 1 minute and 9 seconds of their scheduled four-rounder at the Thunderbird Wild, Wild West Casino.
Dunne, who was recently cleared to box again by the New York State Athletic Commission after a query over a brain scan, connected with a double left hook to the body and head that sent Ramirez crumpling to the canvas.
Ramirez arose on unsteady legs at the count of nine but was adjudged unfit to continue by referee Gary Ritter.
First into the ring to congratulate the unmarked Dunne was ring great Sugar Ray Leonard, the baby-faced Irishman’s promoter, who had earlier beseeched his charge to steal the show.
The bout was the opener on last week’s Friday Night Fights card,
promoted by Leonard and televised nationally by ESPN2. The outcome left Dunne, in his own words, “over the mill.”
“It was good to get a win, and the way it happened was an added bonus,” he said. “I wanted to perform well in my comeback. It couldn’t have gone much better.”
Although Ramirez entered the ring with a 2-1-1 (win, loss, draw) record, Dunne, who improved to 3-0 (3 KOs), dismissed notions that the Oklahoman was a “bum.”
“He was a capable opponent,” he said. “Ramirez had 115 amateur bouts and four professional fights with one defeat. He wasn’t a bum and for me to perform like that was spectacular.”
If anything, the quick KO bolstered Dunne’s reputation as an explosive puncher, and possibly the hardest hitting Irish prospect in recent memory.
And whereas his first two stoppage victories came via his crushing right hand, win No. 3 last Friday came courtesy of his left hook.
All told, Dunne landed 27 punches in the brief sortie, including seven of 16 power punches (any punch other than a jab).
Aside from his handlers, Dunne impressed numerous others at the Thunderbird Wild, Wild West Casino, including hundreds of fans who came to cheer their fellow Oklahoman, and ESPN fight analyst/trainer Teddy Atlas.
He was wildly applauded by the crowd, while Atlas, who has trained several Irish fighters during his lifetime, remarked: “He showed good fundamentals and some flash.”
The L.A.-based Dunne’s next bout is scheduled for Feb. 7, at a venue and against an opponent to be determined.
“It’s on to bigger and better things,” the exciting prospect remarked, relieved that his career is back on track.
Dunne was in a Dublin cinema before Christmas when he received a call on his cell phone informing him that the New York State Athletic Commission had cleared him to resume boxing after a battery of neurological tests in the Big Apple.
This followed the discovery of a cyst in his head during a routine scan before his first fight for Sugar Ray Leonard Promotions, in Buffalo, New York, last October.
McCULLOUGH DATE
Wayne McCullough’s challenge for the World Boxing Organization featherweight crown held by Scotland’s Scott Harrison will take place in Glasgow on March 22, promoter Frank Warren has announced.
Cheryl McCullough, the challenger’s wife and manager, said the “Pocket Rocket” has no qualms over traveling to Glasgow and would emerge victorious.
“Wayne doesn’t care where the fight is. He’s coming back with the belt and that’s all that matters. I’m just surprised that Harrison wants to lose his title so quickly,” she said.
McCullough, who has moved back to Belfast after a decade in Las Vegas, will prepare for the fight in the gambling capital.
His trainer, Kenny Croom, is confident of victory.
“Harrison is the right fight for Wayne at this stage of his career,” he said. “Harrison’s a good fighter but he hasn’t boxed in the same class as Wayne.
“You just have to look at their records to see the difference between the class they have boxed in. Harrison hasn’t fought a [Prince Naseem] Hamed or a [Erik] Morales.”